The ecocloud Platform provides a range of computation tools for ecoscience researchers.
Tools
The available tools are listed on the tools page ⓔ, where they have been grouped into three types of tools:
- Interactive code environments;
- Virtual desktops; and
- Point and click tools
These different tools are provided by ecocloud and its partners. The interactive code environments are operated by ecocloud in the Nectar research cloud. The Virtual Desktops are operated by TERN in the Nectar research cloud. The point and click tools are operated by external parties.
Python
The ecocloud Platform supports the Python programming language configured with SciPy (Python packages for mathematics, science and engineering):
- In an interactive Jupyter Notebook.
- In a Virtual Desktop.
R
The ecocloud Platform supports the R language.
- In an interactive Jupyter Notebook.
- In RStudio (an interactive development environment (IDE) for writing R scripts).
- In a Virtual Desktop.
Servers
The term “server” refers to a running copy of a tool.
Launching servers
To use a tool, go to the tools page and follow the link for the tool you want to use.
The details of launching a server depends on the type of tools you want to run:
- To use Python or R in Jupyter Notebooks, see using Jupyter Notebooks.
- To use R in the RStudio integrated development environment, see using RStudio.
- To use desktop programs, see using Virtual Desktops.
Currently, you can only run a maximum of one server. If you want to run a second server, the first server must first be terminated.
Terminating servers
Servers take up valuable computing resources. Please terminate a server when you have finished using it, so you or other people can launch servers.
If you do not manually terminate a server, it will be automatically terminated. Please see the server termination policy for details.
Important: Please copy any data you want to keep to a storage location external to ecocloud before the server is terminated, otherwise that data will be lost. For information about managing your data, see the storage overview.