2017-09-05 11:42:31 +02:00
|
|
|
|
title: Announcing Guix-HPC
|
|
|
|
|
date: 2017-09-05 12:00
|
|
|
|
|
author: Ludovic Courtès, Roel Janssen, Pjotr Prins, Ricardo Wurmus
|
2017-12-07 10:29:47 +01:00
|
|
|
|
tags: High-performance computing, Research, Reproducibility, Bioinformatics
|
2017-09-05 11:42:31 +02:00
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Today, Inria, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), and
|
|
|
|
|
the Utrecht Bioinformatics Center (UBC)
|
|
|
|
|
are
|
2017-09-05 14:19:02 +02:00
|
|
|
|
[announcing](https://www.inria.fr/en/centre/bordeaux/news/towards-reproducible-software-environments-in-hpc-with-guix)
|
2017-09-06 15:45:39 +02:00
|
|
|
|
[a joint](https://www.mdc-berlin.de/47864296/en/news/2017/20170905-wissenschaftliches-rechnen-erfolgreich-reproduzieren)
|
|
|
|
|
[effort](https://ubc.uu.nl/reproducible-software-environments-in-hpc-with-guix/)
|
2017-09-05 14:19:02 +02:00
|
|
|
|
to
|
2017-09-05 11:42:31 +02:00
|
|
|
|
consolidate GNU Guix for reproducible scientific workflows in
|
|
|
|
|
high-performance computing (HPC). The three research institutes have
|
|
|
|
|
been using Guix and contributing to it. The new effort,
|
|
|
|
|
dubbed [Guix-HPC](https://guix-hpc.bordeaux.inria.fr/), hopes to extend
|
|
|
|
|
Guix functionality to better address the needs of HPC users, as well as
|
|
|
|
|
augmenting its package collection.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Guix was not initially designed with HPC in mind. However, we believe
|
|
|
|
|
it has many good properties both for flexible software deployment on
|
|
|
|
|
clusters, and as a foundation for reproducible scientific workflows.
|
|
|
|
|
The [Guix-HPC blog](https://guix-hpc.bordeaux.inria.fr/) will regularly
|
|
|
|
|
feature articles with HPC “howtos” and stories about our achievements.
|
|
|
|
|
We are thrilled by the opportunities this new effort offers!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
To learn more, visit
|
2017-09-05 11:45:14 +02:00
|
|
|
|
the [Guix-HPC Web site](https://guix-hpc.bordeaux.inria.fr/).
|
2017-09-05 11:42:31 +02:00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#### About GNU Guix
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[GNU Guix](https://www.gnu.org/software/guix) is a transactional package
|
|
|
|
|
manager for the GNU system. The Guix System Distribution or GuixSD is
|
|
|
|
|
an advanced distribution of the GNU system that relies on GNU Guix and
|
|
|
|
|
[respects the user's
|
|
|
|
|
freedom](https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-system-distribution-guidelines.html).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In addition to standard package management features, Guix supports
|
|
|
|
|
transactional upgrades and roll-backs, unprivileged package management,
|
|
|
|
|
per-user profiles, and garbage collection. Guix uses low-level
|
|
|
|
|
mechanisms from the Nix package manager, except that packages are
|
|
|
|
|
defined as native [Guile](https://www.gnu.org/software/guile) modules,
|
|
|
|
|
using extensions to the [Scheme](http://schemers.org) language. GuixSD
|
|
|
|
|
offers a declarative approach to operating system configuration
|
|
|
|
|
management, and is highly customizable and hackable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GuixSD can be used on an i686 or x86_64 machine. It is also possible to
|
|
|
|
|
use Guix on top of an already installed GNU/Linux system, including on
|
|
|
|
|
mips64el, armv7, and aarch64.
|