Grid Computing Environments (GCE) Charter

 

Draft: Please direct comments to Mary Thomas (mthomas@tacc.utexas.edu) and Geoffrey Fox (gcf@cs.indiana.edu)

October, 2002: Rev 2

July, 2002: Rev 1

[NOTE: this doc needs to be migrated to GGF Info doc template]

 

1.     Research Group Organization:

 

Chair(s):

• ·      Geoffrey Fox (gcf@indiana.edu)
• ·      Dennis Gannon (gannon@cs.indiana.edu)
• ·      Mary Thomas (mthomas@tacc.utexas.edu)
• ·      EU: Rob Allan (r.j.allan@dl.ac.uk)

 

Secretary: Jay Alameda (jalameda@ncsa.uiuc.edu)

 

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2.     Statement of Purpose

 

The Grid Computing Environment (GCE) Research Group is principally focused on user environments that integrate access to grid services. This Research Group is aimed at aimed at contributing to the coherence and interoperability of frameworks, portals, PSE's, and other Grid-based computing environments and Grid services. We will do this by evaluating and testing protocols, API’s and SDK’s from “currentbest practices” projects that are required to integrate technology implementations and solutions. A GCE covers both the tools and the technologies needed to construct environments such as:

·      Portals: users, application, education – web, other

·      Problem Solving Environments

 

Our function is to perform research on user requirements based on howhow developers users utilize are using the Grid and it’sits services, and by using a task-oriented approach to extract outidentify functionalitiesy, API's, and protocols and to facilitate interoperability between users of the Grid and developers of the Grid. This research will be based on what can be done today and what can/should be done in with the next generation of software. Our information will have a bi-directional flow between service working groups and those that sit at “higher” levels of the 3-tier Grid architecture. We will also provide linkage with other relevant communities outside of GGF.

 

Our research would be expected to produce recommendations to GGF and spawn working groups that develop possible standards. Our process will consist of: meetings and workshops, experimental testbed, demonstration activities at SC, GGF and other conferences; targeted groups of papers. Our deliverables will consist of papers, publications, documents, sharing of research software via papers and web sites, collaborations on projects.

 

1.Targeted Projects and Activities

 

The GCE research group will initially perform collaborative research on:

 

Identify “Current Practices” for projects

Produce GGF Information survey documents

Focused studiesdetailed exploration of GCE technologies.

Identify, create, and participate in experimental GCE testbeds and collaborationsas necessary

Currently we are working on the following:

 

1. a.Grid Job metadata and workflow management
1. a.Portlets and similar technologies for component models for user interfaces
1. a.Interoperable web and grid services (eg OGSA) 
1. a.Explore architecture(s) for GCE framework(s). 
1. a.We will use the results of these activities and provide feedback to other research and working groups
1. a.Continue to evaluate emerging technologies in the areas of grid services, APIs, SDKs and Protocols, technologies  
1. a.Collect Software Toolkits for building Grid applications and post/link on websites 

 

3.     General Deliverables Short Term Focus Areas

a.     Portal Technologies

b.     Workflow Aarchitectures

c.     GCE Shells

d.     Experimental Testbed for interoperable servicess

 

4.     Deliverables

1. a.     Workshops to be held in the next year:

i.      Workflow Architectures at GGF7

ii.     Portal technologies

iii.   GCE Shells

1. a.     Journal We will plan to hold topical workshops at GGF meetings or outside as appropriate.
1. a.     We expect to have around three targeted activities each year, and at least one will produce a GGF document.
1. a.     We expect to continue to produce papers for publication based on our targeted activities.
2. b.     Publications: a group of 28 papers will be published in C&C:P&E, which was a direct result of the GCE activities to collect “current practices” documents in 20021.
3. c.     GGF Informational Documents:

i.      Draft of sSurvey document capturing the current practices on workflow specification and management by GGF7, final draft by GGF8.

ii.     GCE Shell (Draft)

i.   Workflow Architecture

iii.   Mary’s DocumentSummary of C&C:P&E journal, containing editorial and copies of abstracts.

iv.   Summary Documents for past Workshops.

v.     Submissions by members of the GGF related GCE focus areas.

1. a.Grid Job metadata, will produce a GGF informational document by GGF7
1. a.Interoperable web services demonstration planned for SC02, and resultant GGF info doc by GGF7.
1. a.Continue to experiment with schemas needed for interoperable web services
1. a.We expect to start new targeted activities in the areas of

i.Portlets

i.OGSA-based Grid services

i.Experiments with the above technologies in a testbed fashion