nicis: stepping stones to a cyberinfrastructure commons
TRANSCRIPT
NICIS: Stepping stone to a SA Cyberinfrastructure Commons?
Bruce Becker, SANREN Competency Area,
Meraka Institute, [email protected]
CHAIN REDS ConferenceOpen Science at the Global Scale:
Sharing e-Infrastructures, Sharing Knowledge, Sharing Progress
20150331
15/03/31 CHAIN-REDS Final Conference 1
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Outline
● “The” Commons ? Some commons...● What is this “Open” you speak of ?
● What is Open ? ● What is an Open Commons ?
● Systems Thinking for Cyberinfrastructure in South Africa : NICIS
● Implications● For researchers, developers and operators● For the economy● For the region
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Wherefore art thou ?
What does it mean to be a commons ?
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Give me a signal...
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Dear Internet...
… belonging to or affecting the whole of a community
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Hm. Creative Commons ?
http://creativecommons.org/
...helps you shareknowledge and creativity
DevelopsSupportsStewards
DigitalInfrastructure
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Hm. Wikimedia Foundation ?
A database …
to which anyone can contribute
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Hm. Flikr ?
The key goal of The Commons is to share hidden treasures
from the world's public […] archives.
https://www.flickr.com/commons
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Everybody comes from somewhere
Jenny Hallward
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Everybody uses the Commonsin their own way
Jenny Hallward
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
What is a Commons Anyway ?
… belonging to or affecting the whole of a community...
...anyone can contribute...
Share
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
The Commons, Openness and Science
“The more we understand about science and its complexities, the more important it is for scientific data to be shared openly”
http://creativecommons.org/science
“Science == Openness” ?
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Systems Thinking
ORDER ENABLES CREATIVITY
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
(Complex Adaptive)
Systems Thinking
● The number of elements is sufficiently large that conventional descriptions (e.g. a system of differential equations) are not only impractical, but cease to assist in understanding the system. Moreover, the elements interact dynamically, and the interactions can be physical or involve the exchange of information
● Such interactions are rich, i.e. any element or sub-system in the system is affected by and affects several other elements or sub-systems
● The interactions are non-linear: small changes in inputs, physical interactions or stimuli can cause large effects or very significant changes in outputs
● Interactions are primarily but not exclusively with immediate neighbours and the nature of the influence is modulated
● Any interaction can feed back onto itself directly or after a number of intervening stages. Such feedback can vary in quality. This is known as recurrency
● Such systems may be open and it may be difficult or impossible to define system boundaries● Complex systems operate under far from equilibrium conditions. There has to be a constant flow of
energy to maintain the organization of the system● Complex systems have a history. They evolve and their past is co-responsible for their present behaviour● Elements in the system may be ignorant of the behaviour of the system as a whole, responding only
to the information or physical stimuli available to them locally
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
The National Integrated Cyberinfrastructure System
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
VISION: national leadership in the provision of a comprehensive Cyber-Infrastructure, essential to 21st century advances for South African research, education and innovation.MISSION: increase knowledge creation through provision of a national platform of essential Cyber-Infrastructure.
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PRINCIPLES• Joint planning and budgeting• Good governance • Visibility of CI services • Sustainability • Constructive stakeholder
engagementNICIS: TIER 1
Advanced Services
Governance
Strategy AdvisoryBoard
Senior Management
User and Community Inputs
NICIS: A System for Cyberinfrastructure
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
15/03/31 CHAIN-REDS
18
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NICIS Components: Network
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
15/03/31 CHAIN-REDS 19
NICIS Recommendation: CHPC in essentially its current form should take on the role of the Computing Services area, with some changes to its mandate.
NICIS Components: Compute
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
NICIS Components: Data
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Nice kit ! ... What about the people ?
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
“Nous sommes tous de jeunes barbaresque nos jouets neufs émerveillent encore.”
- A. de Saint-Exupery“Terre des Hommes”
Une Terre Pour Toushttp://aaroc.github.io/blog/2014/11/26/Terre-des-hackers
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
La verité pour l’un, fût de bâtir, […] elle est, pour l’autre, de l’habiter.
Pour le colonial qui fonde un empire, le sens de la vie est de conquérir. Le soldat meprise le colon, mais le but de cette conquete n’etait-il pas l’etablissement de ce colon ? […]
Le Colon et le Soldat
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Nous étions autrefois en contact avec une usine compliquée […]Au delà de l’outil, et à travers lui, c’est la vielle nature que nous retrouvons, celle du jardinier, du navigateur, ou du poète.
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Open Commons as Exchanges
● Interoperability: ● Develop standard interfaces to common services● Coordination of OLAs and SLAs to provide coordinated operations
● Core services to support 3rd party and community contribution● Accounting● Monitoring● Identity and Service Federation
● Specialisation and Skills● Re-Use : Develop “Building Blocks” and donate them to the commons● Reward Structures : Make it worth the while to do things for the long-
run
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Implications for … “Commoners”
Educators
Researchers
Developers
Operators
http://brucellino.github.io/blog/2015/02/24/ECommonsStrategy/
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Implications: Teaching and Research
● Teaching and Research in the same environment● Path to scale from university or group resources
to national or regional infrastructure● Skills developed throughout, fed back into the
commons● The use of the commons becomes part of standard
practice in teaching and research● The commons is assured of new ideas, skills and
stimulus.
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Fork my Science
● Science faces a reproducibility crisis:http://www.nature.com/nature/focus/reproducibility/
● Scientific output is the result of Data, Algorithms, Applications, Workflows – and interpretation
● Reproducible science:● Discoverable● Citable● Executable● Accessible
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Fork my Infrastructure
● Big science often requires and builds it's own infrastructure
● LHC, SKA, CORDIS, H3ABioNet● Often developed entirely in parallel to “national” infrastructure
● Often new techniques and technologies are invented in these large projects
● Are they shared, improved and supplemented with other players in the commons ?
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Fork my Infrastructure
● Operations, best practices encoded● Open Infrastructure means Open Code
● https://github.com/AAROC/DevOps● Everything = Code● You can test, validate, reproduce research
infrastructure
buildbuild passingpassing
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Implications for the economy
● Where will all the Ph.D.s go ? ● An Open Commons means expertise can cross
boundaries● Technical (tools, applications, methodologies)● Institutional (cross-cutting, collaborative activities)
● Private and public enterprise using the same infrastructure
● standardisation around a common set of tools● Innovation of new services with-reusable components
● People develop transferrable skills
ResearchSoftwareEngineer
InfrastructureArchitect(DevOps)
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Implications for the Region
● Is NICIS a Commons ? ● No. It can become aspects of one, particularly bringing
order.● Is there a Regional Commons ?
● No. There is an embryonic regional infrastructure● EGI.eu / FedCloud provides a very good reference case
● What's taking you so long ? ● The lack of order and coordination● The erosion of the commons
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Conclusions
Bruce Becker | [email protected] | CSIR | CHAIN-REDS Final Conference | 31/03/2015
Conclusions
● A Commons allows sharing, and community development● Specialisation and markets can emerge
● Cyberinfrastructure is a complex undertaking● It needs to be addressed as a system● Placing the right constraints on it can make it work
● Cyberinfrastructure is expensive – but also cross-cutting● Open exchanges create lively ecosystems
● Cyberinfrastructure is public ● Openness, accountability, transparency and constituency are
crucial to its success