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Grid FAQ
What is Grid computing? Grid can be summarized as: virtualization, optimization, integration, collaboration. GridwiseTech helps customers understand the business value of Grid solutions. For a comprehensive 200-page treatment of the subject, read Pawel Plaszczaks book on Grids in business . Alternatively, check on our Grid Primer tutorial, conducted for customers on site as well as delivered during major conferences such as the Global Grid Forum. For a more concise answer, please read below. Grid computing is a modern technology allowing to virtualize and optimize the usage of corporate IT resources. Grids save costs, speed up the work and introduce efficient collaboration environments. Grids are typically used in order to integrate large or highly distributed infrastructure of hardware and software assets, but also to manage data centers. Synonyms to Grid computing include cluster computing, virtualization, on-demand and utility computing. What is the main business value of a Grid architecture? Grid solutions present value for business because they:
Grid computing started in the academia in the early 1990s, most notably in the high-energy physics community of world-class research institutions such as CERN, where data, network and computing power requirements exceeded the industry needs by order of magnitude. Nowadays, as the business processing requirements have matured, Grids are being used in a number of industry sectors, most notably:
How are Grids implemented? Technically, Grids provide service virtualization through the composition of a number of technologies. Grids are typically not purchased, but built by means of integrating a number of the so-called "Grid technologies" that come from various commercial and open-source vendors. These technologies are:
Grid-enabled applications are powered by a combination of these technologies that is generally referred to as a "Grid architecture". The lowermost layer of a Grid architecture consists of hardware resources, including machines, the network and storage. Grids are usually integrated from products from a number of vendors. As regards interoperability, compliance to open standards is important. These standards describe communication and security within Grid architectures, and come from consortia such as the Open Grid Forum (GGF), IETF, W3C and OASIS. How is the term Grid applied in research and business? Sometimes "Grid computing" is used as another way of saying “cluster computing”, “cloud-”, “on-demand-”, or “utility computing”. In academia, Grid technologies are thought of as those that enable the controlled sharing of resources—both processors and programs. In business, the terms is more often applied to environments that balance loads across clustered computers. GridwiseTech has a firm understanding of Grids in both of these senses and can help you to realize these benefits, even across institutions. What kinds of Grids are in operation today? Production Grid environments generally fall into four categories. Department Grids integrate, harness and optimize the usage of resources inside small institutions or departments. Enterprise Grids pool together the resources, data and applications of entire corporations, balancing the load between various departments and projects and providing location independent data and application access. Partner Grids enable collaboration and resource sharing between business partners, within a dynamic security framework. Open Grids provide controlled access to resources, services and applications for the public, enabling a digital resource market. Although open Grids are still in their early adoption phase, department and enterprise Grids are relatively mature, with thousands of production installations operating in major business companies.
Where to learn more? As a vendor-independent, professional services company, GridwiseTech has become an expert in the design, development and integration of Grid systems. We cooperate with a number of vendors and constantly evaluate new market offerings. We also help companies and institutions to migrate from Grid to the Cloud computing model, in the situations when such a move is appropriate. We will find the best products for your needs, integrate them and deliver the complete solution. Contact us so we can hear about your needs and requirements. We also help companies understand the move to Grid computing by delivering our Grid Primer tutorial for customers on site as well as during major conferences such as the Global Grid Forum. For a more comprehensive introduction to Grids, check out the book by our president, Pawel Plaszczak: Grid Computing: The Savvy Managers Guide. Back to build a Grid page If you have any questions we have not answered above, please contact us. |
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