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Apache CloudStack is an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering that provides Virtual Machines (VMs) for University of Calgary researchers. It is part of Research Computing Services Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI).  This service will allow you to quickly deploy VMs to support your research projects.
Apache CloudStack is an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering that allows researchers to quickly deploy virtual machines for research projects. This service is part of Research Computing Services' Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) and is free for all University of Calgary researchers and principal investigators.


If you have need for a web site, a database, you wish to experiment with new software tools or you want to test out the latest release of a software package, then CloudStack can provide you with an environment to support your work.
== Use cases ==
CloudStack allows you to create virtual machines for a wide range of workloads and use cases, including:


There is no charge for the use of CloudStack.
* Running an internal or public facing web site
* Running a database
* Experiment with new software tools
* Test out the latest release of a software package
Please note that CloudStack is offered as a research environment and is supported as such. For workloads that demand high availability and high uptime, this may not be the appropriate choice. Researchers are solely responsible for maintaining any VMs they deploy. The expectation is that the owners of the VMs will be patching and doing other maintenance work on a regular basis.  We will be more than happy to provide guidance on this process.  


Not sure if this is what you need?  Please contact us at [mailto:support@hpc.ucalgary.ca support@hpc.ucalgary.ca].  We will be more than happy to discuss your needs with you.
Contact us at [mailto:support@hpc.ucalgary.ca support@hpc.ucalgary.ca] for details.


==Getting Started==
=== Differences between RCS HPC and CloudStack ===
Not sure if you need a VM or a compute cluster? Is this the "Cloud"? Don't understand what we're talking about? Contact us at [mailto:support@hpc.ucalgary.ca support@hpc.ucalgary.ca] and we will assist you in using this service to support your research goals.
There are some overlaps between the CloudStack offering and our existing High Performance Computing (HPC) cluster environment.
{| class="wikitable"
!
!RCS HPC Cluster
!CloudStack
|-
|CPU intensive workloads
|Yes; 48 CPUs per node, 100's of nodes
|No; 1-8 CPUs per VM
|-
|Memory intensive workloads
|Yes; up to 2TB memory per node
|No; up to 32GB memory per VM
|-
|High storage requirement workloads
|Yes; shared multi-petabyte storage
|No; up to 1TB per account
|-
|Data classification
|Level 1 & 2 (ARC), Level 3 & 4 (MARC)
|Level 1 & 2 only
|-
|Customized software requirements
|Yes; use singularity containers
|Yes
|-
|Custom OS configuration
|No
|Yes
|-
|Persistent software or services
|No; time limited jobs only
|Yes
|-
|Managed environment
|Yes
|No; self managed VMs only
|-
|Research support by analysts
|Yes
|Limited
|}
Not sure if you need a virtual machine or a compute cluster? Is this the "Cloud"? Contact us at [mailto:support@hpc.ucalgary.ca support@hpc.ucalgary.ca] and we will assist you in using this service to support your research goals.


Please refer to the [[CloudStack User Guide]] for details on using CloudStack.
== Getting access to CloudStack ==
If you are a researcher or principal investigator, please review our [[CloudStack End User Agreement]] and then request a CloudStack account through [https://ucalgary.service-now.com/it?id=sc_cat_item&sys_id=e3c1d6e91be48554cca5ecefbd4bcb6c Service Now].


==Availability==
Once your account is ready, please refer to the [[CloudStack User Guide]] for details on using CloudStack.
CloudStack is available now to any PI at the University of Calgary.


==Requesting Access==
__NOTOC__
Requests to use CloudStack are done through [https://ucalgary.service-now.com/it?id=sc_cat_item&sys_id=e3c1d6e91be48554cca5ecefbd4bcb6c Service Now].


==End User Agreement==
[[Category:CloudStack]]
Please read the [[CloudStack End User Agreement]] before using this service.
{{Navbox CloudStack}}
 
=Please Note=
 
CloudStack is a research environment and is supported as such.
 
Researchers have a great degree of freedom in how they use CloudStack and they are solely responsible for maintaining any VMs they deploy. The expectation is that the owners of the VMs will be patching and doing other maintenance work on a regular basis.  We will be more than happy to provide guidance on this process.  Contact us at [mailto:support@hpc.ucalgary.ca support@hpc.ucalgary.ca] for details.

Latest revision as of 20:50, 21 September 2023

Apache CloudStack is an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering that allows researchers to quickly deploy virtual machines for research projects. This service is part of Research Computing Services' Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) and is free for all University of Calgary researchers and principal investigators.

Use cases

CloudStack allows you to create virtual machines for a wide range of workloads and use cases, including:

  • Running an internal or public facing web site
  • Running a database
  • Experiment with new software tools
  • Test out the latest release of a software package

Please note that CloudStack is offered as a research environment and is supported as such. For workloads that demand high availability and high uptime, this may not be the appropriate choice. Researchers are solely responsible for maintaining any VMs they deploy. The expectation is that the owners of the VMs will be patching and doing other maintenance work on a regular basis. We will be more than happy to provide guidance on this process.

Contact us at support@hpc.ucalgary.ca for details.

Differences between RCS HPC and CloudStack

There are some overlaps between the CloudStack offering and our existing High Performance Computing (HPC) cluster environment.

RCS HPC Cluster CloudStack
CPU intensive workloads Yes; 48 CPUs per node, 100's of nodes No; 1-8 CPUs per VM
Memory intensive workloads Yes; up to 2TB memory per node No; up to 32GB memory per VM
High storage requirement workloads Yes; shared multi-petabyte storage No; up to 1TB per account
Data classification Level 1 & 2 (ARC), Level 3 & 4 (MARC) Level 1 & 2 only
Customized software requirements Yes; use singularity containers Yes
Custom OS configuration No Yes
Persistent software or services No; time limited jobs only Yes
Managed environment Yes No; self managed VMs only
Research support by analysts Yes Limited

Not sure if you need a virtual machine or a compute cluster? Is this the "Cloud"? Contact us at support@hpc.ucalgary.ca and we will assist you in using this service to support your research goals.

Getting access to CloudStack

If you are a researcher or principal investigator, please review our CloudStack End User Agreement and then request a CloudStack account through Service Now.

Once your account is ready, please refer to the CloudStack User Guide for details on using CloudStack.