Virtual Framework for Development and Testing of Federation Software Stack

Abstract

Softwarization of networked infrastructures combined with containerization of codes promises unprecedented computing capabilities distributed across the federations of computing systems and physical instruments. The development and testing of a software stack that implements these capabilities over an expensive physical production infrastructure is not cost-effective, and in the early stages, may potentially cause service disruptions. To address these aspects, we develop the Virtual Federated Science Instrument Environment (VFSIE), a digital twin of the physical infrastructure that emulates a multi-site federation. Each federated site is emulated using containers and virtual hosts that are connected over local-area networks, and the sites, in turn, are connected over an emulated wide-area network. We describe the framework design and implementation details. We also illustrate its application by emulating a federation of four laboratories that use Jupyter Notebook for computations and the EPICS software system for instrument control.

Virtual Infrastructure Twin for Computing-Instrument Ecosystems: Software and Measurements

“…APS and SNS facilities also house iMars3D tomographic reconstruction codes for neutron beam-line measurements that are accessed via Jupyter Notebooks; these applications are packaged as docker containers [36]. We run the iMars3D container after the ecosystem is initialized and attach a network interface to it using dcontainerbridge to connect it into ecosystem network (further details in [13], [37]). (c) Measurements and Profile Estimation: It incorporates the analytics service modules for estimating and analyzing the ecosystem throughput performance.…”

“…• Its hierarchical architectural design employs separate layers for the infrastructure, software and services compared with its monolithic precursors in [7], [13].…”

“…The VIT concept evolved from its pre-cursor multi-site emulations[6],[13] and a specific microscope ecosystem emulation[2], and a brief account of its origin and applications is presented in[4].2 VOLUME x, 202x This article has been accepted for publication in IEEE Access. This is the author's version which has not been fully edited and content may change prior to final publication.…”