LaunchIT is an application that allows LC users to provision LC PDS resources for themselves automatically. The application -- LaunchIT -- can be accessed in the CZ, RZ and SCF (iSRD). To reach LaunchIT visit

After signing into LaunchIT with your LC username and appropriate pin+token, you can view available resources in the Catalog and your already-provisioned resources via your Dashboard.

After creating these resources, you will have access to the metadata of the resources you've created from LaunchIT, such as authentication credentials for databases you may have created. This metadata is available by going to your Dashboard -> your project -> your resource. For example, your project might be called cz-<username> and your resource might be a mongoDB instance.

LaunchIT now supports self-provisioning of object storage allocations. After creating an object storage allocation, users can view connection details like s3 keys and some basic information about their allocations, like storage usage and maximums.

For more info on LaunchIT, please see this announcement.

LaunchIT PDS Features🔗

Creating a PDS Instance🔗

LaunchIT allows users to create a new PDS instance from several curated options. These options currently include MariaDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, RabbitMQ, and Redis. The Fireworks + MongoDB option is also now available. To use this feature, go to the catalog page to select which option you would like to launch. Additionally, you can also launch a new instance using the dropdown from a workspace page.

Viewing PDS Instance Configuration🔗

LaunchIT allows users to view and copy the connection configuration for a PDS instance. Individual fields are displayed directly on the instance dashboard. Additionally, there are some buttons representing pre-formatted configuration files just below the main table of values. Clicking on one of those buttons will display a text box containing the configuration file for users to copy. All instances offer the configuration format of JSON or YAML as a quick means of copying over all the contents. Some instance types, like MariaDB, offer additional configuration, like a ".my.cnf" type of configuration. These instance-specific configuration files often contain specific configuration for PDS and the LC environment. If there is a specific configuration format you would like to see on LaunchIT or if you have recommendations on elements to add to existing configuration formats, feel free to reach out via email at lit-help@llnl.gov.

Deleting a PDS Instance🔗

LaunchIT allows users to delete previously created PDS instances. To use this feature, go to the instance-specific page and select the "delete" button at the bottom of the page. This will delete all data stored by the instance and cannot be undone.

PDS Instance Password Reset🔗

LaunchIT allows users to reset or change the password for their PDS instances. This is useful in cases where a password is accidentally exposed, for example, when uploading a configuration file to gitlab. It is also a security best practice to periodically update these passwords. To use this feature, select the "password reset" button near the bottom of an instance dashboard.

Creating a New Workspace🔗

LaunchIT allows users to create additional workspaces. These workspaces can be used for collaboration by adding users and adjusting permissions. Users can create a maximum of 5 workspaces, but there is no limit on how many workspaces a user can be added to. To use this feature, select the "create a new workspace" button at the top of the workspaces dashboard.

Deleting a Workspace🔗

LaunchIT allows users to delete a previously existing workspace. There must not be any instances in the workspace to use this feature, so users must first delete all instances in a workspace prior to using this feature. To use this feature, select the "delete workspace" button at the bottom of the specific workspace dashboard.

User Workspace Permissions🔗

LaunchIT allows users to add and remove permissions for other users for workspaces. This feature allows collaboration and group access to workspaces and instances. There are three permissions levels that can be granted: "View", "Edit", and "Admin".

  • View: The view permission allows a user to see the workspaces and view any instances within the workspace. A user with view access can see the status of the instance and any non-secret connection details like the hostname. A user with view permissions cannot see secret connection details like passwords or access workspaces permissions. Users with view permissions also cannot create or delete instances.
  • Edit: The edit permission gives all of the same access as the view permission. In addition, users with edit permission will also be able to create an instances but not delete it or view secrets. Users with edit permission will not be able to access the workspace permissions.
  • Admin: The admin permission gives all of the same access as the edit permission. In addition, users with admin permission will be able to access the workspace permissions to add and remove other users to the group workspace. Admin permissions allow the ability to delete instances and the workspace as well as view secret information like passwords.

To access workspace permissions, select the icon in the permissions column of the workspace you want to edit permissions for. Additionally, you can select the "permissions" button at the top of a specific workspace dashboard. Note that other users cannot be added to a personal workspace.

LaunchIT Object Storage Features🔗

Creating an Object Storage Allocation🔗

LaunchIT supports creating object storage allocations through the catalog. To create an allocation, open the catalog and select the VAST option. Then select the workspace where you want to create the allocation. Each workspace can contain only a single VAST allocation.

Once created, your VAST object storage allocation appears as a resource on your workspace dashboard. Each new allocation is created with a default capacity of 4 TB. If you need additional capacity, contact the LC Hotline to request an increase.

Accessing an Object Storage Allocation🔗

Your object storage allocation appears as a VAST resource on your workspace dashboard. After selecting the allocation from the resource list, you will see a page with a list of buckets and configuration details.

The S3 access key ID and S3 secret access key are used as credentials when accessing your allocation. You can use these credentials with tools such as the AWS CLI or the Python boto3 library. The S3 endpoint URL is the URL where your S3 allocation can be reached.

S3 credentials expire after 30 days in accordance with our security policy. To generate new S3 keys at any time, select the Reset S3 keys button below the connection configuration.

Viewing Allocation Usage and Bucket Operations🔗

LaunchIT lists all bucket names along with the usage for each bucket. Below the bucket list, and to the right of the connection configuration, you will see a storage usage graph. This graph shows information for the entire allocation, including how much storage is used and the total allocated capacity.

You can create and delete buckets from the LaunchIT UI. When creating a bucket through the UI, the workspace name is automatically prepended to the bucket name. Bucket names must be unique across the entire VAST cluster, so this convention helps avoid conflicts. When creating buckets through the AWS CLI, this naming convention is not enforced.

Deleting a bucket will permanently delete all of its contents, with no way to recover that data.

Exceptions🔗

So far, LaunchIT allows users to request persistent data services and object storage allocations along with a limited scope of operations and features for each. If you need any advanced support, such as requesting larger quotas, services that do not yet exist in our catalog, or help deploying a custom web server in our PDS environment, please feel free to reach out to lit-help@llnl.gov.

Advanced Support Template

I require an increased quota for my <object storage allocation> <cz-janeh> for my work with <SD>.  

Zone: <CZ>     
LC Username: <janeh>
New Quota: <10 TB>

Thank you!
<Jane>