Blue-sky and the cloud: Container Orchestration for eResearch

The rapid adoption of containerisation is a key trend in cloud computing. Containers offer important benefits such as rapid deployment, isolation, portability, scaling, and improved resource and lifecycle management. They allow eResearch service providers to respond iteratively and flexibly as new and interesting research directions arise. Workloads can also be scaled to match research demand at each phase of the project. The ARDC Nectar Research Cloud is an invaluable resource for Australian researchers, with universities providing significant co-investments in recognition of its role as an enabler for national research collaboration. Nectar s Kubernetes as a Container Orchestration Engine (COE) service has advanced to the point that service providers can now deliver the benefits of containerisation for eResearch applications. Adopting containerisation helps organisations harness the full potential of their cloud investment. Containerisation also presents challenges, with the initial steepness of the learning curve a common barrier. Using a container orchestration service, such as Nectar COE, provides a simplified way to build the basic infrastructure needed to get started. Cloud providers may also offer help starting out, such as ARDC s consultation and support service. In addition, the Kubernetes ecosystem is supported by a very large and active community. We present some examples of eResearch applications and the demonstrated benefits of a containerised approach, based on our experiences using Nectar COE. We describe a suite of open-source tools that support deployment and management processes, provide monitoring and logging capabilities, and offer community-driven support, ensuring a solid framework for advancing research initiatives.