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Future-Proofing R&D: Migration to High-Availability Cluster Architecture

Learn how A4BEE eliminated lab downtime for a Life Sciences leader using Incus Cluster architecture and containerization.

Industry

Life Sciences / Enterprise IT

Scope

Infrastructure as Code / Containerization (Incus) / High Availability / IT/OT Convergence

Timeframe

6 months

Technology

  • Incus (Container Orchestration)
  • LXC/LXD
  • Linux
  • High Availability Clustering
  • Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

6

Consensus Global IT, OT, and Innovation teams aligned on the new standard

The client

A forward-thinking biotechnology organization modernizing its global R&D infrastructure looking to transition from legacy, isolated workstations to a robust, cloud-ready ecosystem.

Business needs

The business required a scalable, resilient architecture that could support advanced data orchestration and be easily managed remotely, without disrupting ongoing experiments. The existing infrastructure relied on standalone Industrial PCs (IPCs), creating Single Points of Failure (SPOF).

The challenge

  • 01

    Fragile Legacy Stack Dependence on individual machines meant that a hardware failure could halt data collection.

  • 02

    Maintenance Overhead Updating software across dispersed machines was slow and risky.

  • 03

    Architectural Selection Balancing the need for "Cloud Native" standards with the specific constraints of on-premise lab equipment.

Our solution

We led the architectural transformation from single-instance machines to a resilient Incus Cluster environment, utilizing containerization to decouple software from hardware. The solution entailed:

  1. Cluster Architecture Strategy

    Conducted a trade-off analysis of 7 architectural approaches, selecting Incus/LXC for its optimal balance of maturity, maintenance efficiency, and performance.

  2. High Availability (HA)

    Designed a clustered environment where workloads can migrate between nodes, eliminating downtime due to hardware failures.

  3. Containerized Orchestration

    Encapsulated lab applications into lightweight containers, facilitating rapid deployment, testing, and rollbacks.

  4. Infrastructure Standardization

    Established a template for global deployment, ensuring consistent configuration across all R&D sites.

Technology used

  • Incus (Container Orchestration)
  • LXC/LXD
  • Linux
  • High Availability Clustering
  • Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

The outcome

The project established a new standard for the client's laboratory computing, aligned with modern DevOps practices. It fundamentally transformed the client's operational capabilities, ensuring resilience and readiness for future growth.

  • Resilience
  • Operational Efficiency
  • Scalability

What we implemented

  • 10 Strategic Criteria Used in the trade-off analysis to select the Incus engine based on maturity and cost.
  • N+1 Redundancy Target architecture designed to ensure zero downtime and eliminate single points of failure.
  • 6 New Techs Infrastructure prepared to host next-gen data streams (BioHT, MAST, Vi-CELL Blu, etc.).
  • 100% Consensus Alignment achieved across global IT, OT, and Innovation teams on the future standard.
Jacek Fischbach
By implementing the Incus Cluster architecture, we have established a 'Self-Healing Lab' environment where computing resources scale fluidly with our scientific needs, ensuring mission-critical resilience across our R&D operations.
Jacek Fischbach — Delivery Executive

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