Exhibits, Demos & Posters
BXGrid: A Data Repository and Workflow Abstraction for Biometrics Research
Authors
- Hoang Bui, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Notre Dame
- Deborah Thomas, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Notre Dame
- Michael Kelly, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Notre Dame
- Christopher Lyon, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Notre Dame
- Douglas Thain, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Notre Dame
- Patrick Flynn, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Notre Dame
Abstract
Research in the field of biometrics depends on the effective management and analysis of many terabytes of digital data. The quality of an experimental result is often highly dependent upon the sheer amount of data marshaled to support it. However, the current state of the art requires researchers to have a heroic level of expertise in systems software to perform large scale experiments. To address this, we have designed and implemented BXGrid, a data repository and workflow abstraction for biometrics research. The system is composed of a relational database, an active storage cluster, and a campus computing grid. End users interact with the system through a high level abstraction of four stages: Select, Transform, AllPairs, and Analyze. A high degree of availability and reliability is achieved through transparent fail over, three phase operations, and independent auditing.
