Before you start¶

NRP usage options¶

You can either use the online NRP, getting benefits from the high-performance computing and cloud services, or install NRP locally on your machine (from the source or in Docker).

Criteria for version selection:

	Online platform	Local install (docker)	Source install
Pros	Online, no installation Always up-to-date, no maintenance A number of template experiments Servers available 24/7	Easy installation No software dependencies Works on Linux, Windows and Mac Isolated from your other software Runs 100% on your computer Auto-updatable Access to lower-level tools still possible by accessing containers	Full flexibility Completely extendable and tunable Easily updatable
Cons	Impossible to add additional python packages for use in transfer functions Impossible to upload custom Gazebo plugins (yet)	Changes in containers are lost on updates (not in Models or Experiments folders though) Update might fail if Models or Experiments have been too much hacked Customization is possible but tedious inside container	Tedious installation, many dependencies Works only on Linux Ubuntu 20.04 Might conflict with existing software Has to be kept up-to-date manually
Installation Time	0	5-10 min	3 hours
Recommended for	Seminars, courses, prototyping	Most users with a powerful computer	Code contributors

Firefox and Chrome are currently actively supported on Windows, Mac and Linux, for both the Online platform and the local install (Docker). IOS and Android and not officially supported yet, though it mostly works with the online platform.

Supported OS\Browser	Chrome	Firefox	Safari	IE - Edge
Windows (8/10)	OK	OK	NO	NO
Linux (Ubuntu 20.04)	OK	OK	n.a.	n.a.
Mac OS (X)	OK	OK	NO	n.a.
Android (11)	NO	NO	n.a.	n.a.
IOS (IPad)	NO	n.a.	NO	n.a.

Online service¶

In order to access the online NRP, you need to have the EBRAINS account. These accounts can be requested on the account page on our website.

The online version has the least hardware requirements. The computer with 4GB of RAM, slow processor and low-end graphics chipset is enought for running the NRP in a minimal graphic mode.

Local installation¶

If you still want to install the NRP on your machine, use our pre-built Docker images. You can also build the NRP from the source (for advanced users and developers).

The local installation will require at least 8GB of RAM and a large drive space (20GB minimum). For a better performance we recommend to use more than 16GB of RAM, fast processor and good graphic chipset.