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In this article we explain how to use OpenIFS 43r3 in a container environment. At present this has been tested in two different ways using Docker on a Linux workstation:

  1. The user works interactively from inside the container and the external experiment directory is mounted as a sub-directory inside the container environment. Depending on the set up the user can either have access to the entire OpenIFS installation inside the container or the user may be prevented from accessing the source code. 
     
  2. The user only works from the experiment directory, and instead of executing the model binary program the OpenIFS run script starts up a container environment wherein the experiment runs in isolation. Immediately after the experiment has completed the container is removed. The user has no access to any part of the model installation. 

Motivation

Setting up the computing environment (the libraries, directory structure, etc) required by OpenIFS can present a challenge when it is necessary to run the model on a different hardware infrastructure, for instance during workshops and training events. It is time consuming to install and compile the model and all of its required software packages. Also, the libraries that are available on the local system may not be compatible with the model requirements.

Many of these issues can be avoided by running a containerised version of the model which is a self-sufficient code package that can be used in a consistent way on different hardware platforms. The computational overhead (the "costs") of the container environment itself is often outweighed by performance increases due to the local availability and the instant access to all required libraries and data within the container.

We have used the Docker platform to produce a container image for OpenIFS. This requires the design of a "Dockerfile" which describes the build process for the model code and all its dependent libraries, and which results in a binary Docker image. This image can be uploaded onto other computers that make use of the Docker platform or which use other compatible software. A “container” is the running instance of the Docker image. 

Pre-compiled OpenIFS Docker images will be stored in a cloud repository from which they can be downloaded and run on any computer that uses the Docker platform without the need to install and compile the model or any additional software. 

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