SPSP server

Posted4 June, 2025
Updated4 June, 2025
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Backend and frontend

SPSP is a secure online application with a complex application workflow and a large volume of genomic data to be processed on high-performance computing (HPC) servers, emphasizing the robustness and quality of both data and analytical results.

  • Private and Public dashboards for presenting complex data (bioinformatics results, outbreak monitoring).
  • Differentiated access management to data (sensitive data accessible only to Data Owners and authorized groups).
  • The application is based on a Spring Boot (Java) backend framework, interfaced with multiple frontends via a REST API.
  • The software architecture is modular and includes several microservices (also for ontology lookup services like SNOMED-CT recommended by ehealthsuisse).
  • The frontends feature advanced search capabilities (via backend queries), as well as data presentation through sophisticated dashboards. The private frontend also includes differentiated access management to data (sensitive data accessible only to Data Owners and authorized groups).
  • The backend processes a large volume of data on high-performance computing (HPC) servers. All pipelines are containerized.
  • The bioinformatics analyses rely on workflows integrating existing tools (e.g., using Nextflow) or the development of specific scripts in Python.
  • The application is hosted on BioMedIT (a cloud infrastructure for biomedical data, with the SENSA node managed by SIB).

Source code – available on demand

Sensitive data, like original sample identifiers, may be submitted to SPSP. SPSP sensitive data are therefore hosted on a secure IT infrastructure (currently BioMedIT SENSA), while non-sensitive data are processed outside the secure zone (refer to Sensitive data management documentation page). As a consequence, the source code for the SPSP Server may not be public, as it would provide information on the API endpoints, database model and general architecture that could eventually make the platform vulnerable.

The source code for the SPSP server may however be shared upon request by trusted institutions. Please contact spsp-support@sib.swiss.

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