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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Water Management and Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #306848
Title: Model-as-a-service (MaaS) using the cloud service innovation platform (CSIP)

Author
item OLAF, DAVID - Colorad0 State University
item LLOYD, WES - Colorad0 State University
item ROJAS, KEN - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)
item ARABI, MAZDAK - Colorad0 State University
item GETER, FRANK - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)
item Ascough Ii, James
item Green, Timothy
item LEAVESLEY, GEORGE - Colorad0 State University
item CARLSON, JACK - Colorad0 State University

Submitted to: Environmental Modeling International Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/18/2014
Publication Date: 6/21/2014
Citation: Olaf, D., Lloyd, W., Rojas, K.W., Arabi, M., Geter, F.W., Ascough II, J.C., Green, T.R., Leavesley, G.H., Carlson, J.R. 2014. Model-as-a-service (MaaS) using the cloud service innovation platform (CSIP). Environmental Modeling International Conference Proceedings. Available: http://www.iemss.org/sites/iemss2014/papers/iemss2014_submission_314.pdf.

Interpretive Summary: This paper presents the Cloud Services Innovation Platform (CSIP) as a software framework offering “Model-as-a-Service” (MaaS). It describes both the internal CSIP infrastructure and software architecture that manages cloud resources for typical modelling tasks, and the use of CSIP's “ModelServices” API for a modelling application. CSIP's architecture supports fast and resource aware auto-scaling of computational resources. An example model service is presented: the USDA hydrograph model EFH2 used in the desktop-based “engineering field tools” is deployed as a CSIP service. This and other MaaS CSIP examples benefit from the use of cloud resources to enable straightforward scalable model deployment into cloud environments.

Technical Abstract: Cloud infrastructures for modelling activities such as data processing, performing environmental simulations, or conducting model calibrations/optimizations provide a cost effective alternative to traditional high performance computing approaches. Cloud-based modelling examples emerged into the more formal notion: “Model-as-a-Service” (MaaS). This paper presents the Cloud Services Innovation Platform (CSIP) as a software framework offering MaaS. It describes both the internal CSIP infrastructure and software architecture that manages cloud resources for typical modelling tasks, and the use of CSIP's “ModelServices” API for a modelling application. CSIP's architecture supports fast and resource aware auto-scaling of computational resources. An example model service is presented: the USDA hydrograph model EFH2 used in the desktop-based “engineering field tools” is deployed as a CSIP service. This and other MaaS CSIP examples benefit from the use of cloud resources to enable straightforward scalable model deployment into cloud environments.