Chapter 18 Setup AnVIL Account
The following instructions will walk you through setting up an AnVIL account so that you can carry out data analysis in the cloud.
In order to run your analyses, you will use the AnVIL cloud computing platform, so that you do not need to install everything on your own computer. The AnVIL (Analysis Visualization and Informatics Lab-space) platform is specially designed for analyzing biological data, and is used by scientists doing all sorts of biological research.
AnVIL in a nutshell
- Behind the scenes, AnVIL relies on Google Cloud Platform to provide computing infrastructure. Basically, AnVIL lets you “rent” computers from Google (remotely). Whenever you run an analyses on AnVIL, it actually runs on one of Google’s computers, and AnVIL lets you see the results in your browser.
- AnVIL uses Terra to provide many computational tools useful for biological data analysis, such as RStudio, Galaxy, and Jupyter Notebooks. Terra takes care of installing these tools on Google’s computers, so that you can just start using them.
18.0.1 Create Google Account
First, you will need to set up a (free) Google account.
If you do not already have a Google account that you would like to use for accessing AnVIL, create one now.
- Alternatively, if you would like to create a Google account that is associated with an existing non-Gmail email address, you can follow these instructions.
18.0.2 Log In to Terra
Next, make sure you can log in to Terra – you will use Terra to perform computations on AnVIL.
You can access Terra by going to anvil.terra.bio, or by clicking the link on the AnVIL home page.
Open Terra, and you should be prompted to sign in with your Google account.