Creating Apptainer Workflows with Docker-Compose-like Utilities

Conference · Mon May 05 00:00:00 EDT 2025

OSTI ID:3029081

Biggs, Brandon S ^[1]

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1. Idaho National Laboratory

Creating Apptainer Workflows with Docker-Compose-like Utilities In this presentation, I will explore the utilization of a tool called process-compose, inspired by docker-compose, to create Apptainer-based services. This approach allows for easy deployment and management of fully containerized applications on High Performance Computing (HPC) systems without requiring elevated privileges. Benefits to the Ecosystem: By incorporating process-compose and Apptainer, I aim to address several key challenges in the HPC ecosystem: Simplified Workflow Management: Process-compose provides a user-friendly interface for defining and managing complex containerized application services, reducing the setup time and lowering the barrier to entry for new users. Enhanced Portability: Apptainer ensures that containerized applications can run consistently across different HPC environments, promoting greater portability and reducing compatibility issues. Process-compose is also a single binary that does not need to be installed by admin level users. Community Driven Solutions: This approach aligns with the goals of the High Performance Software Foundation (HPSF) to advance community-driven solutions. By sharing our experiences and insights, I hope to foster collaboration and innovation within the HPC community. Increased Productivity: The combination of process-compose and Apptainer streamlines the serve deployment process, allowing researchers and developers to focus more on their scientific work rather than the intricacies of system or service administration. Through this presentation, attendees will gain valuable insights into the practical implementation of containerized workflows on HPC systems, learn about the benefits of using process-compose and Apptainer, and understand how these tools can contribute to a more efficient HPC ecosystem.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Nuclear Reactor Technologies (NE-7)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 3029081
• Report Number(s): INL/CON-25-84339
• Resource Type: Conference proceedings
• Conference Information: High Performance Software Foundation (HPSF) Conference 25, Chicago, Illinois, 05/05/2025 - 05/08/2025
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING
apptainer
hpc
linux
workflow