Speaker
Description
The Common Infrastructures section coordinates cooperation between NFDI consortia and external stakeholders to build federated infrastructures and software components. Serving as a central contact point for basic services—many rooted in the section's working groups—it identifies jointly usable components, ensures interoperability, and advances a shared Research Data Commons (RDC) as outlined in the section concept. Comprising 10 specialized working groups (e.g., on IAM and LTA), the section relies on the Overall Architecture working group to form their vital technical connection while establishing sustainable technology partnerships and representing the NFDI in initiatives like the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).
The Overall Architecture working group creates a practical framework for the technical evolution of the NFDI through an iterative, consensus-driven process. Driven by a series of expert workshops—including events in Göttingen and Aachen, with a third workshop planned—it brings together representatives from consortia and basic services to validate a shared architecture map. Rather than imposing a rigid top-down design, it decouples infrastructure provision from scientific applications using a layered reference model spanning Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).
This overall architecture provides a unified reference model that all discipline-specific consortia can map their local infrastructures towards. By relying on organic convergence, the structured layered model decouples underlying hardware complexities from domain-specific applications, allowing consortia to maintain tailored scientific workflows while ensuring seamless cross-disciplinary data sharing and alignment with European frameworks including EOSC.
The DFG storage funding initiatives address critical infrastructure gaps by enabling academic and research stakeholders to establish robust data storage systems for the NFDI consortia. The Storage working group actively accompanies these calls by gathering consortium requirements, facilitating provider matchmaking based on structured collection reports, and supporting implementation based on the overall architecture and use. This concerted action bridges grassroots needs with institutional hardware providers to ensure reliable integration into the federated architecture.
With the NFDI facing another 10-year funding perspective, cross-cutting activities are vital for translating long-term strategic visions into reality. Future plans involve refining technical components, standardizing interfaces, and translating European requirements into technical specifications for EOSC Node Germany.
The talk highlights how the Common Infrastructures section—uniting its 10 working groups and incubated basic services through the Overall Architecture working group—drives the federation of the 26 NFDI consortia. It covers the collaborative workshop series, the validated overall architecture, the storage calls, and the roadmap for the next decade of sustainable infrastructure development.
| background | section infra, wg oa |
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