EGI-ACE

EGI-ACE
Name	EGI-ACE
Established	2021
Type	Research infrastructure
Focus	Advanced computing and federated services
Headquarters	Amsterdam
Region served	Europe
Parent organization	EGI Federation

EGI-ACE EGI-ACE is a European initiative to provide advanced computing environments and federated digital services for research communities across Europe. It builds on collaborations among pan-European organizations such as European Commission, CERN, European Space Agency, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and national research infrastructures like SURF and CINECA. The project aligns with broader research policies exemplified by Horizon Europe and interoperates with infrastructures including EOSC and PRACE.

Overview

EGI-ACE was launched to accelerate access to high-throughput computing, cloud resources, and data management for scientific projects spanning fields represented by European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Max Planck Society, Institut Pasteur, University of Cambridge, and Sorbonne University. It integrates services provided by providers such as Deutsche Telekom, Orange S.A., and national research and education networks like GÉANT and RedIRIS. The initiative situates itself among technology ecosystems involving OpenStack, Kubernetes, Apache Hadoop, and standards promulgated by OGC and W3C.

Objectives and Scope

EGI-ACE aims to deliver scalable compute platforms, federated identity and access, and data stewardship for projects similar to Human Cell Atlas, Square Kilometre Array, Copernicus Programme, LIGO Scientific Collaboration, and IPCC assessments. Core objectives reference interoperability with platforms such as Zenodo, GitHub, Zenodo, and compliance with principles from FAIR Guiding Principles and guidelines from European Data Protection Supervisor. The scope includes supporting disciplines represented by European Research Council grant holders, national consortia like ELIXIR, and thematic initiatives including CLARIN and DARIAH.

Architecture and Components

The architecture comprises federated resource layers, middleware, and user-facing platforms. Compute layers interface with resources from partners such as NORDUnet, SURF, Cancéropôle, PSNC, and commercial clouds like Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure. Middleware layers employ technologies tied to OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, GLUE Schema, and container ecosystems like Docker and CRI-O. Data management components integrate with repositories and catalogues influenced by DataCite, ORCID, and Handle System, and support workflows developed with tools from Nextflow, Snakemake, and Galaxy Project. Monitoring and accounting connect to systems used by EUDAT, PRACE, and ELIXIR for usage reporting.

Implementation and Operations

Operational delivery leverages distributed centres operated by institutions such as INFN, CNRS, CSIC, Rectorado de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and partner commercial providers. Deployment practices follow cloud-native patterns advocated by Cloud Native Computing Foundation projects like Prometheus and Istio and DevOps toolchains involving Jenkins, GitLab, and Ansible. Service orchestration adopts models similar to those used in European Open Science Cloud pilots and integrates authentication federations exemplified by eduGAIN and token services from Keycloak. Capacity planning and resilience draw upon methodologies from ISO/IEC 27001-aligned organisations and operational playbooks used by CERN OpenLab and EMBL-EBI.

Use Cases and Collaborations

EGI-ACE supports use cases across astronomy, life sciences, environmental science, and social sciences, partnering with consortia such as SKA Organisation, ELIXIR, Copernicus, JRC, and projects funded under Horizon 2020. Collaborations include workflow acceleration for groups like Max Planck Institutes using containerised pipelines from Broad Institute, distributed training initiatives with universities including University of Oxford and ETH Zurich, and citizen science interfaces similar to Zooniverse. Cross-border research enabled by EGI-ACE mirrors cooperative ventures like EuroHPC, EIT Digital, and networks of research infrastructures coordinated by European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures.

Governance and Funding

Governance involves stakeholders from national research organisations such as HEFCE, CSIC, FCT (Portugal), and pan-European bodies including European Commission units overseeing research infrastructure funding. The funding model combines grants from programmes like Horizon Europe and Connecting Europe Facility, contributions from member institutions such as CERN and DESY, and service-level agreements with cloud vendors including IBM and Oracle Corporation. Strategic oversight is informed by advisory boards with representation from entities like ERC Scientific Council, GÉANT, and national ministries of science and technology.

Security and Compliance

Security posture aligns with standards and frameworks invoked by ENISA, ISO/IEC 27001, and regulatory regimes such as General Data Protection Regulation and guidance from European Data Protection Board. Identity and access management is federated via eduGAIN and hardened through practices derived from NIST frameworks and incident response playbooks used by CERT-EU and national Computer Emergency Response Teams like CERT-FR and CERT-UK. Data sovereignty, encryption, and audit trails reflect contractual arrangements with cloud providers and compliance requirements imposed by funders including European Research Council and national research councils.

Category:Research infrastructures in Europe