Overview
MIST (Managed Infrastructure for Science and Teaching) is a unified, preconfigured infrastructure platform within ITA’s service portfolio, designed for research and teaching environments running on NREC. The platform is centrally operated by the ITA DFT Digitale Forskningsprodukter Group and provides a standardized, automated, and secure environment that fully complies with UiB’s requirements for security, access control, and operational governance.
MIST delivers a fully managed infrastructure built on NREC virtualization and NetApp storage solutions. Applications and services are installed and configured according to UiB’s established standards. Users can extend their environment by selecting additional software modules and services from a curated cataloge, which are applied through automated configuration workflows.
All operational responsibilities — including provisioning, updates, monitoring, security configuration, and backup routines — are handled centrally by the IT Department. MIST is therefore a preconfigured, reusable, and reproducible NREC environment that enables researchers and educators to rapidly deploy secure and reliable services without needing to manage the underlying infrastructure themselves.
MIST in UiB's Service Portfolio
Architecture and Components
The architecture primarily uses components to deliver IaaS. Each system has an associated Git group under “MIST – managed projects,” containing repositories for configuration and documentation. The architecture separates application logic, infrastructure, and operations, enabling controlled planning, testing, and deployment. All configuration and operational changes are traceable through Git.
Technologies and Frameworks (Summary)
- Infrastructure & Virtualization: NREC, OpenStack
- Configuration & Automation: Terraform, Ansible, Puppet, Copier
- Version Control & CI/CD: Git, GitLab Runner
- Operating Systems: Enterprise Linux
- Storage & Data: NetApp, EESSI
- Cloud Services: Microsoft Azure
Deployments
Deployments are performed through infrastructure‑as‑code using Terraform and Ansible. CI/CD pipelines automatically run provisioning and configuration tasks at merge. All changes are version‑controlled, documented, and reviewed. Standardized QA is performed before production rollout.
Monitoring
Systems are monitored via Grafana. Projects may also run dedicated Grafana instances to enable users to access performance data.
Backup and Recovery
Backups follow NREC and NetApp standards where possible. Git serves as the primary backup for configuration. Some services, such as PostgreSQL, use predefined Ansible roles.
Access and Security
Access
Access is managed through GitLab and UiB authentication. Members of Scientific Computing manage configuration repositories and can request instance access. Repository access levels depend on project roles.
Security Mechanisms
All MIST instances running UiB Managed Images include Microsoft Defender. Terraform security groups and local firewalls (via Ansible roles) enforce standard security. Systems undergo regular hardening and patching.
Third‑Party Dependencies and Services
MIST leverages UiB‑standard services for infrastructure, configuration management, storage, security, monitoring, and CI/CD. Core components include NREC (OpenStack and Ceph) for compute and storage, NetApp for file‑based storage, Ansible and Puppet for automation and configuration, Azure AD for identity management, Microsoft Defender for endpoint protection, GitLab for version control and pipelines, and Prometheus Node Exporter for system‑level metrics and monitoring.
Version dependencies follow UiB’s operational standards: Terraform and Ansible versions are controlled via central pipelines; OpenStack versions follow the NREC lifecycle; Puppet is tied to the UiB managed image; GitLab follows versions maintained on UiB’s service.
Additional Resources
Contact
Email: nrec-vb@uib.no