NorduGrid
Encyclopedia
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
aiming at development, maintenance and support of the free Grid
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...
, known as the Advanced Resource Connector
Advanced Resource Connector
Advanced Resource Connector is grid computing middleware introduced by NorduGrid. ARC is an open source software distributed under the Apache License.- History :...
(ARC).
History
The name NorduGrid first became known in 2001 as short for the project called "Nordic Testbed for Wide Area Computing and Data Handling" funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers via the Nordunet2 programme. That project's main goal was to set up a prototype of a distributed computing infrastructure (a testbedTestbed
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...
), aiming primarily at the needs of the High Energy Physics researchers in the ATLAS experiment
ATLAS experiment
ATLAS is one of the six particle detector experiments constructed at the Large Hadron Collider , a new particle accelerator at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland...
.
Following evaluation of the then existing Grid
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...
technology solutions, NorduGrid developers came up with an alternative software architecture
Software architecture
The software architecture of a system is the set of structures needed to reason about the system, which comprise software elements, relations among them, and properties of both...
. It was implemented and demonstrated in May 2002, and soon became known as the NorduGrid Middleware. In 2004 this middleware solution was given a proper name, the Advanced Resource Connector
Advanced Resource Connector
Advanced Resource Connector is grid computing middleware introduced by NorduGrid. ARC is an open source software distributed under the Apache License.- History :...
(ARC).
Until May 2003, NorduGrid headquarters were in the Niels Bohr Institute
Niels Bohr Institute
The Niels Bohr Institute is a research institute of the University of Copenhagen. The research of the institute spans astronomy, geophysics, nanotechnology, particle physics, quantum mechanics and biophysics....
; at the 5th NorduGrid Workshop it was decided to move them to the Oslo University. The present-day formal collaboration was established in 2005 by five Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
academic institutes (Niels Bohr Institute
Niels Bohr Institute
The Niels Bohr Institute is a research institute of the University of Copenhagen. The research of the institute spans astronomy, geophysics, nanotechnology, particle physics, quantum mechanics and biophysics....
in Copenhagen, Denmark, Helsinki Institute of Physics
Helsinki Institute of Physics
The Helsinki Institute of Physics is a physics research institute operated by University of Helsinki, Aalto University and University of Jyväskylä...
in Finland, Oslo University in Norway, and Lund
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
and Uppsala
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
Universities in Sweden) with the goal to develop, support, maintain and popularize ARC
Advanced Resource Connector
Advanced Resource Connector is grid computing middleware introduced by NorduGrid. ARC is an open source software distributed under the Apache License.- History :...
. Deployment and support of the Nordic Grid
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...
infrastructure itself became the responsibility of the NDGF
Nordic Data Grid Facility
The Nordic Data Grid Facility, or NDGF, is a collaboration between the Nordic countries ....
project, launched in June 2006. This marked clear separation between Grid middleware providers and infrastructure services providers. To further support ARC
Advanced Resource Connector
Advanced Resource Connector is grid computing middleware introduced by NorduGrid. ARC is an open source software distributed under the Apache License.- History :...
development, NorduGrid and several other interested partners secured dedicated funding through EU
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
FP6 project KnowARC.
NorduGrid Collaboration is based upon a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding and is open for new members.
Goals
The NorduGrid Collaboration is the consortium behind the ARCAdvanced Resource Connector
Advanced Resource Connector is grid computing middleware introduced by NorduGrid. ARC is an open source software distributed under the Apache License.- History :...
middleware, and its key goal is to ensure that ARC
Advanced Resource Connector
Advanced Resource Connector is grid computing middleware introduced by NorduGrid. ARC is an open source software distributed under the Apache License.- History :...
is further developed, maintained, supported and widely deployed, while remaining a free 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, suitable for a wide variety of high-throughput
High-throughput computing
High-throughput computing is a computer science term to describe the use of many computing resources over long periods of time to accomplish a computational task.-Challenges:...
Grid
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...
computational tasks.
The ultimate goal is to provide a reliable, scalable, portable and full-featured solution for Grid
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...
infrastructures, conformant with open standards, primarily those developed in the framework of the Open Grid Forum.
While ARC
Advanced Resource Connector
Advanced Resource Connector is grid computing middleware introduced by NorduGrid. ARC is an open source software distributed under the Apache License.- History :...
software development may and does often take place outside NorduGrid, the Collaboration coordinates contributions to the code and maintains the code and software repositories, as well as a build system, an issue tracking system and other necessary software development services.
NorduGrid defines strategical directions for development of ARC
Advanced Resource Connector
Advanced Resource Connector is grid computing middleware introduced by NorduGrid. ARC is an open source software distributed under the Apache License.- History :...
and ensures financial support for it.
ARC Community
The term ARC Community is used to refer to various groups of people willing to share their computational resources via ARC. A tit-for-tat user group is formalized as a virtual organisation (VOVO
VO can refer to:* Austrian Arrows' IATA code* Data transfer object, formerly known as Value Object* Seagram's VO Whiskey* Vanadium oxide, an inorganic compound* Velocity obstacle* Virtual organization...
), allowing the mutual use of such community resources.
Contrary to the popular belief, NorduGrid members are not required to provide computing or storage resources; neither offering such resources grants an automatic membership.
Still, ARC community as a whole owns a substantial amount of computing and storage resources. On a voluntarily basis, and for the purpose of the 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...
development process, community members may donate CPU cycles and some storage space to the developers and testers. Such resources constitute the 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...
for the ARC middleware.
Other than such donated community resources, NorduGrid does not provide or allocate any computational resources and does not coordinate worldwide deployment of ARC
Advanced Resource Connector
Advanced Resource Connector is grid computing middleware introduced by NorduGrid. ARC is an open source software distributed under the Apache License.- History :...
.
Actual deployment and usage of ARC
Advanced Resource Connector
Advanced Resource Connector is grid computing middleware introduced by NorduGrid. ARC is an open source software distributed under the Apache License.- History :...
-based distributed computing infrastructures is coordinated by the respective infrastructure projects, such as e.g. NDGF
Nordic Data Grid Facility
The Nordic Data Grid Facility, or NDGF, is a collaboration between the Nordic countries ....
, Swegrid (Sweden), Material Sciences National Grid Infrastructure (M-grid) (Finland), NorGrid (Norway) etc..
Apart of contributing computational resources, many groups develop higher-level software tools on top of ARC (e.g.). This kind of development is not coordinated by NorduGrid, but assistance is provided by the Collaboration upon request.
NorduGrid Certification Authority
NorduGrid Certification Authority (CA) is currently the only major infrastructure service provided by the NorduGrid. This Authority issues electronic certificates to users and services, such that they can work in Grid environments. Present day Grid implementations require X.509X.509
In cryptography, X.509 is an ITU-T standard for a public key infrastructure and Privilege Management Infrastructure . X.509 specifies, amongst other things, standard formats for public key certificates, certificate revocation lists, attribute certificates, and a certification path validation...
certificates to validate identity of Grid participants. NorduGrid CA provides such certificates to individuals and machines associated with research and/or academic institutions in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The NorduGrid Certification Authority is a member of the European Policy Management Authority for Grid Authentication (EUGridPMA).
Related projects
- EU KnowARC project
- Nordic Data Grid FacilityNordic Data Grid FacilityThe Nordic Data Grid Facility, or NDGF, is a collaboration between the Nordic countries ....
- NGIn: Innovative Tools and Services for NorduGrid
- Swegrid (Sweden)
- Dansk Center for Grid Computing (Denmark)
- Material Sciences National Grid Infrastructure (M-grid) (Finland)
- Eesti Grid (Estonia)
- NorGrid (Norway)
- Swiss Grid Initiative
See also
- Advanced Resource ConnectorAdvanced Resource ConnectorAdvanced Resource Connector is grid computing middleware introduced by NorduGrid. ARC is an open source software distributed under the Apache License.- History :...
- KnowARC
- Nordic Data Grid FacilityNordic Data Grid FacilityThe Nordic Data Grid Facility, or NDGF, is a collaboration between the Nordic countries ....
- Enabling Grids for E-sciencE
- European Grid Initiative
- European Middleware Initiative
- Open Science Grid
- 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...
- Open Grid ForumOpen Grid ForumThe 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...
External links
- NorduGrid Web site
- NorduGrid Certification Authority
- KnowARC EUEuropean UnionThe 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...
project contributing to the ARCAdvanced Resource ConnectorAdvanced Resource Connector is grid computing middleware introduced by NorduGrid. ARC is an open source software distributed under the Apache License.- History :...
middleware development - Nordic DataGrid Facility, a Nordic project contributing to the ARCAdvanced Resource ConnectorAdvanced Resource Connector is grid computing middleware introduced by NorduGrid. ARC is an open source software distributed under the Apache License.- History :...
middleware development