Software architectures to integrate workflow engines in science gateways

Tristan Glatard (1, 2) , Marc-Etienne Rousseau (2) , Sorina Camarasu-Pop (3, 1) , Reza Adalat (2) , Natacha Beck (2) , Samir Das (2) , Rafael Ferreira da Silva (4) , Najmeh Khalili-Mahani (2) , Vladimir Korkhov (5) , Pierre-Olivier Quirion (6) , Pierre Rioux (2) , Sílvia D. Olabarriaga (7) , Pierre Bellec (6) , Alan C Evans (2)

1 Images et Modèles
2 MNI - McConnell Brain Imaging Centre
3 Service Informatique et développements
4 Information Sciences Institute [California]
5 SPBU - Saint Petersburg State University
6 CRIUGM - Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montreal
7 AMC - Academic Medical Center - Academisch Medisch Centrum [Amsterdam]

Science gateways often rely on workflow engines to execute applications on distributed infrastructures. We investigate six software architectures commonly used to integrate workflow engines into science gateways. In tight integration, the workflow engine shares software components with the science gateway. In service invocation, the engine is isolated and invoked through a specific software interface. In task encapsulation, the engine is wrapped as a computing task executed on the infrastructure. In the pool model, the engine is bundled in an agent that connects to a central pool to fetch and execute workflows. In nested workflows, the engine is integrated as a child process of another engine. In workflow conversion, the engine is integrated through workflow language conversion. We describe and evaluate these architectures with metrics for assessment of integration complexity, robustness, extensibility, scalability and functionality. Tight integration and task encapsulation are the easiest to integrate and the most robust. Extensibility is equivalent in most architectures. The pool model is the most scalable one and meta-workflows are only available in nested workflows and workflow conversion. These results provide insights for science gateway architects and developers.

Mots clés: Science gateways; Software architectures; Workflow engines

Domaines: Génie logiciel [cs.SE]

Tristan Glatard, Marc-Etienne Rousseau, Sorina Camarasu-Pop, Reza Adalat, Natacha Beck, et al.. Software architectures to integrate workflow engines in science gateways. Future Generation Computer Systems, 2017, 75, pp.239-255. ⟨10.1016/j.future.2017.01.005⟩. ⟨hal-01572420⟩