High Performance Computing (HPC), in which clusters of machines work together as one supercomputer, is changing the way we live and how we work. These clusters of CPU, memory, accelerators, and other resources help us forecast the weather and understand climate change, understand diseases, design new drugs and therapies, develop safe cars and planes, improve solar panels, and even simulate life and the evolution of the universe itself. The cluster architecture model that makes this compute-intensive research possible is also well suited for high performance data analytics (HPDA) and developing machine learning  models. With the Big Data era in full swing and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) gold rush underway, we have seen marketing teams with their own Hadoop clusters attempting to transition to HPDA and finance teams managing their own GPU farms. Everyone has the same goals: to gain new, better insights faster by using HPDA and by developing advanced machine learning models using techniques such as deep learning  and reinforcement learning. Today, everyone has a use for their own high-performance computing cluster. It’s the age of the clusters!

Today's AI-driven IT Headache: Siloed Clusters and Cluster Sprawl

Unfortunately, cluster sprawl has taken over our data centers and consumes inordinate amounts of IT resources. Large research organizations and businesses have a cluster for this and a cluster for that. Perhaps each group has a little “sandbox” cluster, or each type of workload has a different cluster. Many of these clusters look remarkably similar, but they each need a dedicated system administrator (or set of administrators), have different authorization credentials, different operating models, and sit in different racks in your data center. What if there was a way to bring them all together?

That’s why Dell Technologies started the Omnia project.

The Omnia Project

The Omnia project is an open-source initiative with a simple aim: To make consolidated infrastructure easy and painless to deploy using open open source and free use software. By bringing the best open source software tools together with the domain expertise of Dell Technologies' HPC & AI Innovation Lab, HPC & AI Centers of Excellence, and the broader HPC Community, Omnia gives customers decades of accumulated expertise in deploying state-of-the-art systems for HPC, AI, and Data Analytics – all in a set of easily executable Ansible playbooks. In a single day, a stack of servers, networking switches, and storage arrays can be transformed into one consolidated cluster for running all your HPC, AI, and Data Analytics workloads.Omnia project logo

Before we go through the process of building something from scratch, we will make sure there isn’t already a community actively maintaining that toolset. We’d rather leverage others' great work than reinvent the wheel.

Omnia installs software from various repositories, or compiles from source if appropriate, to create a cohesive software stack for doing parallel data analytics, AI, and simulation/modeling workloads on the same high performance infrastructure

Inclusive by Nature

Omnia’s contribution philosophy is inclusivity. From code and documentation updates to feature requests and bug reports, every user’s contributions are welcomed with open arms. We provide an open forum for conversations about feature ideas and potential implementation solutions, making use of issue threads on GitHub. And as the project grows and expands, we expect the technical governance committee to grow to include the top contributors and stakeholders from the community.

What's Next?

Omnia is just getting started. Right now, we can easily deploy Slurm and Kubernetes clusters from a stack of pre-provisioned, pre-networked servers, but our aim is higher than that. We are currently adding capabilities for performing bare-metal provisioning and supporting new and varying types of accelerators. In the future, we want to collect information from the iDRAC out-of-band management system on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers, configure Dell EMC PowerSwitch Ethernet switches, and much more.

What does the future hold? While we have plans in the near-term for additional feature integrations, we are looking to partner with the community to define and develop future integrations. Omnia will grow and develop based on community feedback and your contributions. In the end, the Omnia project will not only install and configure the open source software we at Dell Technologies think is important, but the software you – the community – want it to, as well! We can’t think of a better way for our customers to be able to easily setup clusters for HPC, AI, and HPDA workloads, all while leveraging the expertise of the entire Dell Technologies' HPC Community.

Omnia is available today on GitHub at https://github.com/dellhpc/omnia. Join the community now and help guide the design and development of the next generation of open-source consolidated cluster deployment tools!

The Opportunity

Containers are a lightweight, stand-alone, executable package of software that includes everything that is needed to run an application: code, runtime, system tools, system libraries, and settings. A container isolates software from its environment and ensures that it works uniformly despite any differences between development and staging. Containers share the machine’s operating system kernel and do not require an operating system for each application, driving higher server efficiencies and reducing server and licensing costs.

The traditional build process for database application development is complex, time intensive and difficult to schedule. With containers and the right supporting tools, the traditional build process is transformed into a self-service, on-demand experience that enables developers to rapidly deploy applications. In the remaining sections of this article we describe how to develop the capability to have an Oracle database container running in a matter of minutes.

Oracle has a long commitment to supporting the developer communities working in containerized environments.  At the DockerCon US event in April 2017, Oracle announced that its Oracle 12c database software application would be available alongside of other Oracle products on Docker Store, the standard for dev-ops developers. Dev-ops developers have pulled over four billion images from the Docker Store and are increasingly turning to the Docker Store as the canonical source for high-quality curated content.  In the present-day database world, customers are invariably switching to the use of containers with Kubernetes management to build and run a wide variety of applications and services in a highly available on-premises hosted environment.

Containerized environments can reliably offer high-performance compute, storage and network capabilities with the necessary configurations.  A containerized environment also reduces overhead costs by providing a repeatable process for application deployment across build, test, and production systems. To enable the deployment and management of containerized applications, organizations use Kubernetes technologies to operate at any scale including production. Kubernetes enables powerful collaboration and workflow management capabilities by deploying containers for cloud-native, distributed applications and microservices.  It even allows you to repackage legacy applications for increased portability, more efficient deployment, and improved customer and employee engagement.

Figure 1: Docker containers for reducing development complexity 

The Solution

For many companies, to boost productivity and time to value, container usage starts with the departments that are focused on software development. Their journey typically starts with installing, implementing, and using containers for applications that are based on the microservice architecture as shown in Figure 2.  Developers want to be able to build microservices-based container applications without changing code or infrastructure.  

This approach enables portability between data centers and obviates the need for changes in traditional applications enabling faster development and deployment cycles. Oracle Docker containers run the microservices while Kubernetes is used for container orchestration. Also, the microservices running within Docker containers can communicate with the Oracle databases by using messaging services.

Figure 2: Architecture for Oracle Database featuring Docker and Kubernetes 

Using orchestration and automation for containerized applications, developers can self-provision an Oracle database, thereby increasing flexibility and productivity while saving substantial time in creating a production copy for development and testing environments.  This solution enables development teams to quickly provision isolated applications without the traditional complexities. 

Our Dell EMC engineers recently tested and validated  a solution for Oracle database using Docker containers and Kubernetes. The solution uses Oracle Database in containers, Kubernetes, and the Container Storage Interface (CSI) Driver for Dell EMC PowerFlex OS to show how dev/ops teams can transform their development processes.

Dell EMC engineers demonstrated two use cases for this solution.  Both of our use cases feature four Dell EMC PowerEdge R640 servers, which are an integral part of Dell EMC VxFlex Ready Nodes, and a CSI Driver for Dell EMC PowerFlex that were hosted in our DellEMC labs.

Use Case 1

In use case 1, the DellEMC engineers manually provisioned the container-based development and testing environment shown in Figure 3 as follows:

1. Install Docker.
2. Activate the Docker Enterprise Edition-License.
3. Run the Oracle 12c database within the Docker container.
4. Build and run the Oracle 19c database in the Docker container.
5. Import the sample Oracle schemas that are pulled from GitHub into the Oracle 12c and 19c database.
6. Install Oracle SQL Developer and query tables from the container to demonstrate that the connection from Oracle SQL Developer to Oracle database functions.
   
   

Figure 3: Use Case 1 - Architecture 

The key benefit of our first use case was the time that we saved by using Docker containers instead of the traditional manual installation and configuration method of building a typical Oracle database environment. Use Case 1 planning also demonstrated the importance of selecting the Docker registry location and storage provisioning options that are most appropriate for the requirements of a typical development and testing environment.

Use Case 2

Use Case 2 demonstrates the value of CSI plug-in integration with Kubernetes and Dell EMC Power Flex storage to automate storage configuration. Kubernetes orchestration with PowerFlex provides a container deployment strategy with persistent storage. It demonstrates the ease, simplicity, and speed in scaling out a development and testing environment from production Oracle databases. In this use case, a developer provisions the Oracle database in containers on the same infrastructure described in Use Case 1 only this time using Kubernetes with the CSI Driver for Dell EMC PowerFlex. Figure 4 depicts the detailed architecture of Use Case 2.

Figure 4. Use Case 2 – Architecture 

Use Case 2 demonstrates how Docker, Kubernetes, and the CSI Driver for Dell EMC PowerFlex accelerate the development life cycle for Oracle applications. Kubernetes configured with the CSI Driver for Dell EMC VxFlex OS simplified and automated the provisioning and removal of containers with persistent storage.  Engineers used yaml configuration files along with the kubectl command to quickly deploy and delete containers and complete pods. Our solution demonstrates that developers can provision Oracle databases in containers without the complexities that are associated with installing the database and provisioning storage.

Use Case Observations and Benefits

Adding Kubernetes container orchestration is an essential addition for database developers on a containerized development journey. Automation becomes essential with the expansion of containerized application deployments. In this case, it enabled our developers to bypass the complexities that are associated with plain scripting.  Instead, our solution uses open source Kubernetes to accomplish the developer’s objectives. The CSI plug-in integrates with Kubernetes and exposes the capabilities of the Dell EMC PowerFlex storage system, enabling the developer to:

• Take a snapshot of the Oracle database, including the sample schema that was pulled from the GitHub site.
• Protect the work of the existing Oracle database, which was changed before taking the snapshot. We can protect any state. Use the CSI plug-in Driver for Dell EMC PowerFlex OS to create a snapshot that is installed in Kubernetes to provide persistent storage.
• Restore an Oracle 19c database to its pre-deletion state using a snapshot, even after removing the containers and the attached storage.

In our second use case, using Kubernetes combined with the CSI Driver for DellEMC PowerFlex OS simplified and automated the provisioning and removal of containers and storage. In this use case, we used yaml files along with the kubectl command to deploy and delete the containers and pods. All these components facilitate the automation of the container hosting the Oracle database on the top of PowerFlex.

Kubernetes, enhanced with the CSI Driver for Dell EMC VxFlex OS, provides the capability to attach and manage Dell EMC VxFlex OS storage system volumes to containerized applications. Our developers worked with a familiar Kubernetes interface to modify a copy of Oracle database schema gathered from the Github repository database and connect it to the Oracle database container. After modifying the database, the developer protected all progress by using the snapshot feature of Dell EMC VxFlex OS storage system and creating a point-in-time copy of the database.

Comparing Use Case 1 to Use Case 2 demonstrated how we can easily shift away from the complexities of scripting and using the command line to implement a self-service model that accelerates container management. The move to a self-service model, which increases developer productivity by removing bottlenecks, becomes increasingly important as the Docker container environment grows.

Summary

The power of containers and automation show how tasks that traditionally required multiple roles—developers and others working with the storage and database administrators - can be simplified. Kubernetes with the CSI plug-in enables developers and others to do more in less time and with fewer complexities. The time savings means that coding projects can be completed faster, benefiting both the developers and the business-side employees and customers. Overall, the key benefit shown in comparing our two use cases was the transformation from a manually managed container environment to an orchestrated system with more capabilities.

Innovation drives transformation. In the case of Docker containers and Kubernetes, the key benefit is a shift to rapid application deployment services. Oracle and many others have embraced containers and provide images of applications, such as for the Oracle 12c database, that can be deployed in days and instantiated in seconds. Installations and other repetitive tasks are replaced with packaged applications that enable the developer to work quickly in the database. The ease of using Docker and Kubernetes, combined with rapid provisioning of persistent storage, transforms development by removing wait time and enabling the developer to move closer to the speed of thought.

The addition of the Kubernetes orchestration system and the CSI Driver for Dell EMC VxFlex OS brings a rich user interface that simplifies provisioning containers and persistent storage. In our testing, we found that Kubernetes plus the CSI Driver for Dell EMC VxFlex OS enabled developers to provision containerized applications with persistent storage. This solution features point-and-click simplicity and frees valuable time so that the storage administrator can focus on business-critical tasks.