> This is a project to re-home all arXiv services from VMs at Cornell to a cloud provider (Google Cloud).

They are already using VMs but one of the things it'll do is:

> containerize all, or nearly all arXiv services so we can deploy via Kubernetes or services like Google Cloud Run

And further state:

> The modernization will enable: - arXiv to expand the subject areas that we cover - improve the metadata we collect and make available for articles, adding fields that the research community has requested such as funder identification - deal with the problem of ambiguous author identities - improve accessibility to support users with impairments, particularly visual impairments - improve usability for the entire arXiv community

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notpushkin 8 months ago | parent [-]

Containers part I can understand. Why not spin up a tiny Docker Swarm (or k3s/k0s) cluster instead of straight out going to Google though?

	▲	kelnos 8 months ago \| parent [-]
		Because those other things require more maintenance effort to run. Getting creative is often just a pain in the ass. Doing the standard things, walking the well-trod path, is generally easier to do, even if it may not be the cheapest or most hardware/software-efficient thing to do.