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Delft-FEWS Software: A cloud agnostic approach
Delft-FEWS components are being deployed on many different architectures and hardware. A considerable amount of Delft-FEWS users use an IT infrastructure with virtual machines. The usual goal of virtualization is to centralize administrative tasks while improving scalability and overall hardware-resource utilization. When organizations are in the initial stage of (re-)defining their IT infrastructure, it is commonly recognized that after virtualization, containerization is the next logical step in the evolution of IT infrastructure. It will remain possible to install Delft-FEWS on on-premise hardware, or in virtual machines. Delft-FEWS system installation on regular hardware / VMS is currently done by organizing a central database, installing RPMs / MSIs / unzipping the binaries, setting OS environment variables and starting a launcher service. For installation in Kubernetes this is not going to be much different. Usually this is controlled using data driven yaml / json configuration files to apply the needed actions.
| component | cloud readiness status | Room for improvements |
|---|---|---|
| Database | Both db docker containers as well as managed instances are already possible. Managed instances require minor adjustments of the db scripts. | Support one set of database scripts for all db flavors managed and unmanaged. |
Master Controller | Yes | Enable service replication |
Admin Interface | Yes | |
Operator Client / SA | Use Azure Virtual Desktop or Database proxy | |
Config Manager | Use Azure Virtual Desktop or Database proxy or API | |
Forecasting Shell Server | Yes | Facilitate auto scaling. |
WebServices | Yes | |
DatabaseProxy | Yes | |
OpenArchive | Yes |
Delft-FEWS in the cloud
In addition, Deltareswill improve the Delft-FEWS components for use in containers and provide guidance on the installation. This guidance shall be focused on Kubernetes because in our view Kubernetes is the most commonly accepted and best supported cloud computing solution.
Kubernetes
Kubernetes uses Docker containers. A container is a "lightweight" abstraction layer on top of the host operating system. Multiple containers share the machine’s operating system kernel and do not require the overhead of associating an operating system within each application. In comparison with VMs, containers bring reduced start-up time, more compute capacity, more flexibility, fault isolation, ease of management, simplified security and reduced costs. The operational benefits for Delft-FEWS systems are also in line with the Roadmap plans for automation of installations with less needless customization, better auto-scaling and more flexible testing. We prefer using linux containers as much as possible. Whether linux containers can be used may depend on the requirements of the forecast model. Any Windows-based forecast models can be separately run on Windows hardware, Windows VMs (or in a Windows docker container).
Delft-FEWS Software: A cloud agnostic approach
Delft-FEWS system installation on regular hardware / VMS is currently done by organizing a central database, installing RPMs / MSIs / unzipping the binaries, setting OS environment variables and starting a launcher service. For installation in Kubernetes this is not going to be much different. Usually this is controlled using data driven yaml / json configuration files to apply the needed actions.
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Master Controller
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Yes
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Admin Interface
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Yes
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Operator Client / SA
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Use Azure Virtual Desktop or Database proxy
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Config Manager
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Use Azure Virtual Desktop or Database proxy or API
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Forecasting Shell Server
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Yes
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.
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WebServices
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Yes
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DatabaseProxy
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Yes
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OpenArchive
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Yes
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Delft-FEWS Hardware and software requirements
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High Availability, Disaster Recovery, performance
Security
For Delft-FEWS in the cloud the same principles apply for security as on premise: Security - Shared responsibility model for Delft-FEWS system installations. Securing your cloud assets requires continuous investment in keeping your containers safe. An infamous example of malconfigured Kubernetes has been Tesla's unsecured admin console for a Kubernetes cluster. This led to malicious actors getting hold of credentials for Tesla's wider AWS environment who used it for cryptomining. Tesla highlighted that it was a test instance "only", but this incident shows why it's really important to secure both production and pre-production resources as far as possible.
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Bottom line is to ensure / check any Kubernetes instances you manage are appropriately secured. Use of cloud managed Kubernetes platforms (AKS, EKS, GKE) will generally make this easier and give you more confidence compared to situations where you have to run your own cluster, as the cloud provider will take care of many aspects of configuration. But regardless, be aware that running a Kubernetes cluster well and securely is a big undertaking that requires serious, proactive and ongoing effort to keep things secure and maintained.
Best practices
https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Kubernetes_Security_Cheat_Sheet.html
https://cloudsecdocs.com/container_security/defensive/kubernetes/k8s_production_checklist/
https://media.defense.gov/2021/Aug/03/2002820425/-1/-1/1/CTR_KUBERNETES%20HARDENING%20GUIDANCE.PDF
Examples
Deltares has successfully completed Delft-FEWS projects with Azure ARM templates and AWS Elastic Beanstalk. For practical reasons, will keep our requirements / installation instructions as cloud neutral as possible.
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- Make sure your IT solution provider is involved from the beginning of the project.
- Train / recruite staff / organisation so that there is a good understanding and knowledge of the specific cloud you want to host your system in. Mapping the functional requirements of the possible cloud solutions can be done much faster with people skilled in the cloud domain. A good example is MDBA, they have a high level of knowledge of both the Delft-FEWS systems as well as the new technologies offered by cloud solutions.
- Create a list of requirements. Both functional and technical. Also incorporate requirements like performance, uptime, disaster recovery, high availability etc. Make sure that you also are aware of your company rules regarding using and migrating to the cloud.
- Check which forecast models need to be run and if these can be run in the cloud (and, if applicable, under which licences)
- Organise a couple of workshops with Deltares (or another partner) to map the requirements of the cloud solutions.
- Create an implementation or migration plan.
- Implement a dry run phase. In this phase, the whole system is up and running but not for operational use. During this phase, the users can use the system like an operational system to test whether everything is functioning as expected.
Best practices
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https://learnk8s.io/production-best-practices
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https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Kubernetes_Security_Cheat_Sheet.html
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https://cloudsecdocs.com/container_security/defensive/kubernetes/k8s_production_checklist/
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Deltares contacts
For more info contact Delft-FEWS product management.
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