Barcelona, eScience and cloud computing
02 June 2010
The Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC) is taking part in a pioneering EU Framework Programme 7 project on cloud computing , Venus-C - a project that aims to foster the development of a cloud computing platform based on virtualisation technologies not for individuals, but for industry and the scientific community.

This is a sub-article of: Barcelona and the future for the cloud (click to read)
This project aims to foster the development of a cloud computing platform based on virtualisation technologies not for individuals, but for industry and the scientific community.
Several research communities across Europe, such as particle physicists or molecular biologists, are turning to eScience, sharing data and computing resources with grid and supercomputing technology. But these infrastructures are high-maintenance and not easy to sustain. Venus-C aims to incorporate virtualisation technologies with the goal of reducing the computing costs of eScience.
In addition, the BSC is leading the Venus-C programming model task. “We are adapting our GRID programming model to enable the development of applications that could exploit the Venus-C platform,” explains Badia.
Another goal of the project, which will finish in 2013, is to develop a toolkit to allow distributed computing infrastructures to provide their existing infrastructures as a cheaper service to the Venus-C user. The BSC’s EMOTIVE Cloud will be the testing ground to study the integration of the Venus-C platform with private clouds.