ResearchCloud workshop

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Below are some suggestions for Research-IT support staff to assist new users during their first use of SURF ResearchCloud. While most users will be able to find their bearings using available documentation, you can make the difference to make this a fast, smooth learning curve.

The below steps build upon either other. They minimize the roundtrips that you and users need to wait for SURF ResearchCloud and SRAM services to complete a procedure.

1. (WITH USER) Intake

First, make sure that SURF ResearchCloud is indeed the right solution to the needs of the new user. Will the user benefit from any of the existing workspace configurations? Or are more preparations required?

Give the new user a heads-up: soon they will receive an invitation email from the SRAM system asking them to join a collaboration.

2. Create Collaboration

In SRAM, create a collaboration named after the research project of the user. Add SURF ResearchCloud to the services of the collaboration. Decide if the user should be added as admin of the collaboration or that you will manage collaboration membership for the moment. Invite the user to the collaboration.

Allow 5-10 minutes for SURF ResearchCloud to synchronize with SRAM and pick up the new collaboration information.

3. Create an example workspace with desktop

In SURF ResearchCloud portal, check in your profile that the new collaboration exists. Then create an arbitrary workspace with desktop graphical user interface using this collaboration. This workspace will be used only to allow the new user to experience how to access a workspace.

Creation of a desktop workspace could take 20-30 minutes. Initiate the next steps while the workspace is being created.

4. (WITH USER) Explain SRC and setup user account

Check that the user has been able to join the collaboration. Explain that the user needs a time-based token to login to workspaces. Ask the user to login into the SURF ResearchCloud portal. Explain the dashboard page and show them how they will be able to create a new workspace (catalog) and how they can find and access running workspaces (the access button). Assist them to configure the time-based token as part of their profile.

Test that the user is able to use the time-based token to access the workspace created in step 3. If the workspace is not yet ready for use, then execute step 5 in parallel.

5. (WITH USER) Request wallet

Next guide the user through the portal to request a wallet for use with their project. Explain the purpose of a wallet. To ensure that the wallet is linked to the user account, the user herself needs to request the wallet via the SURF ResearchCloud portal.

Prompt the user for the information needed to make the request (the fields in the request are: subtitle, existing contract, remarks). The subtitle should ideally be an abbrevation of the research project name and the surname of the user. Existing contract field is left empty and in remarks field the user should reference “contact UU for approval”.

Explain the user that at may take a few working days for the wallet request to be processed. Meanwhile they can use the workspace created in step 3 to familiarize themselves with SURF ResearchCloud.

6. (WITH USER) Show how data can be staged into a workspace.

Explain that data in the workspace is not persistent, it will only be available for the duration of the lifetime of the workspace. Hence data needs to be staged to a workspace from a persistent storage location. Likewise the results of analysis need to be transfered back to a persistent storage location.

Assist them to load some sample data from a persistent location. This may involve setting up a data transfer connection. Proceed with one of the steps below in line with needs of the user.

6a. Setup network drive connection to Yoda

(this procedure can also be used to connect a SURF Researchdrive)
Show the user how to use the SURF ResearchCloud portal to link Yoda as an option in the collaboration attributes.

Important: For security reasons, the user should generate a Yoda data access password and use this access token for linking Yoda with a workspace. This feature requires Yoda release 1.8 or higher.

6b. Setup data transfer with Yoda using iCommands

Make sure the workspace type includes iRODS icommands. Show the user how to acces a shell terminal window from within the workspace. Assist them to use the command iselect to connect with a Yoda server. Explain how they can use the iget and iput iRODS commands to transfer data.

6c. Setup ftp or scp commandline data transfer

Assist the user to create a public/private key pair for use with SSH related commands on her own laptop.
Have the user upload the public key and added to her profile in the SRAM web portal.
NB: Allow 5-10 minutes for synchronization of the public key information between SRAM and SURF ResearchCloud.

Test that the user can use the keypair to login to a workspace using the SSH protocol. Alternatively check that the user is able to use another SSH protocol based command, such as sftp.

7. (WITH USER, AFTER WALLET APPROVAL) User creates a workspace

Assist the user to create a new workspace using the SURF ResearchCloud catalog. Explain how pause and resume buttons can be used to stop and restart the workspace during its lifecycle.

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