MIT SuperCloud Portal Workspace: Enabling HPC Web Application Deployment

Abstract

The MIT SuperCloud Portal Workspace enables the secure exposure of web services running on high performance computing (HPC) systems. The portal allows users to run any web application as an HPC job and access it from their workstation while providing authentication, encryption, and access control at the system level to prevent unintended access. This capability permits users to seamlessly utilize existing and emerging tools that present their user interface as a website on an HPC system creating a portal workspace. Performance measurements indicate that the MIT SuperCloud Portal Workspace incurs marginal overhead when compared to a direct connection of the same service.