DIRAC Integration with Cloud Stack

Grid is one option that researchers are already using to submit their scientific simulations. Several organizations such as CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) or EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory) are currently using grid in order to run a large part of their simulation jobs. Nowadays the increasing availability of cloud resources its making the scientific community to shift focus from grid to cloud as a way that will allow them to extend the pool of resources where they can run their jobs. Unfortunately running scientific jobs in the cloud usually requires to start again from the beginning and learn how to use new interfaces. CERN's LHCb experiment has developed a software framework called DIRAC (Distributed Infrastructure with Remote Agent Control) which provides researchers with the perfect environment for running their jobs and get the results through a browser. Cloud Stack is an open source cloud platform, now owned by Citrix Systems, that allows building any type of cloud including public, private, and hybrid. It is the cloud management software selected in the FORMIGA CLOUD project to manage non-dedicated computer lab resources belonging to different Spanish universities. This article explains the work involved in the integration between Cloud Stack and the grid framework DIRAC. This integration will allow users to use cloud resources transparently through a common interface.