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On the recordRead 11 Oct 202622 facts
Shifter
On the record
- Architecture
- The project includes a compute-node utility, an image gateway that pulls and repacks registry images, and example scripts or plugins for batch scheduler integration.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Authentication
- Access to the image gateway API requires authentication using Munge.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Batch integration
- The repository includes example integrations for workload managers, and NERSC's usage documentation shows Shifter jobs submitted with Slurm.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Container images
- Users can create their software environments typically with Docker, and Shifter supports sharing HPC software through Docker and the Docker Hub community.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Contribution channel
- The README directs contributors to a Slack channel and says code can be submitted through GitHub pull requests.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Current status
- NERSC says it still supports Shifter but eventually plans to phase it out in favor of podman-hpc.docs.nersc.gov · read 11 Oct 2026
- How it works
- Shifter has a compute-node utility, an image gateway that pulls and repacks registry images, and example scripts or plugins for batch schedulers.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Image format
- The image gateway repacks images into a format suitable for the HPC system, typically squashfs.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Image limits
- NERSC says images larger than about 20 GB will likely time out when uploaded to Docker Hub and recommends contacting support for images over 20 GB.docs.nersc.gov · read 11 Oct 2026
- Image registries
- NERSC documentation says users can pull images from Docker Hub or NERSC's private registry, which the image manager converts to a flattened format for compute nodes.docs.nersc.gov · read 11 Oct 2026
- Intended outcomes
- The project aims to simplify software deployment, enable portable environments, support repeatable science, and improve system utilization by optimizing software delivery and I/O bottlenecks.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- License
- The repository license permits redistribution and use in source and binary forms subject to stated conditions and disclaimers.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- MPI
- NERSC documents an MPICH integration that swaps Cray libraries into images at runtime for multi-node communication, subject to image compatibility requirements.docs.nersc.gov · read 11 Oct 2026
- Performance
- NERSC says Shifter's loop-mount approach moves metadata operations to compute nodes and improves performance for workloads that load many shared libraries.docs.nersc.gov · read 11 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Shifter enables HPC systems to run end-user container images, including Docker images.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Runtime privilege
- The security documentation says container processes are stripped of privileges after launch and should not be able to regain them.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Scheduler integration
- The project provides example scripts and plugins for integrating Shifter with batch scheduler systems.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Security controls
- The project documentation describes nosuid mounts, restricting process capabilities to the null set, and attempting to apply Linux no_new_privs on newer systems.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
