Grid Portal Architecture Workshop

 

The goal of this workshop is to articulate a community standard architecture for Grid Portals.  This portal architecture would allow portal application developers to build specialized application components (portlets) that could be easily installed in any compliant portal server and easily configured by users to operate in their environment.   This architecture should provide a standard way for the application portlets to share information and important user specific context data such as proxy certificates.

 

Important issues and Questions

 

  • Are the current portal frameworks, such as Jetspeed, sufficient for all our requirements?
  • Is the portlet model the right one for Grid applications? 
  • When is the Web “pull” model insufficient for Grid applications?
  • What Grid services are needed to make Grid portals useful?
  • Are the proposed OGSA core Grid services appropriate and useable by Grid portals?  What other Grid middleware implications are there for Grid portal interoperability?
  • What are the requirements for a messaging and notification model to be used by Grid portals?
  • How do we build a GridShell?  How does one create a user’s Grid Context?
  • How do we design a Grid portal architecture that best supports collaboration?
  • Two important standard have emerged:  WSIA (Web Services for Interactive Applications) and WSRP (Web Services for Remote Portals).  Are these sufficient for the requirements of Grid Applications?

 

Workshop Outcome

The result of this workshop should be a draft for a GGF  “community practice document” entitled “Grid Portal Architecture”.   The first part of the workshop will be technical presentations followed by a working discussion outlining the proposed document.

 

In order to facilitate the production of a report by the end of the workshop we would like speakers to address one or more of the following points.  This will serve as an outline for the report.

 

  1. Portal Architecture
    • What they choices?
    • Jetspeed
    • GridSphere
    • Summary/Comparison/futures

 

  1. Using Portlets
    • examples
    • difficulties encountered
    • lessons
  2. GCE Portlet Specification
    • "Design Pattern"
    • Specific Schema to be used
  3. GCEShell capabilities done with GCE Portlet Specification
    • NCSA Exemple 1
    • EU Example 2
    • Texas example 3
    • Michigan Example 4
    • Others?

 

Workshop Agenda

 

Introduction and Workshop Charge

            Dennis Gannon, Indiana University  (10min.)

 

Overview of GCE and Grid Portal Issues

            Geoffrey Fox, Community Grids Lab, Indiana University (40 min.)

 

Background:  OGSA, WSIA and WSRP and Grid Contexts

            Dennis Gannon, Indiana University (20 min)

 

GridLab Portal Technology

            Michael Russel, Albert Einstein Institute, Golm, Germany (20 min.)

 

GridPort Technology

            Mary Thomas, TACC, Univ. of Texas (20 min.)

 

The CHEF Portal

            Charles Severance, University of Michigan  (20 min)

 

(Other presentations may be included.  Send proposals to gannon@cs.indiana.edu)

 

Report drafting session.  (1 hour)