Cloud BioLinux: pre-configured and on-demand bioinformatics computing for the genomics community

Area of Science:

• Computational Biology
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Next-generation sequencing costs have decreased, making it accessible.
• Bioinformatic analysis remains a bottleneck for labs lacking computational resources.
• Informatics infrastructure investment is crucial for deriving scientific value from sequencing data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an on-demand, high-performance computing infrastructure for bioinformatics analysis.
• To enable researchers to overcome computational resource limitations.

Main Methods:

• Cloud BioLinux, a publicly accessible Virtual Machine (VM).
• Utilizes cloud platforms (e.g., Amazon EC2, Eucalyptus).
• Offers pre-configured bioinformatics software with documentation.

Main Results:

• Provides instant access to over 135 bioinformatics packages.
• Includes a full-featured desktop interface and command-line tools.
• Demonstrated on public and private cloud environments.

Conclusions:

• Cloud BioLinux facilitates the development of cloud-based bioinformatics infrastructures.
• Automated VM construction allows for customized, shared analysis platforms.
• Minimizes effort in preparing and maintaining bioinformatics tools.