Dinner Discussions

1
Dinner Discussions

• John Kewley
• CCLRC Daresbury Laboratory

2
Questions to Answer

• What is the broad consensus on the definition of
  a CampusGrid?
• How different is a CampusGrid from a Condor (or
  other Compute) Pool?
• What are the next steps to realise the vision of
  full CampusGrids?

3
An Aside

• Should we be talking about
• CampusGrid
• Campus Grid
• campusGrid
• campus_grid
• I prefer the 2nd (but have used the 1st for this
  presentation.

4
What is a CampusGrid? (1)

• Whatever you define it as!
• A mythical beast
• possible confusion with a hippocampus here

5
What is a CampusGrid? (1)

• Single Grid within a campus that crosses multiple
  policies
• Small-scale resource-sharing environment with
  specific security
• Managed grid resource a collection of pools
  with structure and security
• Heterogeneous, dedicated/non-dedicated resource
  available for researchers

6
What is a CampusGrid? (3)

• Cycle stealing of heterogeneous resources which
  already exist, using institutional networks
• Campus-wide (pervasive?) resources, managed by
  Computer Services, easy for users (via portal?)

7
What is a CampusGrid? (4)

• Campus-wide grid that has the objectives
• Enable resource sharing and (over time) cost
  saving
• Adaptive to expansion
• Collaborative
• E-learning infrastructure

8
What is a CampusGrid? (5)

• A method for federating compute and data
  resources across a campus, abstracting the
  interface for the benefit of the users. It may
  cross admin boundaries.

9
Differences from Compute Pool (1)

• Users shouldn't care
• Compute Pool possibly uses same underlying
  technology, but is dedicated, not opportunistic
• A CG cannot guarantee a particular level of
  service
• The Compute Pool is likely to be more
  firewall-friendly

10
Differences from Compute Pool (2)

• Compute Pool could be bigger
• Compute Pool is a resource, CampusGrid is a
  service
• More comprehensively managed
• CampusGrid ? Condor
• CampusGrid is not just concerned about resource
  sharing but also data and knowledge

11
Differences from Compute Pool (3)

• CG needs buy-in from Computer Services,
  director/management
• Financed (more) centrally
• Compute Pool is a resource that a CG can use

12
What next?

• CG has to become easier to use
• Small overhead to run securely (for
  administrators and, especially, users)
• Better understanding of user requirements needed
  what to build and best practise to build it

13
More questions

• Do people consider a CampusGrid's use of
  dedicated resources to be cycle-stealing, or
  conventional?
• Should CG be (partly) financed and managed
  (albeit with guidance from e-Scientists) by
  Computer Services?
• Do we need more user-support and training, or
  interfaces that don't require it?
• Are (partial) turn-key solutions possible (or
  even desirable)?
• How does a CampusGrid support a VLE/VRE?

14
Conclusions

• Condor Pool is a resource while a CampusGrid is a
  (centrally) managed service
• Data storage access and retrieval are important -
  more than just cycle-stealing
• User interfaces must be simpler (e.g. use of
  certificates!)
• The cycles they provide are not free nor are the
  required staff/support.
• Computer Services should be 1st class
  stakeholders in the definition and operation of
  the CG
• CampusGrids need to be setup to avoid impinging
  on resources' original intended use.