The Access Grid and Group Collaboration

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The Access Grid and Group Collaboration

• Terry Disz
• disz_at_mcs.anl.gov
• The Futures Lab
• Math and Computer Science Division
• Argonne National Laboratory

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Stages of Collaborative Work

• Awareness
• Interaction
• Cooperation
• Collaboration
• Virtual Organization

Increasing need for persistent collaborative
infrastructure
Can adding the concept of Persistent Shared
Spaces to the current suite of computer supported
collaborative work tools enable the
cost-effective support of virtual organizations.
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The Need for Persistent Electronic Spaces The
Virtual Venue

• Adding the concept of Persistent Electronic
  Spaces to the current suite of computer supported
  collaborative work tools can provide the virtual
  equivalent of instant and (almost) free travel.
• Persistence Is Needed to Build Electronic
  Communities
• Persistence Is Needed to Map the Real World to
  Virtual Environments
• Persistence Is Needed to Lead Us Away From the
  Phone Call Model for Collaborations Towards the
  Cafe Model

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Access Grid Project Goals

• Enable Group-to-Group Interaction and
  Collaboration
• Connecting People and Teams via the Grid
• Improve the User Experience Go Beyond
  Teleconferencing
• Provide a Sense of Presence
• Support Natural Interaction Modalities
• Use Quality but Affordable Digital IP Based
  Audio/video
• Leverage IP Open Source Tools
• Enable Complex Multisite Visual and Collaborative
  Experiences
• Integrate With High-end Visualization
  Environments
• ActiveMural, Powerwall, CAVE Family, Workbenches
• Build on Integrated Grid Services Architecture
• Develop New Tools to Specifically Support Group
  Collaboration

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An Access Grid Node is a designed space,
targeting group to group interaction. For secure
applications, physical security must be
considered in the design.
Each node sends audio and multiple video streams
(4)
All nodes receive all participants video and
audio streams
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Access Grid Nodes
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Access Grid Capabilities today

• Display ? 3 commodity Projectors
• Video ? QCIF (½ NTSC), H.261, up to 40 streams
• Audio ? 16 bit mono/stereo ? multichannel
• Computing ? 1 to 4 PCs (partitioned by function)
• Software ? OS Video/Audio/Collaboration
• Network ? multicast enabled 20 Mbit/s

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AG Nodes Communicate using IP Multicast
Network
Video Multicast Group
Audio Multicast Group
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Access Grid Software

• Current release AG v1.3
• Venues server, Node mgmt, Beacon, Recording, Dist
  applications
• Ag 2.0 in the works
• New Venues server, Node Management, Network
  Middleware, Workspace Sharing, Recording and
  Playback
• Open Source
• Python based
• Web Services
• Extensible
• Open service architecture
• Globus Security
• Globus IO
• All streams and interactions can run over secure
  paths
• PyGlobus Packaging from LBL

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Third Parties can add, and AG Nodes use Peer to
Peer services
Venues provide Scope, Discovery and Persistence
AG Nodes discover users and services through the
Venue
Venue
P2P Service Usage
Discovery
Services Registry
Services
Services
Services
Services
P2P Service Usage
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AG Status

• Over 100 Nodes World Wide
• Venue servers in Europe, Asia, North America
• Many meetings every day Ag Schedule
• Weekly Management
• Tech sessions
• Classes
• Seminars
• Site Reviews
• Social (Kids on the Grid, Art events, Beer
  seminar, Maui Sunrise, Montana Wolves)
• Virtual Genomics Conference
• No human factors studies completed yet, but
  plenty of anecdotes
• Planning for SCGlobal03
• Commercial firms offering deployment and support

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SCGlobal 01

• What Access Grid enabled venues at the SC01
  conference
• When November 2001
• Where Denver Colorado, USA
• Number of enabled venues in Denver 4 (3
  technical rooms, 1 show floor venue)
• Number of Virtual Venues 59
• Number of participating sites 43
• Number of technical papers submitted 71
• Number of technical papers accepted 46
• Number of Showcase presentations 40
• Number of countries participating 11
• New countries to AG community 10
• Number of continents represented 6
• Number of U.S. states participating 16

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Whats New?

• Image based collaboration
• New displays
• Personal Workspace sharing

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Image Based Collaboration
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Image Based Collaboration AGAVE EVL at UIUC
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Image Based Collaboration VTK/VIC
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Image Based Collaboration VTK/VIC
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Image Based Collaboration 6 way composite image
using Chromium
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New Displays

• Active Mural
• Micro Mural
• Personal Interface to the Grid

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ActiveMural, a Tiled Display Wall

• Argonne, Princeton and UIUC Collaboration
• 8 x 16 display wall
• Jenmar Visual Systems BlackScreen technology, gt
  10000 lumens
• 8 LCD ? 15 DLP ? 24 DLP
• 8-20 MegaPixels
• SGI and Linux drivers
• VR and ActiveSpace UI

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Micromural

• 2 x 3, single Jenmar screen, Portable

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P.I.G
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Workspace Sharing

• How to provide analogs of real life meeting
  behaviors
• Sub group meetings whispers
• File sharing via media exchange, PDA beaming, etc
• Showing people your laptop
• Idea exchange on whiteboards

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Problem DescriptionLet Me Show You This
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Real life meeting analogs

• Sub group discussion
• Group private chat tools
• LBL Intergroup Secure, Serverless Chat
• File exchange
• Virtual data beaming tool
• Globus Remote File Access - secure
• Screen Sharing
• VNC or like tools
• Brainstorming
• Private group white board sessions

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Requirements

• Establish a Trusted Identity
• AG VV Login
• Scoping
• People Chooser
• Discovery
• Find who is present
• Find who has what capability
• Find what machines are available
• Find what services are available

• Security (Authorization)
• Find who has permission to do X
• Give someone permission
• Describe the thing
• XML Schemas
• Services
• Capabilities
• Initiation
• Platform Independent Messaging Environment
• Cause launch of apps on remote machines

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finis
Our thanks to our sponsors at The Department of
Energy The National Science Foundation The
University of Chicago