Should Synapse be concerned with running code supplied by users?
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No image sharing (e.g. ALS Stratification Challenge)
In this approach a challenge administrator creates containers (running images) on users' behalf. Users 'log in' and modify containers as if they're in a unix account.
Advantages: Users need not learn Docker. Containers can be run on a shared system where users are denied admin access. Little or no Synapse development.
Disadvantages: Users don't have visibility as to how images are stored and organized. Mechanism is needed to 'signal' to the administrator to create an image from a configured container. While submission may be streamlined, later sharing with or reuse by third parties is not provided and must be supported separately.
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Beyond creating and managing images, there is the matter of where to run them. A simple approach is to install Docker on a single machine and run containers there. Other approaches include:
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https://console.ng.bluemix.net/
Galaxy Docker
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invocation (e.g. SMC-HET challenge)
https://www.synapse.org/#!Synapse:syn2786217/wiki/74384
At this time we have not done a detailed comparison of the pros and cons of each alternative.