WorkShop07_VirtualMachines

Virtualization for BOINC (client and server side)

Strong consensus that this technology has great value for:

• uniformity of execution environment
• isolation / security
• checkpointing

On client side, lively discussion occurred on implementation details, partly driven by different priorities for network access, use of free software, etc. Approaches require different amounts of modification to BOINC and/or to applications. Collaborations established between some participants to share experiences. CERN work is documented at: https://twiki.cern.ch/twiki/bin/view/LHCAtHome/BOINCAndAtlas

On server side, agreed to formally request BOINC to update the VMWare server image every x months (x = 3 ?) and provide a guide to its use as a testbed for relatively inexperienced users, on Linux, Windows and MacOSX.