Containerization for scientific computing and infrastructure

12 May 2025, 14:00 → 14 May 2025, 13:30 UTC

Aula didattica 1 (Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino - Planetario)

Overview

USC-c organizes an in-person training course (with limited possibility of following remotely) on software containerization.

Software containerization is becoming a de facto standard for software management, helping to mitigate the so-called “dependency hell” and significantly improve reproducibility. This course will introduce the fundamentals of software containerization, along with more advanced concepts relevant to both scientific computing and IT services.

On the first day, following an introduction to software containerization, we will explore the container ecosystem and related tools such as Docker, Singularity/Apptainer, Podman, Docker Compose, and others, followed by setting up the work environment using Docker.

The morning of the second day will be dedicated to hands-on practice. In the afternoon, we will introduce Kubernetes, a powerful tool for infrastructure orchestration, along with ArgoCD, and demonstrate a single-node setup.

The third and final day will include another hands-on session, focused on addressing real-world scenarios, followed by conclusions and key take-home messages.

Hands-on will come in two flavours, one more oriented towards scientific computing, and the other more oriented towards IT services and infrastructure.

Participation

The course is free of charge and it is limited to 40 people.

The expenses for lunch of tuesday 13th and coffee breaks are free of charge.

In-person attendance is strongly recommended, in line with the meeting's spirit, easing interactions and opportunities for asking questions. Remote attendance is available for the talk sessions only and no remote interactions are allowed.

Please note that hands on session will only be given for people in presence.

We encourage individuals to register (no fee is due) using this Indico page  before May 1st 2025, and select their preferred mode of attendance (in-person or remote) by checking the appropriate box.

In case of exceeding the maximum in-person threshold of participants, the following selection criteria will be applied:

• Ph.D. students and young researchers
• declared need for participation / training urgency;
• order of registration.

 

Information about remote connection will appear here before the starting of the course.

Lectures

Stefano Alberto Russo

Ruggero Lot

 

Max Number of Participants

This event is limited to 40 participants in person.

 

Registration deadline

30 Aprile 5 Maggio 2025

Venue

Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino - Planetario (INFINI.TO)

aula didattica 1 / floor -2

via Osservatorio 30 - Pino Torinese -Torino

 

SOC/LOC

INAF Unità Scientifica Centrale 8 Computing

Deborah Busonero

Giuliano Taffoni

Andrea Possenti

 

Logistics

Welcome at 2pm May 12th floor 0, Planetario (INFINI.TO) entrance.

 

A shuttle service is scheduled at 8:45 for the last uphill stretch from Pino Torinese to the Osservatorio and back at the end of the day, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

There is no shuttle service scheduled for Monday due to logistical issues.
If you have trouble walking the last uphill stretch to the Observatory, please let us know and we will arrange a solution.

 

 

 

Monday 12 May

14:15 → 16:00 Session 1: Introduction to software containerization

16:00 → 16:30 Coffee break

16:30 → 18:00 Session 2: Container ecosystem and environment setup

Tuesday 13 May

09:00 → 10:45 Session 3: Hands-on

10:45 → 11:15 Coffee break

11:15 → 13:00 Session 4: Hands-on

13:00 → 14:30 Lunch break

14:30 → 16:00 Session 5: Container infrastructure orchestration: Kubernetes

16:00 → 16:30 Coffee break

16:30 → 18:00 Session 6: Kubernetes objects, AgoCD and single-node setup

Wednesday 14 May

09:00 → 10:45 Session 7: Hands-on

10:45 → 11:15 Coffee break

11:15 → 12:30 Session 8: Hands-on

12:30 → 13:00 Conclusions: Take home messages