title: Simple re-instantiation of small databases using cloud computing.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Small bioinformatics databases, unlike institutionally funded large databases, are vulnerable to discontinuation and many reported in publications are no longer accessible. This leads to irreproducible scientific work and redundant effort, impeding the pace of scientific progress.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We describe a Web-accessible system, available online at http://biodb100.apbionet.org, for archival and future on demand re-instantiation of small databases within minutes. Depositors can rebuild their databases by downloading a Linux live operating system (http://www.bioslax.com), preinstalled with bioinformatics and UNIX tools. The database and its dependencies can be compressed into an ".lzm" file for deposition. End-users can search for archived databases and activate them on dynamically re-instantiated BioSlax instances, run as virtual machines over the two popular full virtualization standard cloud-computing platforms, Xen Hypervisor or vSphere. The system is adaptable to increasing demand for disk storage or computational load and allows database developers to use the re-instantiated databases for integration and development of new databases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Herein, we demonstrate that a relatively inexpensive solution can be implemented for archival of bioinformatics databases and their rapid re-instantiation should the live databases disappear.
authors.forename: Tin Wee
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Silva
authors.forename: Kuan Siong
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: C Pawan K
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Patro
authors.forename: Shen Jean
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Kunde Ramamoorthy
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Govindarajan
authors.forename: Joo Chuan
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Khar Heng
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Choo
authors.forename: Shoba
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ranganathan
authors.forename: Asif M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Khan
mesh_terms: D001109:Archives; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D020407:Internet; D012984:Software; D014584:User-Computer Interface