Open Science Grid Consortium
Encyclopedia
The Open Science Grid Consortium is an organization that administers a worldwide grid
of technological resources called the Open Science Grid, which facilitates distributed computing
for scientific research. Founded in 2004, the consortium
is composed of service and resource providers, researchers from universities and national laboratories, as well as computing centers across the United States. Members independently own and manage the resources which make up the distributed facility, and consortium agreements provide the framework for technological and organizational integration.
or supercomputer
. While most of the grid's resources are used for particle physics
, research teams from disciplines like biology
, chemistry
, astronomy
, and Geographic information systems are currently using the grid to analyze data. Research using the grid's resources has been published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry.
, and about 70% of its 300,000 computing-hours per day are dedicated to the analysis of data from particle colliders. Once data has been collected and distributed by the LHC Computing Grid
, the Open Science Grid assists physicists from institutions around the world in analysis. The grid has been designed so that resources and data are shared automatically:
.
72 institutions, including 42 universities, are consortium members who contribute resources to the grid. There are 90 distinct computational and storage nodes in the grid, which are distributed across the United States
and Brazil
.
with other grids, including TeraGrid
, LHC Computing Grid
and EGEE
, allowing data and resources from those grids to be shared.
and Information systems
. Research about the OSG has been published in Science
and Lecture Notes in Computer Science
.
and National Science Foundation
, and has received a $30 million dollar joint grant.
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...
of technological resources called the Open Science Grid, which facilitates distributed computing
Distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
for scientific research. Founded in 2004, the consortium
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
is composed of service and resource providers, researchers from universities and national laboratories, as well as computing centers across the United States. Members independently own and manage the resources which make up the distributed facility, and consortium agreements provide the framework for technological and organizational integration.
Use
The OSG is used by scientists and researchers for data analysis tasks which are too computationally intensive for a single data centerData center
A data center is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems...
or supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
. While most of the grid's resources are used for particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
, research teams from disciplines like biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, and Geographic information systems are currently using the grid to analyze data. Research using the grid's resources has been published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry.
Large Hadron Collider
The Open Science Grid was created in order to facilitate data analysis from the Large Hadron ColliderLarge 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....
, and about 70% of its 300,000 computing-hours per day are dedicated to the analysis of data from particle colliders. Once data has been collected and distributed by the LHC Computing Grid
LHC Computing Grid
The Worldwide LHC Computing Grid is a computer network designed by CERN to handle the massive amounts of data produced by the Large Hadron Collider .-Description:A design report was published in 2005....
, the Open Science Grid assists physicists from institutions around the world in analysis. The grid has been designed so that resources and data are shared automatically:
Architecture
In total, the OSG comprises over 25,000 computers with over 43,000 processors, most of which are running a distribution 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...
.
72 institutions, including 42 universities, are consortium members who contribute resources to the grid. There are 90 distinct computational and storage nodes in the grid, which are distributed across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
Peerage
The grid is peeredPeer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
with other grids, including TeraGrid
TeraGrid
TeraGrid is an e-Science grid computing infrastructure combining resources at eleven partner sites. The project started in 2001 and operated from 2004 through 2011....
, LHC Computing Grid
LHC Computing Grid
The Worldwide LHC Computing Grid is a computer network designed by CERN to handle the massive amounts of data produced by the Large Hadron Collider .-Description:A design report was published in 2005....
and EGEE
Egee
Egee was a mythical Libyan queen, known in ancient Greece. Legend says she commanded an army of Amazon women warriors that traveled from Libya to Asia Minor to fight at Troy. Little else is known about her.-References:...
, allowing data and resources from those grids to be shared.
Study
The grid's architecture has been studied by many researchers in the fields of Computer scienceComputer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
and Information systems
Information systems
Information Systems is an academic/professional discipline bridging the business field and the well-defined computer science field that is evolving toward a new scientific area of study...
. Research about the OSG has been published in Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and Lecture Notes in Computer Science
Lecture Notes in Computer Science
Lecture Notes in Computer Science is a series of computer science books that has been published by Springer Science+Business Media since 1973....
.
Funding
The consortium is funded by the Department of EnergyUnited States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
and National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
, and has received a $30 million dollar joint grant.