Advanced Resource Connector
Encyclopedia
Advanced Resource Connector (ARC) is grid computing
middleware
introduced by NorduGrid
. ARC is an open source
software distributed under the Apache License
.
middleware
, originally proposed as an architecture on top of the Globus Toolkit
optimized for the needs of High-Energy Physics computing for the Large Hadron Collider
experiments. First deployment of ARC at the NorduGrid testbed
took place in summer 2002, and by 2003 it was used to support complex computations.
The first stable release of ARC (version 0.4) came out in April 2004 under the GNU General Public License
. The name "Advanced Resource Connector" was introduced for this release to distinguish the middleware from the infrastructure. In the same year, the Swedish national Grid project Swegrid became the first large cross-discipline infrastructure to be based on ARC.
In 2005, NorduGrid was formally established as a collaboration to support and coordinate ARC development. In 2006 two closely related projects were launched: the Nordic Data Grid Facility
, deploying a pan-Nordic e-Science
infrastructure based on ARC, and KnowARC, focused on transforming ARC into a next generation Grid middleware.
ARC v0.6 was released in May 2007, becoming the second stable release. Its key feature was introduction of the client library enabling easy development of higher-level applcations. It was also the first ARC release making use of open standards, as it included support for JSDL. Later this year, the first technology preview of the next generation ARC middleware was made available.
In 2008, the NorduGrid consortium adopted the Apache License
for ARC.
systems and source. Source code is also available from the NorduGrid SVN repository.
collaboration. Contributions to the software, documentation and dissemination activities are coming from the community and from various projects, such as the EU
KnowARC project, NDGF and various national Grid projects.
standardization guidelines. In particular, ARC implemented JSDL, and through the KnowARC project was promoted to become a service-based solution, conformant with other specifications, such as Glue2, BES, UR/RUS etc..
and brought together 11 participants from 8 European countries. The goal of the project was making ARC based on open community standards. Goals were:
KnowARC was the main group developing the ARC software since the project began in 2006. Apart from its main aim of further developing ARC, it contributed to the development of standards, and increased Grid and ARC usage in medicine and bioinformatics.
In July 2009, KnowARC announced it contributed to the integration of Grid technologies into official Linux repositories by adding Globus Toolkit
components into Fedora
and Debian
repositories.
Grid computing
Grid computing is a term referring to the combination of computer resources from multiple administrative domains to reach a common goal. The grid can be thought of as a distributed system with non-interactive workloads that involve a large number of files...
middleware
Middleware
Middleware is computer software that connects software components or people and their applications. The software consists of a set of services that allows multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact...
introduced by NorduGrid
NorduGrid
] NorduGrid is a collaboration aiming at development, maintenance and support of the free Grid middleware, known as the Advanced Resource Connector .- History :...
. ARC is an open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
software distributed under the Apache License
Apache License
The Apache License is a copyfree free software license authored by the Apache Software Foundation . The Apache License requires preservation of the copyright notice and disclaimer....
.
History
ARC appeared (and is still often referred to) as the NorduGridNorduGrid
] NorduGrid is a collaboration aiming at development, maintenance and support of the free Grid middleware, known as the Advanced Resource Connector .- History :...
middleware
Middleware
Middleware is computer software that connects software components or people and their applications. The software consists of a set of services that allows multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact...
, originally proposed as an architecture on top of the Globus Toolkit
Globus Toolkit
The Globus Toolkit, currently at version 5, is an open source toolkit for building computing grids developed and provided by the Globus Alliance.-Standards implementation:The Globus Toolkit is an implementation of the following standards:...
optimized for the needs of High-Energy Physics computing for the Large Hadron Collider
Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is expected to address some of the most fundamental questions of physics, advancing the understanding of the deepest laws of nature....
experiments. First deployment of ARC at the NorduGrid testbed
Testbed
A testbed is a platform for experimentation of large development projects. Testbeds allow for rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computational tools, and new technologies.The term is used across many disciplines to describe a development environment that is...
took place in summer 2002, and by 2003 it was used to support complex computations.
The first stable release of ARC (version 0.4) came out in April 2004 under the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
. The name "Advanced Resource Connector" was introduced for this release to distinguish the middleware from the infrastructure. In the same year, the Swedish national Grid project Swegrid became the first large cross-discipline infrastructure to be based on ARC.
In 2005, NorduGrid was formally established as a collaboration to support and coordinate ARC development. In 2006 two closely related projects were launched: the Nordic Data Grid Facility
Nordic Data Grid Facility
The Nordic Data Grid Facility, or NDGF, is a collaboration between the Nordic countries ....
, deploying a pan-Nordic e-Science
E-Science
E-Science is computationally intensive science that is carried out in highly distributed network environments, or science that uses immense data sets that require grid computing; the term sometimes includes technologies that enable distributed collaboration, such as the Access Grid...
infrastructure based on ARC, and KnowARC, focused on transforming ARC into a next generation Grid middleware.
ARC v0.6 was released in May 2007, becoming the second stable release. Its key feature was introduction of the client library enabling easy development of higher-level applcations. It was also the first ARC release making use of open standards, as it included support for JSDL. Later this year, the first technology preview of the next generation ARC middleware was made available.
In 2008, the NorduGrid consortium adopted the Apache License
Apache License
The Apache License is a copyfree free software license authored by the Apache Software Foundation . The Apache License requires preservation of the copyright notice and disclaimer....
for ARC.
Components
- Hosting environment:
- HED - hosting environment for Web serviceWeb serviceA Web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over the web.The W3C defines a "Web service" as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network". It has an interface described in a machine-processable format...
s (WS)
- HED - hosting environment for Web service
- Computing services:
- Grid Manager - server providing computing capability
- A-REX - next generation of Grid Manager, WS-based
- Storage services:
- Classic Storage Element - a simple GridFTP-based disk storage
- Chelonia - a lightweight distributed storage solution
- Hopi - a basic HTTP storage front-end
- Information services:
- Classic information server - local service information publishing
- Classic information index - distributed information indexing
- ALIS - local service information publishing, WS-based
- ISIS - distributed information indexing, WS-based
- Accounting:
- JURA - job record publisher for A-REX
- Security:
- Charon - authorization and policy decision service
- Software management:
- Janitor - provisioning of dynamic runtime environments
- Clients:
- ng* job and data CLI - command-line interface for job and data management
- arc* job and data CLI - next generation command-line interface for job and data management, interoperable with other middlewares like gLiteGLitegLite is a middleware computer software project for grid computing used by the CERN LHC experiments and other scientific domains. It was implemented by collaborative efforts of more than 80 people in 12 different academic and industrial research centers in Europe...
and UNICOREUNICOREUNICORE is a Grid computing technology that provides seamless, secure, and intuitive access to distributed Grid resources such as supercomputers or cluster systems and information stored in databases. UNICORE was developed in two projects funded by the German ministry for education and research... - arcproxy - universal Grid proxy generation utility
- Grid Monitor - graphical interface to the classic information services
- Libraries and API:
- libarcclient - job management and information
- libarcdata2 - data management
- HED security API
Availability
ARC is free software available from the NorduGrid public repository, both as binary packages for a variety of LinuxLinux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
systems and source. Source code is also available from the NorduGrid SVN repository.
Development
The open source development of the ARC middleware is coordinated by the NorduGridNorduGrid
] NorduGrid is a collaboration aiming at development, maintenance and support of the free Grid middleware, known as the Advanced Resource Connector .- History :...
collaboration. Contributions to the software, documentation and dissemination activities are coming from the community and from various projects, such as the EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
KnowARC project, NDGF and various national Grid projects.
Standards and interoperability
ARC development follows latest Open Grid ForumOpen Grid Forum
The Open Grid Forum is a community of users, developers, and vendors for standardization of grid computing. It was formed in 2006 in a merger of the Global Grid Forum and the Enterprise Grid Alliance. The OGSA, OGSI, and JSDL standards were created by the OGF...
standardization guidelines. In particular, ARC implemented JSDL, and through the KnowARC project was promoted to become a service-based solution, conformant with other specifications, such as Glue2, BES, UR/RUS etc..
KnowARC project
Grid-enabled Know-how Sharing Technology Based on ARC Services and Open Standards (KnowARC) was a Sixth Framework Programme Specific Targeted Research Project, funded under Priority IST-2005-2.5.4 "Advanced Grid Technologies, Systems and Services" from June 2006 to November 2009. It was initiated by the NorduGridNorduGrid
] NorduGrid is a collaboration aiming at development, maintenance and support of the free Grid middleware, known as the Advanced Resource Connector .- History :...
and brought together 11 participants from 8 European countries. The goal of the project was making ARC based on open community standards. Goals were:
- creation of a novel, powerful Next Generation Grid middleware based on ARC;
- promotion Grid standardization and interoperability;
- contributing to the take-up of Grid technologies.
KnowARC was the main group developing the ARC software since the project began in 2006. Apart from its main aim of further developing ARC, it contributed to the development of standards, and increased Grid and ARC usage in medicine and bioinformatics.
In July 2009, KnowARC announced it contributed to the integration of Grid technologies into official Linux repositories by adding Globus Toolkit
Globus Toolkit
The Globus Toolkit, currently at version 5, is an open source toolkit for building computing grids developed and provided by the Globus Alliance.-Standards implementation:The Globus Toolkit is an implementation of the following standards:...
components into Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...
and Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
repositories.
Related projects
Projects that contributed to development or make use of ARC middleware:- NorduGridNorduGrid] NorduGrid is a collaboration aiming at development, maintenance and support of the free Grid middleware, known as the Advanced Resource Connector .- History :...
- Nordic Data Grid FacilityNordic Data Grid FacilityThe Nordic Data Grid Facility, or NDGF, is a collaboration between the Nordic countries ....
- European Grid Initiative
- NGIn: Innovative Tools and Services for NorduGrid (Sweden)
- Dansk Center for Grid Computing (Denmark)
- Material Sciences National Grid Infrastructure (M-grid) (Finland)
- Eesti Grid (Estonia)
- NorGrid (Norway)
- Swiss Grid Initiative
External links
- NorduGrid official website for the Advanced Resource Connector middleware
- KnowARC, EU project contributing to the Advanced Resource Connector middleware development
- Nordic DataGrid Facility, a Nordic project contributing to the Advanced Resource Connector middleware development
- Open Grid Forum, the home of Grid standards