Special Features:
HP TO DEMONSTRATE UDC-GRID CONNECTION AT
GLOBUSWORLD
HP announced it would demonstrate research results
that connect the HP Utility
Data Center (UDC) to the grid at GlobusWorld in
San Diego, Jan. 13-17.
The demonstration is designed to show how Grid
users could potentially use the
HP UDC to run commercial applications simply
and easily.
Traditionally, the grid -- the worldwide network that
uses the Internet to build
distributed computing infrastructures -- has been
used mainly for technical and
scientific applications. HP Labs researchers
built their work on the Globus
Toolkit, an implementation of open standards
being developed by the Global Grid
Forum.
Their innovations could
extend the potential of the HP UDC, which is a self-
adapting, self-healing
and policy-driven system in which computing assets are
wired once, then
provisioned virtually and automatically as needed. "Scientific
applications
can be scheduled in 'batch' mode or are deadline-driven," said
Sharad
Singhal, principal scientist for the HP Labs project. "By contrast,
commercial applications run continuously over long periods of time and have
more
stringent requirements on reliability, security and accountability." To
enable
the Grid and the HP UDC to be connected, HP Labs researchers made
three key
innovations:
- Used the Globus Toolkit 2.0 to implement a gateway between the Grid
and the UDC. The gateway advertises UDC resources to the Grid and accepts=20
requests from Grid users for those resources.
- Identified a small number of tags that allow complex resource topologies
to be created using RSL (Resource Specification Language), which= is used by
the Globus Toolkit. These tags are expected to enable RSL to be easily
translated to and from the XML-based resource description used by the
UDC.
- Created a tool that uses drag-and-drop techniques to enable users to
design applications and submit them via the Globus Toolkit without needing to
understand the details of RSL or how the UDC represents its
resources.
"We use Globus Toolkit, the most widely used
grid-computing infrastructure, as a
starting platform," said Singhal. "We
also leverage the capability offered by
the HP UDC for secure resource
partitioning and virtual wiring to create complex
application environments.
We believe this work extends the grid, which currently
provides no method for
describing complex topologies, and enhances UDC by
providing it with Grid
interfaces."
A demonstration of the system has been installed at HP
Labs in Palo Alto. The
work is continuing as a research project.
The
Globus Toolkit includes software developed by and/or derived from the Globus
project: http://www.globus.org
About HP
HP is a leading global provider of products,
technologies, solutions and
services to consumers and businesses. The
company's offerings span IT
infrastructure, personal computing and access
devices, global services and
imaging and printing. HP completed its merger
transaction involving Compaq
Computer Corporation on May 3, 2002.
http://www.hp.com
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