Volume 7, Number 1 - Grid Computing

Standards-based Grid Products


Although Grid standards are still being formalized, a number of commercial and open source products that comply with early versions of these standards are available today. The first WSRF implementations are not expected until mid-2004, but many OGSI implementations already exist and conversion to WSRF is expected to follow.

Open Source Products

The Globus Toolkit is an open source software toolkit used for building standards-based Grids. It includes reference implementations of the emerging Grid standards, as well as tools for managing grid systems and developing Grid applications. Work on the Globus Toolkit is coordinated by the Globus Alliance, while many organizations have contributed to its components and features. See www.globus.org.

The NSF Middleware Initiative (NMI) software distribution includes a wide range of software, services, documents and recommendations for the effective use of information technology in research and education. Included are a number of popular open source Grid software tools. See www.nsf-middleware.org.

The Virtual Data Toolkit (VDT) includes Grid software designed for scientific and engineering projects that utilize very large (petabyte-scale) datasets. See www.griphyn.org/vdt.

The Open Grid Services Infrastructure (OGSI) extends Web
services to meet several key Grid requirements. See www.globus.org/ogsa. OGSI implementations are available in a variety of languages, including Java (Globus Toolkit 3.0, Fujitsu Unicore), .NET (U. Virginia' s OGSI.NET and U. Edinburgh), Python (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) and Perl (U. Manchester).

Commercial Products

IBM's WebSphere Application Server provides support for developing and deploying OGSA-based Grid services. IBM's Grid Toolbox provides implementations of standard Grid services and tools as well as additional tools and services for deploying Grid technologies within or across organizations. See www.ibm.com/grid.

HP offers a commercial version of the Globus Toolkit for HP-UX, Tru64 Unix, and Linux. The HP Utility Data Center (UDC) product line includes Data Center operation & construction services and HP's stated intent is to construct UDC products using OGSI-compliant services. HP also offers Enterprise Grid Consulting from HP Services. See www.hp.com/techservers/grid .

Platform offers a commercial version of the Globus Toolkit for Tru64, HP-UX, AIX, Linux, IRIX and Solaris, including integration with popular high-performance scheduling systems. Platform also offers Grid consulting and training from Platform Professional Services. See www.platform.com/grid.
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