Visual Grid Tutorial
PI: Dr. Bina Ramamurthy
Computer Science and Engineering Dept.
Graduate Student: Surabhi Abhayankar
Undergraduate Student: Min Suk Cha
This project is partially supported by
Educational Technology Grant of
University at Buffalo and
NSF DUE CCLI A&I 0311473
4/27/2006
Education Technology
Presentation 2006
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Introduction: Grid Computing
• Grid computing offers an open and standard
framework for integrating resources and
computations across distributed, heterogeneous
and dynamic organizations.
• It is an emerging technology that is expected to
provide scalable solutions for a wide range
complex scientific problems.
– Examples: drug discovery, advanced weather
prediction models; modeling spreading of avian flu;
financial portfolio management; space applications
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Problem Addressed
• While the grid can solve a wide range of
problems, lack of a proper learning tool is
hiding its real worth and impairing its
growth and application.
• To address these problems, we have
designed and implemented a Visual Grid
Tutorial (ViGOR) tool to disseminate to
grid concepts and application models.
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Education Technology
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ViGOR Tool
We have designed a tool that grid concepts at
three levels of detail:
1. Executive Summary
•
High level information
2. Basic Concepts
•
Architectural details and building blocks enabling a
grid
3. Grid Programming
•
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Programming models with optional code details
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Tool Screen Shot
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Discussion Topics
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Design of ViGOR
Implementation Details
Grid Computing Concepts Illustrated
Usage Models
Broader Impact of ViGOR
Summary
References
Demo
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Education Technology
Presentation 2006
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Design Details
• Fully animated visual tour of the concepts
presented at three levels:
– Executive or policy maker
– Grid user
– Grid programmer
• There levels will be presented embedded
within each other and one can easily
navigate among the three
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Implementation Details
• Vector graphics offered by Flash and the
related e-learning support offered by
Macromedia worked in favor of choosing
Flash as the basic medium for
development of ViGOR.
• Moreover, it provides more slick and
portable outputs.
• ViGOR has been developed as a stand
alone, web-accessible tool.
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Grid Computing Concepts
• Different types of grid
• Core services offered by the grid
– soft-state management, notification, service data,
routing, logging and virtualization
• System level services
– Security and job execution
• Higher level services
– Storage services, information services and resource
framework
• Application models
• Programming models
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Education Technology
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Usage Models
• Level 1 (Executive summary level) can be used
to publicize the grid technology to any audience
from high school students to corporate policy
makers and novices to grid.
• Level 2 (Grid user level) will teach users how to
use a grid for problem solving in their domain.
• Level 3 (Grid programmer level) will expose
programming models and code details. Used in
all distributed systems courses. (CSE4/586)
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Broader Impact
• Provide a healthy support for the growth of the
grid.
• Provide many inquiring minds a visual tour of the
grid technology.
• Offer an appealing façade to motivate
undergraduates and visual learners to explore
the grid.
• Adaptable, independent, and easily accessible.
• Framework for collaboration among grid
computing specialists and domain experts.
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Summary
• ViGOR is a unique project that will
explicitly showcase the grid technology.
• Learning tool ViGOR will complement the
grid curriculum effort that is underway at
UB and elsewhere.
• We plan to leverage ViGOR effort to seek
external funding for expansion of ViGOR.
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Future: ViGOR Version 2
• Add more content: grid computing area is vast
• Improve visual appeal: current version is still
textual
• Evaluate the usefulness of the tool
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References
• http://www.globus.org
– Grid related information
• http://www.macromedia.com
– Macromedia Flash and e-learning suite of software
and some sample projects
• http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/gridforce
– PI’s NSF-supported grid curriculum project to improve
the technical preparedness of our workforce for the
grid. The project is called Grid For Collaboration,
Research and Education (GridFoRCE)
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Education Technology
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ViGOR1.0
ViGOR1.2
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