So you've decided to use Terra
Terra is a cloud-native platform that empowers you to access, analyze, and share your biomedical data efficiently.
Once you have decided to use Terra, you must then make a choice of how you would like to use Terra.
Terra currently offers two distinct offerings — Terra on GCP and Terra on Azure.
Under the hood, there are some important differences between both offerings that impact functionality and your cost.
What is Terra? Terra is a cloud service front-end designed to let you get your work done without needing to deal with the complexities of cloud vendors such as Google or Azure. Instead, Terra lets you run your pipelines, perform statistics, and visualize your data in a user-friendly environment that does the heavy lifting of interfacing with cloud vendors on your behalf.
Terra on the Cloud that makes sense for you
Terra on GCP
Terra on GCP (Google Cloud Platform) is the best option for the majority of people.
With Terra on GCP, you can create workspaces and store/analyze your data using cloud storage and compute resources. Built-in features allow you to collaborate and share your data and tools securely with others.
-
-
Pay-as-you-go
You are only responsible for paying for the cloud storage, egress, and compute resources you use when performing an analysis.
-
Grows with your project
Shared cloud infrastructure scales to meet most data storage and analysis needs at an affordable price.
-
Permissions management
Workspace permissions and Authorization Domains offer built-in mechanisms for sharing and collaborating securely.
-
Pay-as-you-go
When to choose Terra on GCP
Shared infrastructure is owned and managed by the Broad Institute and optimizes expenses, making Terra on GCP a perfect choice if:
-
- You are sensitive to costs (for example, an academic researcher on a grant budget).
- You do not require features available only on Terra on Azure.
For more information on how to get started with Terra on GCP, visit our Terra (GCP) support page.
Terra on Azure
Terra on Microsoft Azure is the best option for people with specific security and data access needs.
Terra on Azure is a Managed Application deployed entirely within your individual or organizational Azure Cloud Subscription.
In this offering, you can engage in all of the features present on the Terra for GCP offering — create workspaces, analyze data using Azure compute resources, and share your results with others — but you can also benefit from these Azure-only features:
-
-
Data security & isolation
All of your data is stored entirely within your own Azure subscription perimeter. While the Broad manages Azure resources, Terra itself has no access to your data. Data logging capabilities (logging, download alerts, data regionality restrictions) assists with your data security compliance. Enhanced security measures let you control data sharing at a granular scale.
-
Private hosting
You can connect to your data where it lives within your own private IT network, rather than from external servers. There are options to run workflows from a private GitHub using Docker images from a private Azure Container Registry (ACR).
-
Azure-native
Pipelines and notebooks developed and optimized for the Azure ecosystem will run immediately.
-
Large-scale
User-owned infrastructure facilitates high capacity project support, ideal for genomic or clinical data engineering. Optimized for analyses of much larger quantities of data.
-
Data security & isolation
When to choose Terra on Azure
Terra on Azure includes both operational (working) and infrastructure costs, which may be prohibitive for most individual users who do not need added security and logging.
This makes Terra on Azure a perfect choice if:
-
- You work within a larger organization, such as a pharmaceutical company or research hospital
- You handle Protected Health Information (PHI)
- You have very specific data security requirements
- You are already heavily integrated into the Microsoft Azure ecosystem and do not want to (or cannot) move your data to Google Cloud.
For more information on how to get started with Terra on Azure, send us a message at terra-enterprise@broadinstitute.org and let us know your interest.
Terra offerings at a glance
|
|
|
|
Costs |
||
| Terra-owned, centralized services for workflow compute and data tables | ✅ | ❌ |
| User-owned, isolated services for workflow compute and data tables allows for shorter wait times for scheduled tasks, improved data table functionality and control of data residence | ❌ | ✅ |
| Users pay for data storage, egress and compute cloud resources based on usage | ✅ | ✅ |
Security and Controls |
||
|
Data and workspace permissions managed by individuals using self-service methods |
✅ | ✅ |
|
FedRAMP Moderate Authorized |
✅ | ✅ |
|
Technical features to enforce compliance requirements such as enhanced logging, data regionality restrictions, download alerts, etc. |
❌ | ✅ |
|
Active Directory for centralized account management and permissioning through Terra |
❌ | ✅ |
Data Management and Analysis |
||
|
Data Tables |
✅ |
✅ Up to 1 million rows |
|
Interactive Analysis VMs |
✅ | ✅ |
|
Import public workflows from Dockstore |
✅ | ✅ |
|
Import public workflows from GitHub |
❌ | ✅ |
|
Import private workflows from GitHub |
❌ | ✅ |
|
Use Dockers from private ACR |
❌ | ✅ |
|
Workflow engine ownership |
Shared | Per user per workspace |
| Terra's data custodian application, which supports ongoing data versioning needs and complex data sharing | ✅ | ✅ |
Can I transfer data, tools, or workspaces between Terra offerings?
Data in the cloud
Data can be transferred between GCP and Azure storage, but egress between cloud providers comes at a cost.
Each cloud service has its own costs to upload and download data. Remember to account for these as part of your data migration.
Terra workspaces and analysis tools
Terra workspaces and workspace resources (tools or tables) are a different story.
Due to the incompatibility in infrastructure between GCP and Azure, it is not (currently) possible to directly transfer workspaces/resources between Terra on GCP and Terra on Azure.
That said, as part of our support for Terra on Azure users, Terra developers can offer a manual transfer of your resources as part of the onboarding process, if your organization requires a transfer of workspace resources.
What is the difference in costs?
Billing for Terra on GCP is usage-based, and depends on the amount of data storage, egress, and computational resources you use. There are no additional costs.
Terra on Azure incorporates both working (usage-based) and static costs to cover enhanced service features and infrastructure needs of your isolated Terra Environment.
I know what I want! How do I get started?
Selecting the appropriate Terra offering requires a clear understanding of the specific requirements for you or your organization.
If you’ve decided to use the scalable, cost-effective solutions offered by Terra on GCP, head over to our Getting Started (GCP) documentation to learn how to register for your new account today.
If your organization is ready to use the robust, security-ready features of Terra on Azure, schedule a meeting with a Terra Team liaison at terra-enterprise@broadinstitute.org to discuss which features, plans, and licenses work best for your use case.