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Basic foilset Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids

Given by Geoffrey C. Fox at Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids on 7-10 Sept 97. Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997
Outside Index Summary of Material

We describe why it is interesting to build computational grids on the commodity (web) software infrstructure
We Introduce Industry 3-tier architecture and identify middle tier as key architectural feature
We discuss implications for collaboration,
  • multidisciplinary interactions,
  • interpreted and visual programming environments
  • Forces Modeling distributed simulations
  • CORBA object technology
We describe two tier messaging with control in middle tier snd high performance data transfer in backend tier

Table of Contents for full HTML of Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids

 Denote Foils where Image Critical
Denote Foils where HTML is sufficient
1 Remarks on Commodity(Web) Technologies for Computational Grids
2 The Computing Pyramid
3 Some Classes of Applications
4 Computational Grid and the Web
5 Two Roles of Web Technologies
6 Structure(Architecture) of Applications - I
7 Structure(Architecture) of Applications - II
8 Some Tactical Opportunities of Web Technologies - I
9 Some Tactical Opportunities of Web Technologies - II
10 Why Use of Web Architecture as basis of Computational Grid?
11 One Strategy for a Web-based Computational Grid
12 A Web-based 3-Tier Computing System
13 Web-Server based Metacomputer Capabilities at 3 levels
14 General Web based Grid Architecture
15 Role of Collaboratory Systems
16 Proposed Approach to High Performance Messaging
17 Three Possible Implementations of CFD CSM Linkage
18 Picture of JavaBean and JDK1.1 AWT Event Model
19 Some Capabilities of this Approach
20 Three Possible Implementations of CFD CSM Linkage
21 Web Architecture Supports Interpreted Environments
22 Example of WebFlow = AVS/Khoros using Web
23 WebFlow: Image Processing
24 Component Based Programming Environments
25 Integration of Web with CORBA
26 Integration of DIS with Object Web Based Computing
27 Technology Convergence Roadmap - Overview for Forces Modeling, Integrated Modeling and Testing for DoD
28 Technology Convergence Roadmap - Overview for Forces Modeling, Integrated Modeling and Testing for DoD

Outside Index Summary of Material

HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 1 Remarks on Commodity(Web) Technologies for Computational Grids

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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Geoffrey Fox
Syracuse University
NPAC
111 College Place Syracuse NY 13244 4100
3154432163
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 2 The Computing Pyramid

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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Bottom of Pyramid has 1000 times dollar value and compute power of best supercomputer (tip of pyramid) but supercomputer has high performance network to support close synchronization needed by classic parallel algorithms
Use of
Web Technologies
is naturally a
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 3 Some Classes of Applications

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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High end (today) to high end(tomorrow)
  • e.g. Astrophysics QCD .....
High end(today) to low end(tomorrow)
  • Today's supercomputer is tomorrow's PC
  • e.g. TeleImmersive Environments
Low end(today) to low end(tomorrow)
  • e.g. commerce, consumer market, education
Low end(today) to very low end (tomorrow)
  • e.g. email
The new application(s) we can't predict
1997
2007
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 4 Computational Grid and the Web

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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The transportation system was built using lessons from and feed up/down from Sports cars, Cadillacs, Model T's, Ford Escorts etc.
Computational Grid will be shaped by and shape all 5 classes of applications on previous foil
  • Everybody would perhaps agree on general statement but perhaps disagree on importance of it
A highish end computational grid will in some sense (to be disagreed on) be influenced by and influence the "Web" which is here defined as "mass-market"/business IntraNet (low to low) use of Internet/distributed Information Systems
This chapter (section of new architecture chapter) describes some of tactical and strategic (architecture) implications of Web technologies for computational grids
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 5 Two Roles of Web Technologies

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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One can "just" use Web technologies as a software infrastructure for building computational grids which can/should have a very different architecture from the Web
  • e.g. write software in Java
  • e.g. adopt interfaces/standards such as JDBC, VRML, Java3D
One can view the Web as a distributed information system with modest performance and preserve the basic architecture
  • "just" enhance the Web to get high performance
  • several ways of doing this -- common feature is that they all inherit rich web capabilities
Or one can adopt a bit of both approaches
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 6 Structure(Architecture) of Applications - I

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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Applications are metaproblems with a mix of module and data parallelism
  • As discussed in Parallel Computing Works! (Morgan Kaufmann .....)
Modules are decomposed into parts (data parallelism) and composed hierarchically into full applications.They can be the
  • "10,000" separate programs (e.g. structures,CFD ..) used in design of aircraft
  • the various filters used in Khoros based image processing system
  • the ocean-atmosphere components in CASA project
  • The data-base or file system access of a data-intensive application
  • the objects in a distributed Forces Modeling Event Driven Simulation
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 7 Structure(Architecture) of Applications - II

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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Modules are "natural" message-parallel components of problem and tend to have less stringent latency and bandwidth requirements than those needed to link data-parallel components
  • modules are what HPF needs task parallelism for
  • Often modules are naturally distributed whereas parts of data parallel decomposition may need to be kept on tightly coupled MPP
Assume that primary goal of computational grid is to add to existing parallel computing environments, a higher level supporting module parallelism
  • Now if one takes a large CFD problem and divides into a few components, those "coarse grain data-parallel components" can be supported by computational grid technology
  • so no clean division but coarse grain modules are general goal!
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 8 Some Tactical Opportunities of Web Technologies - I

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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So this is partly use of Web Software to build computational grids of any architecture
Perhaps VRML or Java3D are important for scientific visualization
Web (including Java applets) front-ends provide convenient customizable interoperable user interfaces to HPCC facilities
Perhaps the public key security and digital signature infrastructure being developed for electronic commerce, could enable more powerful approaches to secure HPCC systems
Perhaps Java will become a common scientific programming language and so effort now devoted to Fortran and C++ tools needs to be extended or shifted to Java
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 9 Some Tactical Opportunities of Web Technologies - II

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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The universal adoption of JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) and the growing convenience of web-linked databases could imply a growing importance of systems that link large scale commercial databases with HPCC computing resources
Javabeans, RMI, COM, CORBA, IIOP form the basis of the emerging "object web" which analogously to the previous bullet could encourage a growing use of modern object technology
Emerging collaboration and other distributed information systems could allow new (low end) distributed work paradigms which could change the traditional teaming models in favor of those for instance implied by the new NSF Partnerships in Advanced Computation
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 10 Why Use of Web Architecture as basis of Computational Grid?

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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HPCC is a small field and Scientific Computing a modest size field with limited resources for very hard problems and must leverage as much software as possible
  • Using architecture (rather than just tactical opportunities) of Web maximizes chance of re-using commercial technology on an ongoing basis
Web Software provides an excellent pervasive user interface with Java Applets and WebWindows
Web Software provides a potentially excellent high performance object oriented language (Java) for scientific and engineering computation
All(!?) we need to do is to add high performance and special features of scientific computing (math libraries) to the modest performance distributed information model of the Web!
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 11 One Strategy for a Web-based Computational Grid

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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Web Software provides a high functionality but modest performance distributed computing environment based on either Web Servers or Clients
Here we explore an architecture using servers for control as higher functionality than clients although currently less broadly deployed
  • Some "parallel" computing problems (e.g. embarrassingly parallel ones) can "immediately" use Web as a parallel engine with no performance enhancements
Web Only addresses Integration of already decomposed parts!
  • Inherit and extend decomposition (data-parallel) technology from HPCC (parallel compiler and library technology)
  • Compose / Integrate Modules with Web Technology
  • Inherit all the pervasive (not high performance) services from the Web
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 12 A Web-based 3-Tier Computing System

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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Middle Tier
Basic Web Server
Custom Web Server
TP Server
Business Transaction Management
You Write Software
at Client and Server
Old and New Useful Backend Software
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 13 Web-Server based Metacomputer Capabilities at 3 levels

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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1:User View: Interoperable Web Interface accessing services through Java Compute Services Framework
2:Network of Java Servers provide distributed services with databases, compute engines, collaboratories, object brokers, instruments
  • All control at this level
  • Some coarse grain computing
Back end "Number Crunchers" linked either by communication at level 2 (slowish but easy) or at level 3 (high performance but more work)
Compute processes linked either to servers or together by MPI if parallel
Java Servers
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 14 General Web based Grid Architecture

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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We have a set of Services hosted by Web Servers which form the middleware and accessed by clients
Groups of clients (electronic societies) are linked by Java server based collaboration systems such as TANGO or Habanero
Access
Resources
Store
Multimedia Information
Collaboration Server
File Systems
and/or Database
Object Broker
Database
Simulation
Computer
Person2
Shared
WhiteBoard
Shared Client Appl
Person1
General User
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 15 Role of Collaboratory Systems

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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Systems like Tango or Habanero built around Java Servers integrate a group of multiple clients as a "Service" at the middle Java Server level
Building systems in this way automatically includes "people in the loop" -- Computational Steering, Education, Multidisciplinary collaborative design
Group of collaborating clients
and client applications
Database
Object Broker
MPP
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 16 Proposed Approach to High Performance Messaging

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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As a first step, implement multi-module systems with each module linked via Java Servers
  • Modest performance (non - parallel) linkage with easy database, collaborative system etc. access
Where necessary "escape" down to classic HPCC technologies for data transport keeping control at server level
  • e.g. following foil illustrates this for a typical two module coupled CFD(fluids) and CSM(structures) problem
  • e.g. JDBC would access a parallel database in same way as sequential database at control level. However backend would implement "parallel query option" transparently to user.
This seems very convenient in JDK 1.1 "event model" which is mechanism used by Javabeans to communicate
  • this is illustrated in foil after next!
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 17 Three Possible Implementations of CFD CSM Linkage

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
Full HTML Index
1)Simple Server Approach 2)Classic HPCC Approach
3)Hybrid Approach with control at server and
data transfer at
HPCC level
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 18 Picture of JavaBean and JDK1.1 AWT Event Model

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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4)Invoke High Performance Message Transfer between Observers and Sources specified in Message Event
Server Tier
Data Source
Data Sink (Observers)
5)Actual Data Transfer
High Performance Tier
2)Prepare
Message Event in Source Control
1)Register Observers with Listener
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 19 Some Capabilities of this Approach

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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Here are some examples of using our approach where large scale industry investment in Web technology appears to add significant value to computational grids built with Web architecture
  • We illustrate some of them in following foils
Multidisciplinary and Computational Steering Applications
  • link people data computation with collaboratory server as part of system
Visual and Interpreted Programming Environments
  • MATLAB/AVS/ Khoros like Systems (coarse grain Software Integration)
  • Software Component based approaches
Integration with CORBA
Integration with Forces Modeling (Distributed Event driven Simulation)
Integration with Networked enabled servers such as NEOS and Netsolve
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 20 Three Possible Implementations of CFD CSM Linkage

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
Full HTML Index
1)Simple Server Approach 2)Classic HPCC Approach
3)Hybrid Approach with control at server and
data transfer at
HPCC level
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 21 Web Architecture Supports Interpreted Environments

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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Note Java also integrates compiled and interpreted approaches and so leads to more convenient programming environments
  • Develop and Test with Interpreters
  • Production Run with high performance using compilers and optimized libraries
JavaScript is a fully interpreted language but not really Java
Applets are half-way between traditional compiled and interpreted approaches
Web "systems" can behave like Interpreters with interactive commands at client (gives Web version of MATLAB)
Web Client
including
Java Applets
Web Server
Java/Fortran/C++
Application Backend
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 22 Example of WebFlow = AVS/Khoros using Web

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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Simulation
Basic Display
Image Filter
is another
module
Output Display after Filter
Runs as a
parallel
module
using
Java Server
host
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 23 WebFlow: Image Processing

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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Bunch of Filters and Displays
defined in
Java Graph editor and
running on grid of Java Servers
Original Image
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 24 Component Based Programming Environments

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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Visual Basic/C++/J++ and ActiveX or Beanboxes with Javabeans give visual approach to software objects
  • specify properties and linkage
Enterprise Javabeans and COM are extending this to distributed computing
Using Web technologies for grid and building modules out of (whatever Javabeans/COM evolves to) allows one to deliver to user HPCC programming environments with comparable friendliness to those in PC world
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 25 Integration of Web with CORBA

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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New Java Frameworks (Enterprise, Media) bring new family of Java servers that can implement an object based middleware and backend layers for the Web based services including computing.
One critical development in the distributed objects domain is the IIOP (Internet Inter-ORB Protocol), mandatory in CORBA2 and offering a new server-to-server communication standard between commercial ORBs from various vendors.
At the moment, Web Server market is dominated by customized or/and proprietary systems but there is a new strong tendency to standardize the Web middleware around the CORBA paradigm.
'Java based ORB' is a CORBA2 compliant ORB written exclusively in Java, and hence fully portable and ready to run also on the Wintel platform, where distributed objects were so far under control of Microsoft COM/ActiveX model.
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 26 Integration of DIS with Object Web Based Computing

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
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DoD modeling community is currently evolving towards the HLA(High level Architecture) framework with the RTI (Run Time Infrastructure) based communication bus.
The goal of HLA/RTI is to enhance interoperability across more diverse simulators than in the DIS realm, ranging from real-time to time-stepped to event-driven paradigms.
HLA defines a set of rules governing how simulators (federates) interact with each others. Federates describe their objects via Object Model Template (OMT) and agree on a common Federation Object Model (FOM).
The overall HLA/RTI model is strongly influenced by the CORBA architecture and in fact the current prototype development is indeed CORBA based.
We suggest that next step is to combine CORBA2 (Initial HLA/RTI is CORBA1) with NPS prototype ideas to give a fully object and Web integrated event driven simulation environment.
Java3D is natural visualization environment in this scenario
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 27 Technology Convergence Roadmap - Overview for Forces Modeling, Integrated Modeling and Testing for DoD

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
Full HTML Index
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 10 Sept 1997

Foil 28 Technology Convergence Roadmap - Overview for Forces Modeling, Integrated Modeling and Testing for DoD

From Commodity(Web) Technologies in the service of Computational Grids Argonne Workshop on Computational Grids -- 7-10 Sept 97. *
Full HTML Index
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