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What is ArupCompute?

ArupCompute is an API used to access a number of Arup-created libraries.

Hosted libraries have their methods / functions / calculations exposed by ArupCompute so they are accessible via the web interface, Excel, Grasshopper, Dynamo, Python, .NET, Node.js and the REST API.

The main benefits of using ArupCompute to host a library are:

  • Easy deployment and updates
  • Automatically works with: web browser, Excel, Grasshopper, Dynamo, Python, .NET, Node.js, and REST API
  • Easy to share calculations
  • Usage analytics
  • Scalability
  • Security associated with the protection by Arup credentials

High level explanation​

The below diagram gives a high level overview of the infrastructure that hosts ArupCompute.

ac-infrastructe-diagram

New library version upload sequence:

  • Developers write their library of code, and put ArupCompute-specific meta-data on it
  • They upload a .zip file of their compiled code and dependencies, which is then stored in Azure blob storage
  • ArupCompute uses reflection to pull out the relevant meta-data and stores it in a database
  • ArupCompute creates an Azure function to store the version of the library within

Then when a user sends a request to the library:

  • ArupCompute uses the unique calculation identifier to lookup the relevant information
  • The user request is routed to the correct Azure function
  • The library undertakes the calculations and returns the answer to ArupCompute
  • ArupCompute sends the result to the user

Detailed explanation​

To read in more detail, and understand some of the growing pains that ArupCompute is undergoing, you can read this architecture review from July '21.