D5.3 EOSC Platform Architecture and Network of EOSC Nodes
The EOSC Beyond project has published a key deliverable, "D5.3 EOSC Platform Architecture and Network of EOSC Nodes", now available on Zenodo. This work - mainly produced by Project Director Diego Scardaci and Technical Coordinator Nicola Fiore (from the EGI Foundation) - crystallises the project's foundational advancements in helping design a robust, scalable, and decentralised technical architecture for the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).
This deliverable formalises the core concepts that enable a true federation of interoperable and autonomous Nodes. The defined architecture, which has been contributed to the EOSC Federation Handbook, provides the technical blueprint for national, thematic, and institutional infrastructures to collaborate seamlessly, supporting the sharing of distributed services and research assets.
Key Highlights
- A Decentralised Federation of Nodes - The architecture is built around EOSC Nodes—independent organisations that provide EOSC-compliant services and resources. Each Node implements core capabilities (like AAI and monitoring) and can offer generic (e.g., compute, storage) or domain-specific research resources.
- Federating Capabilities for Cross-Node Interoperability - The federation is powered by Federating Capabilities, which are joint services that operate across all Nodes. These capabilities, including a federated resource catalogue, a common AAI, and distributed workflow orchestration, aggregate local components into unified, federation-wide services, guided by the EOSC Interoperability Framework (EOSC IF).
- Pioneering Technical Innovations - The deliverable outlines key innovations currently under development to enhance the federation's resilience and functionality:
- The EOSC Node Registry: For the dynamic, machine-readable discovery and integration of Nodes and their capabilities.
- A Federated Catalogue Model: Shifting from a centralised catalogue to a peer-to-peer federation, preserving institutional autonomy while enabling global discovery.
- Integration Suite and Execution Framework: To seamlessly compose, adapt, and deploy services across different Nodes, bridging the gap between resource discovery and execution.
Building a Sustainable Open Science Ecosystem
This architectural model promotes a scalable and flexible "system-of-systems" approach. It reduces reliance on centralised structures, allowing Nodes to retain control over their infrastructure and governance while participating in a common federated framework. The work done in EOSC Beyond provides a resilient and inclusive blueprint for the European Open Science community, setting a clear path for the technical and community-driven evolution of the EOSC Federation.