In computer science, monitoring and accounting involve tracking and managing the usage of system resources in IT environments by users, applications, or processes. In this context, monitoring and accounting mechanisms have been designed and implemented within the INFN Cloud infrastructure, a private cloud offering INFN users a comprehensive and integrated set of cloud services, and within DARE, a European project aimed at managing sensitive data and developing solutions for population surveillance, prevention, health promotion, and security. Due to its distributed nature, INFN Cloud leverages a network of geographically dispersed data centers across Italy, introducing additional challenges in monitoring and accounting. When a user from a specific community requests a cloud service, computational resources are allocated to the data center best suited to meet the user’s requirements, based on predefined criteria such as resource availability. In the context of DARE, and in projects involving sensitive data more generally, these methods are both beneficial and essential for ensuring comprehensive control over infrastructure activities.

This presentation provides an overview of the monitoring and accounting architecture developed and implemented within the INFN Cloud and DARE infrastructure, with a focus on the methods
employed for generating, collecting, and analyzing relevant data. The proposed approach not only enhances operational efficiency but also offers a scalable model suitable for distributed cloud
infrastructures.