Cloud computing has offered many opportunities for scientific research, allowing for easy scaling and adapting to new software development methods. However, the lack of integration of existing infrastructures and the consequent fragmentation of resources has hindered the broader adoption of these technologies. The INDIGO-DataCloud project developed solutions for implementing a seamless and transparent access to geographically distributed compute and storage resources, including INDIGO IAM and the INDIGO PaaS.
The INFN Cloud infrastructure, inaugurated in 2021, is currently using and extending these solutions to provide a wide range of services for scientific communities. These include data analytics and visualization environments, file sync-and-share solutions, and web-based multi- user interactive development environments, among others. The provisioning and configuration of resources are automated through TOSCA templates and Ansible roles and hidden from final users, who can request services through a user-friendly web portal, APIs or a Commnd Line Interface.
Security is addressed through consistent authentication and authorization rules, secure configurations, and updates. The platform also allows for deployments on private networks and dedicated VPNs.
With its emphasis on ease of use, security, and integration, INFN Cloud represents a significant step forward in supporting scientific research in Italy.