CERIT-SC team, part of the Institute of Computer Science at Masaryk University, will be participating in the Annual High Performance Container Workshop at ISC High Performance 2025 conference, taking place in Hamburg (June, 10-13) — the premier European event for high performance computing, AI, and data analytics. As a key operator of Kubernetes infrastructure within e-INFRA CZ, CERIT-SC has been invited to present two talks based on several years of hands-on experience in containerized HPC environments.
As containerization continues to reshape how scientific applications are deployed and scaled, CERIT-SC’s experience in building national-scale platforms offers valuable insight to the global HPC community. Our work supports researchers across the Czech Republic and contributes to the broader goal of making advanced infrastructure accessible, secure, and maintainable. There will be two talks at the workshop presented by the CERIT-SC's team on the Container-in-HPC@ISC 2025. These talks offer a deep dive into the architecture, operations, and hard-learned lessons from running modern research infrastructure at scale.
1) The Splendors and Miseries of Containers in e-INFRA CZ
This presentation explores the architecture and day-to-day operation of a fully managed Kubernetes platform tailored for the Czech national e-infrastructure. Attendees will learn how technologies like Rancher, Harbor, and AI-enabled services are integrated to support scientific workloads across multiple institutions.
But beyond the design lies reality. This talk gets honest about the “miseries” of operating a multi-tenant platform — from complex workload debugging to managing user expectations. Backed by real-world stories and challenges encountered over the past three years, this is a practical reflection on what it takes to make containerized infrastructure truly work for science.
2) Confidential Computing: Containers on Bare Metal
This talk introduces our platform for confidential computing — a security-first architecture where Kubernetes clusters run directly on bare metal, with support for Trusted Research Environments (TREs). With two years of operational experience, we highlight how we've enabled secure internet access, managed access control, and balanced isolation with usability for sensitive HPC workloads.
We also reflect on current challenges in resource utilization and performance under TREs and share our roadmap to enhance both efficiency and security in future deployments.
About ISC High Performance 2025
Held annually, ISC High Performance is Europe's leading conference for high performance computing, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies. The 2025 event marks its 40th edition, bringing together more than 750 speakers and 160+ exhibitors for a week of knowledge exchange, networking, and showcasing the future of compute-intensive science.
