The content of this site is also available in other languages: Deutsch
From the Last HIFIS Monthly: Base4NFDI Presentation
In the last HIFIS monthly meeting, André Giesler presented the NFDI (National Research Data Infrastructure) initiative Base4NFDI. He is involved in HIFIS as Service Integration Manager as well as in Base4NFDI as a Service Steward.
In his presentation, he discussed the Base4NFDI framework and the individual basic services offered as well as similarities and differences to HIFIS and the Helmholtz Cloud in particular. The latter and Base4NFDI act as facilitators between service providers and users and are building up a comprehensive service portfolio for this purpose.
A Slightly Different Approach
While ready-to-use services have been integrated and offered in the Helmholtz Cloud to date, Base4NFDI focuses on the development of service concepts that are supported in various phases until they are mature enough to be used productively. These service ideas, here called Basic Services, are usually submitted by partner institutes connected to the NFDI, approved in an application process within the NFDI and then supported by Base4NFDI in their development phases of up to 5 years.
At the end of a successful development, a basic service should ideally be integrated into as many of the 26 NFDI consortia with very different scientific disciplines as possible and find users. Base4NFDI’s support focuses on this networking task. And compared to HIFIS, the services must be integrated into an even more heterogeneous scientific landscape.
Common Strategies and Technologies
In principle, Helmholtz Centers are also partner institutions of the NFDI. There are many common strategies and technologies between Base4NFDI and HIFIS, complemented by a constructive, regular exchange. For example, Helmholtz ID, which implements access and identity management in HIFIS, is also part of the complementary basic service IAM4NFDI, which performs the same task in the NFDI. Concepts and solutions from this area cross-fertilize the application and are generally coordinated.
With the basic service nfdi.software, there is an intended solution that is based on the existing Helmholtz Research Software Directory, among others, and whose features can be expanded if necessary. The basic service Jupyter4NFDI is also based on the Helmholtz Cloud service Jupyter-JSC. The aim is to network existing JupyterHubs of the NFDI into this Jupyter4NFDI service. Together with further developments such as a binder-based Repo2Docker implementation, storage management and other features, Jupyter4NFDI can also strengthen the HIFIS variant.
And Finally the Complementarity
HIFIS is very mature when it comes to service portfolio management and the service catalogue offered, the Helmholtz Cloud. Base4NFDI does not yet have a comparable product for the basic services to be developed. However, there is a close exchange with HIFIS Portfolio Management, so that synergy effects inspire both sides. The existing HIFIS KPI Management can also offer a comparable solution for Base.
On the other hand, bottom-up service recruiting in the so-called NFDI sections, which discuss cross-cutting topics within the NFDI and conceptualize them in the form of basic service ideas, can also offer an approach for the Helmholtz Cloud. The coordination with NFDI specialist consortia and communities supported by Base4NFDI, also in the form of outreach activities, represents an important building block for anchoring Basic Services in the scientific communities. In general, a consensus within the NFDI is always a prerequisite for promoting new Basic Services.
Eight services are currently part of the BASE4NFDI service portfolio. The term of Base4NFDI is currently planned until 2028. We are looking forward to the continued exchange between HIFIS and Base4NFDI during this period.