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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY /
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Special Features:
HP JOINS BAE, OTHERS ON ADV.
AEROSPACE, DEFENSE DESIGN GRID
HP has teamed with BAE SYSTEMS, the Institute of High Performance Computing
in
Singapore, Cardiff University and the University of Wales-Swansea, to use Grid
computing for the exploration of advanced, collaborative simulation and
visualization in aerospace and defense design.
As part of the collaboration, HP and BAE will work together to develop
improved security measures for sharing Grid-enabled applications and data.
As the electronic systems used in the aerospace and defense sectors become
increasingly elaborate, the process of designing, visualizing and simulating
the operation of these systems becomes paramount. This is particularly the
case for computational electromagnetics, or CEM, which poses some of today's
most complex and compute-intensive engineering problems.
CEM is critical not only to ensuring that the radar cross-section of
complex
platforms is understood, but that internal electrical systems are compatible,
and that those systems can respond appropriately to external inputs, such as
lightning strikes or electromagnetic radiation.
Grid experts in HP Services and HP Labs are working with researchers in BAE
SYSTEMS' Advanced Technology Centre (ATC), the Welsh e-Science Centre at
Cardiff University and the University of Wales-Swansea, to Grid-enable the
applications that the ATC uses to create and test its most sophisticated
designs, including future concepts such as the More Electric Aircraft and the
All Electric Ship.
"We expect that Grid-enabling our complex modeling codes will allow us to
improve the speed and efficiency of our design process. In particular, it will
enhance our capability to work with global partners on future generations of
aerospace and defense systems," said Terry Knibb, chief scientist at BAE
SYSTEMS. "We chose to work with HP on this project because of their Grid
expertise, specifically in developing and deploying Grid infrastructure and
providing training and support on Grid standards, like the Globus Toolkit and
the Open Grid Services Architecture."
The Grid-enabled computational electromagnetics project is funded by the
UK's
Department of Trade and Industry as part of the United Kingdom e-Science
Program. The first phase of the project is expected to begin later this month.
Using existing nodes at the Institute of High Performance Computing, Singapore
and BAE SYSTEMS' ATC -- including two recently installed, Itanium-based HP
Integrity rx2600 servers -- and advanced visualization and modeling resources
from Cardiff University and the University of Wales-Swansea, the organizations
will roll out a functioning, geographically dispersed Grid that will be used
to explore advanced techniques for industrial simulation and Grid
security.
"This project will significantly help to develop Grid technologies for
industrial applications. The idea of an 'extended enterprise,' or 'virtual
organization' in which organizations with specialized skills come together to
solve complex computational problems is a key element of the Grid computing
vision," said Alex Hardisty, manager of the Welsh e-Science Centre at Cardiff
University.
Later phases of the project will focus on the development of heightened
security for Grid environments, including the exploration of measures to
enable the secure remote execution of highly proprietary applications. By
allowing external organizations that are members of a Grid to run an
application and report back the computational data without ever having access
to the program's underlying code, the security measures are expected to
increase the protection of commercial organizations' sensitive intellectual
property, while still allowing them to take advantage of Grid computing's
benefits.
"We're working to solve some of the security and information sharing
worries
that to date have prevented commercial companies from trusting a Grid with
running their most critical business applications," said, Martin Walker,
segment manager of Grids for HP Services. "Our work with BAE SYSTEMS will
serve as a model for other businesses looking to leverage Grid computing and
underscores HP's dedication to delivering real, functional Grid solutions to
the enterprise."
About HP
HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and
institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure,
personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and
printing for consumers, enterprises and small and medium businesses. For the
last four quarters, HP revenue totaled $71.3 billion. More information about
HP is available at www.hp.com.
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