The UVA Research Computing Microservices Platform provides a fully supported environment for containerized, microservice-based applications. Designed to accelerate research workflows, our platform enables end-to-end deployment, secure database integration, and comprehensive technical support. Researchers can leverage modern cloud-native practices to run scalable, modular services in a controlled, high-performance environment.
The platform is ideal for applications that:
- Require independent, reusable services
- Need reliable, scalable deployment across multiple nodes
- Integrate with databases, APIs, or research computing pipelines
All services run on a managed Kubernetes cluster, which automates deployment, scaling, and monitoring while maintaining compliance with UVA security and network standards.
UVA Research Computing provides comprehensive assistance for microservices and container development, allowing researchers to focus on scientific innovation while the team handles the infrastructure, deployment, and operational support.
Services:
- Database provisioning and optimization
- Security and compliance advisory
- HPC workflow integration
- Guidance for reproducible and scalable research applications
- Access to training and documentation resources
Use Cases
- Interactive Dashboards: Shiny Server, JupyterHub, and similar frameworks
- Web Applications & APIs: Lightweight or data-driven services
- Automated Pipelines: Scheduled tasks, ETL workflows, and HPC-linked computation
- Data Access Services: Databases, caching, or API endpoints for internal research data
Platform Capabilities
Container & Microservice Deployment
- Supports Docker or OCI-compliant containers
- Automates orchestration, scaling, and high availability
- Provides secure configuration and secret management at runtime
- Support for using existing UVA storage resources during deployment for data persistence
- Enables researchers to run web applications, APIs, dashboards, and automated data-processing pipelines
Database Integration & Management
- Consultation for database architecture and selection (relational, NoSQL, or key-value stores)
- Support for hosting, connection management, and integration with deployed services
- Guidance on data security, backups, and compliance
- Supported Databases:
- PostgresSQL: robust relational databases for structured data
- MySQL: widely used relational database for general-purpose research apps
- MariaDB: MySQL-compatible database for high-performance workloads
- MongoDB: flexible NoSQL document database for unstructured data
- Other Databases: Consultation available for additional databases types
High-Performance Computing Integration
- Containers can interact with HPC workloads via APIs or job scheduling
- Supports hybrid workflows combining microservices and traditional HPC processing
Research-Oriented Support Services
- End-to-end guidance from initial design through deployment
- Best practices for containerization, service orchestration, and scalability
- Troubleshooting, monitoring, and performance optimization
- Training and documentation for research teams
Eligibility & Guidelines
To maintain security and performance standards:
- Services must support research-focused objectives
- Containers must not embed credentials; sensitive information must use secure runtime injection
- Services must comply with UVA network and data policies; sensitive or restricted data, including highly sensitive data, requires prior consultation
- Users are responsible for preparing and testing container images before deployment
Work With Us
Our process:
- Container Preparation: Package your application in a Docker or OCI-compliant container
- Consultation: Schedule a session with Research Computing for guidance on deployment, databases, and integration
- Deployment & Support: The DevOps teams will deploy containers to the managed microservices environment with full technical support for operations, monitoring, and troubleshooting
Fully supported containerized, microservice-based applications enabling end-to-end deployment and secure database integration