EIDF June Drop-in: Smarter Tools, Clearer Costs and Safer Data

Catch up on the June EIDF drop-in, where the team introduced new tools to make it easier to plan, apply for and manage EIDF projects. Highlights include the new cost estimator, improved usage and budget reporting, and the launch of the Confidential Data Workspace for projects involving sensitive, private or commercially confidential data.

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At the June EIDF drop-in session, the team shared a range of new developments designed to make it easier for users to plan, apply for, monitor and manage their EIDF projects. 

The session covered improvements to the EIDF application process, a new cost estimator, progress on usage and budget reporting, and the launch of the new Confidential Data Workspace. 

Watch the full recording: https://edin.ac/43C1GpN 

A clearer way to estimate project costs 

Magdalena Drafi-McHugh introduced the new EIDF cost estimator and updated application process. 

The cost estimator is available from the EIDF front page and can be used without logging in. It allows users to estimate costs based on project duration, organisation type and the services they expect to use. Costs can be viewed either monthly or as a total project estimate. 

The tool also includes a set of suggested bundles to help users choose suitable resources. These include options for GPU workloads, big data projects, CPU virtual desktops, specialist compute, and the new Confidential Data Workspace. 

Users who already know what they need can select services directly, while those still planning their project can save an estimate and later use it as the basis for a project application. 

Improved usage reporting and budget monitoring 

Amy Krause presented the new monitoring, alerting, reporting and enforcement framework being developed for EIDF. 

The current version allows users to view monthly usage and costs through the EIDF portal. Reporting is already available for several services, including GPU usage, virtual desktops, storage and Cirrus, with additional services such as Cerebras and notebooks planned for future integration. 

Future enhancements will include budget tracking, CSV exports, alerts when projects are close to using their budget, and enforcement measures when funds are exhausted. For example, this could include preventing new GPU jobs or shutting down and archiving virtual machines while retaining the associated data. 

A key discussion point was the need for more detailed user-level monitoring, particularly for large projects with many users. The team noted that some per-user reporting is already possible for certain services, and this will be explored further. 

Introducing the Confidential Data Workspace 

Ruairidh MacLeod introduced the new Confidential Data Workspace, a service designed for projects working with private, sensitive, consented personal or commercially confidential data. 

Unlike standard EIDF virtual desktop environments, the Confidential Data Workspace places tighter controls on how data can move in and out of the project space. Regular users access the environment through remote desktop only, with SSH access and copy-and-paste disabled. A dedicated router virtual machine controls external access and records audit logs. 

Project managers can manage users, install software, control approved external resources, and handle data import and export through SSH or EIDF S3. This makes the service suitable for collaborations where data needs to remain within a managed environment. 

The service does not replace Safe Haven requirements where those are needed, but it may support use cases involving consented personal data, de-identified data or commercially sensitive datasets. GPU access is not currently available in the Confidential Data Workspace, but this is planned for future development. 

Pricing and project extensions 

The session also covered questions about pricing. Existing project agreements will be honoured, but future extensions and top-ups will use the current pricing model. 

The team highlighted that the cost estimator provides an estimate based on current information and assumptions. Actual costs are based on the price at the time resources are used, which may change over time due to factors such as electricity costs. 

Next drop-in sessions 

The next EIDF drop-in sessions are scheduled for: 

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