CVMFS is a scalable remote filesystem service that provides read-only access to remotely hosted filesystems. It is used in the Open Science Grid, Compute Canada, and Galaxy communities.
At present, XSEDE does not provide a service for hosting CVMFS repositories. When CvMFS is used on XSEDE resources, the repositories are hosted by Open Science Grid, Compute Canada, or the research community itself (e.g., Galaxy). Hosting a repository requires a robust IT support team, which puts it beyond the abilities of many research teams who would otherwise find CVFMS valuable in their research computing work.
This activity is to create a new XSEDE capability for hosting CVMFS repositories on behalf of research teams that use XSEDE resources. The goal is to provide a new option for research teams that would like to use CVMFS in their work: have XSEDE host the repository(ies) they use.
As a "new capability" activity, the following elements should be included in the plan:
- A design document explaining what the capability is, what the user experience should be, and how it will be implemented in XSEDE.
- A design & security review, in which important support and security issues are raised and resolved.
- Development of new XSEDE documentation, software packages or installers, and support processes as detailed in the design document.
- Additions to XSEDE's software & services registry and other information services for tracking deployment and status of the new capability.
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