Special Features:
GLOBUS TOOLKIT RELEASE PROVIDES
GRID SERVICES
CHANGES SINCE LAST MONTH:
- Globus Toolkit 3.0 alpha 3 now available
- Replica Location Service available now in experimental release
- Globus Toolkit 2.4 release expected 2nd half of April
CONTENTS:
- 1. CURRENT RELEASES
- 2. NEW FEATURES AVAILABLE NOW IN THE EXPERIMENTAL RELEASE
- 3. NEW FEATURES CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT
- 4. UPCOMING RELEASES
CURRENT RELEASES
The current stable version of the Globus Toolkit is 2.2, released in
October
2002. The latest release update to 2.2 was 2.2.4, released in February 2003.
Download this version at
www.globus.org/toolkit/download/index.html.
The current experimental version of the Globus Toolkit is 2.3. The
experimental version is intended to allow interested parties to test and
experiment with new code prior to the code's appearance in a stable release.
The experimental version is available via remote CVS.
See
www.globus.org/developer/howto/remote-cvs.html to learn how to use the
Globus Toolkit CVS repository.
The Globus Toolkit 3.0 alpha 3 release is available at
www.globus.org/ogsa/releases/alpha/.
This alpha release is intended for early testing and experimentation with
OGSI-based Grid Services.
NEW FEATURES AVAILABLE NOW IN THE EXPERIMENTAL RELEASE
The following new features have been developed since the 2.2 stable release
and are currently available for testing and experimental use via the 2.3
experimental release (see above). Globus Toolkit users may install and test
these changes on pre-deployment testbed systems to look for possible issues
prior to their appearance in future releases. These features will appear in
the Globus Toolkit 2.4. (See "Upcoming Releases" below for more GT 2.4
information.)
Replica Location Service (RLS)
The Replica Location Service (RLS) is a new Globus Toolkit component that
maintains and provides access to information about the physical locations of
replicated data. This implementation was co-developed by the Globus Project
and Work Package 2 of the European DataGrid project. RLS is intended to
eventually replace the Globus Toolkit's Replica Catalog component, providing
higher performance, reliability and scalability. Additional details are
available at www.globus.org/rls/.
Direct questions or comments to Ann Chervenak at annc@isi.edu.
Windows 2000/XP Support Code
A number of code additions were made to provide support for building the
Globus Toolkit on Windows 2000 and XP. This is NOT currently a supported
build option for the Globus Toolkit 2.2 or 2.4 releases, though it may be in
subsequent releases. These changes were made to allow specific user
communities and projects to do development work on Windows platforms. If
anyone is able to use this code on Windows 2000 or XP platforms and is
interested in testing future versions of the Globus Toolkit on Windows
systems, we would be interested in hearing from you and establishing a process
for continuous Windows 2000/XP integration testing. Direct questions or
comments to Lee Liming at liming@mcs.anl.gov.
GSI-3
This new implementation of the GSI libraries will accept proxy certificates
in
either GT 2.2 or GT 3.0 proxy certificate formats. The proxy certificate
format has been updated to bring it into compliance with the latest proxy
certificate draft specification in the Global Grid Forum. This code allows GT
2.2 and 2.4 proxy certificates to be used to authenticate with GT 3.0
services, offering a backwards-compatible migration path from GT 2.2 to GT
3.0. Direct questions or comments to Sam Meder at meder@mcs.anl.gov.
NEW FEATURES CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT
Globus Toolkit developers are currently working on the following new
features.
This work is in various states of completion and is not generally available
for testing or experimentation. When the items below are completed, the
resulting code will first appear in the Globus Toolkit experimental version,
and later will appear in a stable version.
Globus Toolkit 3.0 Development
Extensive Globus Toolkit 3.0 development is ongoing! The current alpha
release is being extended to include the full range of features anticipated
for the GT 3.0 beta and final releases.
See
www.globus.org/ogsa/releases/alpha/ for more information
about GT 3.0
features.
Send questions or comments to Lisa Childers at childers@mcs.anl.gov.
Globus XIO Framework and Drivers
Globus XIO is an extensible I/O library for the Globus Toolkit. It
provides a simple API (open/close/read/write) to swappable I/O
implementations. Our intent is to re-implement the Globus I/O and GridFTP
components using Globus XIO, which will provide considerably greater
flexibility for future high-performance protocol development work. Send
questions or comments to Bill Allcock at allcock@mcs.anl.gov.
GridFTP Enhancements
This development effort includes a specific set of features required by
current users of the GridFTP protocol and tools. Notable improvements
include: a client API feature to detect specific server features, features to
allow clients to request specific transfer status information, features to
provide directory listings in standard formats, and improved firewall support.
Send questions or comments to Bill Allcock at allcock@mcs.anl.gov.
GRAM Fine-Grain Authorization Callout
This development effort adds the ability for a GT2 deployer to configure
callouts to perform fine-grain authorization checks on GRAM operations (job
invocation and job management). Send questions or comments to Sam Meder at
meder@mcs.anl.gov.
Integration Testing with GridConfig
This effort will ensure that SDSC's GridConfig tool produces appropriate
and functionally-correct Globus Toolkit configuration files. The NSF
Middleware Initiative's (NMI's) software release 3 will contain both
GridConfig and the Globus Toolkit and will offer the option of using
GridConfig to automatically generate Globus Toolkit configuration files. Send
questions or comments to Tom Garritano at garritano@mcs.anl.gov.
UPCOMING RELEASES
April 2003: Globus Toolkit 2.4
GT 2.4 is the next "stable release" of the Globus Toolkit. The release
process has begun, and we expect to release GT 2.4 in the second half of
April. If you wish to contribute to the release process by testing the
distribution on specific platforms or in specific environments or use cases,
please contact Lee Liming at liming@mcs.anl.gov or Scott Gose at gose@cs.uchicago.edu.
Unlike release updates (2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, etc.), stable releases include
feature changes in addition to bug fixes and portability patches. Feature
changes are made generally available in experimental releases prior to their
appearance in stable releases. Considerable effort is always given to
designing for and testing backwards compatibility with previous stable
releases.
GT 2.4 will include all of the features described in the section above
titled
"New Features Available Now in the Experimental Release" in addition to all
bug fixes and portability patches known to us at the time of the release.
April 2003: Globus Toolkit 3.0 beta
The GT 3.0 beta release will contain all features that we expect to appear
in
the final GT3 release. The beta release will be provided early in order to
give others the ability to test and experiment with the final GT3 release
while extensive integration and performance testing activities are conducted
by the Globus Project. See
www.globus.org/ogsa/releases/alpha/ for more information about GT 3.0
features.
June 2003: Globus Toolkit 3.0 final
The GT 3.0 final release will contain an open source implementation of
OGSI,
several OGSI-compliant services corresponding to familiar GT2 services, and
the ability to create new OGSI-compliant services.
See
www.globus.org/ogsa/releases/alpha/ for more information
about GT 3.0
features.
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