http://www.ngs.ac.uk
http://www.grid-support.ac.uk
Neil Geddes
Director, GOSC
The UK's National Grid Service is a project to deploy and operate a grid infrastructure for computing and data access across the UK. This development will be a cornerstone of the development of the UK's "e-
Infrastructure" over the coming decade. The goals, current status and plans for the National Grid Service and the Operations Support Centre will be described.

– How and why
– Roadmap for the future

- started October 2004

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UK Grid Services
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National Services

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Authentication, authorization, certificate management, VO management, security, network monitoring, help desk + support centre.
support@grid-support.ac.uk
NGS Services
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Job submission, simple registry, data transfer, data access and integration, resource brokering, monitoring and accounting, grid management services, workflow, notification, operations centre.
NGS core-node Services
CPU, (meta-) data storage, key software

Services coordinated with others (eg OMII, NeSC, LCG, EGEE):
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Integration testing, compatibility & Validation Tests, User Management, training
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Administration:

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Security
Policies and acceptable use conditions
SLA’s, SLD’s
Coordinate deployment and Operations

• The UK's National Grid Service is a project to deploy and operate a grid infrastructure for computing and data access across the UK.
– Learn what it means
– Learn how to do it
• This development will be a cornerstone of the development of the UK's "e-Infrastructure" over the coming decade

Interfaces
Projects e-Minerals e-Materials
Orbital Dynamics of Galaxies
Bioinformatics (using BLAST)
GEODISE project
UKQCD Singlet meson project
Census data analysis
MIAKT project e-HTPX project.
RealityGrid (chemistry)
OGSI::Lite
Users
Leeds
Oxford
UCL
Cardiff
Southampton
Imperial
Liverpool
Sheffield
Cambridge
Edinburgh
QUB
BBSRC
CCLRC.
Nottingham
…
If you need something else, please say!

Country providing resources
Country anticipating joining
In EGEE:
 113 sites, 30 countries
 >10,000 cpu
 ~5 PB storage
Includes non-EGEE sites:
• 9 countries
• 18 sites

Enabling Grids for E-sciencE
• HEP Applications
• Biomed Applications
– imaging, drug discover
– mri simulation
– protein sequence analyis
• Generic Applications
– Earth Observation,
Seismology, Hydrology,
Climate, Geosciences
–
Computational Chemistry
–
Astrophysics
• Applications “behind the corner”
– R-DIG
– BioDCV
INFSO-RI-508833
12000
10000
8000
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LCG/CondorG
LCG/Original
NorduGrid
Grid3
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GOSC Management Board - NGS StatusEGEE Third Conference, Athens, 19.04.2005
8

http://www.ngs.ac.uk
NGS core nodes
:
Need UK e-Science certificate (1-2 days)
Apply through NGS web site (1-2 weeks)

• Globus Toolkit version 2
• Job submission, File transfer, Shell
• Storage Resource Broker
• Oracle (9i)
• OGSA-DAI
• Certificate Authority
• Information Services (MDS/GIIS)
• MyProxy server
• Integration tests and database
• Cluster monitoring
• LCG-VO
In testing:
• VOMS
• EDG Resource Broker
• Portal(s)

• All access is through digital X.509 certificates
• From UK e-Science CA or recognized peer
National HPC services NGS Partner Sites
• Data nodes at RAL + Manchester
• Compute nodes at Oxford + Leeds
• Compute nodes at Cardiff + Bristol
• Free at point of use
• Apply through NGS web site
• Accept terms and conditions of use
• Light-weight peer review
– 1-2 weeks
• To do: project or VO-based application and registration
• Must apply separately to research councils
• Digital certificate and Conventional
(username/ password) access supported
Affiliate Sites
• Access approved projects/VO’s

Resource providers join the NGS by
• Defining level of service commitments through SLDs
• Adopting NGS acceptable use and security policies
• Run compatible middleware
– as defined by NGS Minimum Software Stack
– and verified by compliance test suite
• Support monitoring and accounting
Two levels of membership
1. Affiliation
• a.k.a. connect to NGS
2. Partnership

1.
Ask
• Grid Support Centre, Stephen Pickles
• Process currently limited only by available effort http://www.ngs.ac.uk

1.
Ask
• Grid Support Centre, Stephen Pickles
• Process currently limited only by available effort
2.
Get assigned a buddy
• added to rollout mailing list
• read the joining guide http://www.ngs.ac.uk/man/documents/NGS_Partner_joining_procedure_0.4.pdf

1.
Ask
• Grid Support Centre, Stephen Pickles
• Process currently limited only by available effort
2.
Get assigned a buddy
• added to rollout mailing list
• read the joining guide
3.
Install the minimum software stack
• On the resource, or on a gateway http://www.ngs.ac.uk/man/documents/NGS_Minimum_software_stack_0.7.pdf

1.
Ask
• Grid Support Centre, Stephen Pickles
• Process currently limited only by available effort
2.
Get assigned a buddy
• added to rollout mailing list
• read the joining guide
3.
Install the minimum software stack
• On the resource, or on a gateway
4.
Pass monitoring tests for 7 days

1.
Ask
• Grid Support Centre, Stephen Pickles
• Process currently limited only by available effort
2. Get assigned a buddy
• added to rollout mailing list
• read the joining guide
3. Install the minimum software stack
• On the resource, or on a gateway
4. Pass monitoring tests for 7 days
5. Agree to security and acceptable use policies
• security contact + part of campus security
• developing operational security with GridPP, EGEE, OSG

1.
Ask
• Grid Support Centre, Stephen Pickles
• Process currently limited only by available effort
2.
Get assigned a buddy
• added to rollout mailing list
• read the joining guide
3.
Install the minimum software stack
• On the resource, or on a gateway
4.
Pass monitoring tests for 7 days
5.
Agree to security and acceptable use policies
6.
Define a Service Level

1.
Ask
• Grid Support Centre, Stephen Pickles
• Process currently limited only by available effort
2. Get assigned a buddy
• added to rollout mailing list
• read the joining guide
3. Install the minimum software stack
• On the resource, or on a gateway
4. Pass monitoring tests for 7 days
5. Agree to security and acceptable use policies
6. Define a Service Level
7. Set up service level monitoring

1.
Ask
• Grid Support Centre, Stephen Pickles
• Process currently limited only by available effort
2. Get assigned a buddy
• added to rollout mailing list
• read the joining guide
3. Install the minimum software stack
• On the resource, or on a gateway
4. Pass monitoring tests for 7 days
5. Agree to security and acceptable use policies
6. Define a Service Level
7. Set up service level monitoring
8. Approval by GOSC Board
– Get representation on Technical Board
– Process took 6-12 months for core sites
– Process took 3-6 months for Cardiff +Bristol
– Process should take less than 3 months for Lancaster

– Reduce total cost of ownership for providers
– Lower threshold for users
– technology evaluation (in production)
– technology choices
– pool expertise
– drive interface standards and requirements
• both a voice and a target
– etc.

• (your) Users increasingly want resources as services and not as complicated bits of kit
– common interfaces across a range of facilities
• Funders of regional and national facilities want common interfaces to lower barriers to access
– e.g. Hector
• By joining you leverage the national expertise in running these services
– technical advice and support
– security procedures and incident response
– tools to help monitor and patch
• All of the above required in any TCO calculation
– Get it at lower cost by joining the NGS
• Members get a say in the technical decisions …

Regional and
Campus grids
HPCx + HECtoR
Users get common access, tools, information,
Nationally supported services, through NGS
Community Grids
VRE, VLE, IE
Integrated internationally
LHC
ISIS TS2

• Operating a production grid means valuing robustness and reliability over fashion.
– bug uncovered in OpenSSH in October 2004
• NGS cares about:
– alignment/compatibility with leading international Grid efforts
– special requirements of UK e-Science community
– easy migration/upgrade paths
– proven robustness/reliability
– based on standards or standards-track specifications
• NGS cannot support everything
• Everyone wants service-oriented grids
– but still settling out: WS-I, WS-I+, OGSI, WSRF, GT3, GT4, gLite
• Caution over OGSI/WSRF has led to wide convergence on GT2 for production grids and hence some inter-Grid compatibility
– but there are potentially divergent forces at work
• Significant changes to NGS Minimum Software Stack will require approval by
NGS Management Board on conservative time scales

• GOSC/NGS  UK e-Science project
– support other UK (e-)science projects
• International Compatibility
– EGEE
• European infrastructure (and possible funding)
• LHC at most UK universities
– only user group who want to build the grid
– GridPP committed to common w/s plan in 2005
• GEANT
– Others
• TeraGrid – US cyberinfrastructure $$$ (unlikely to pay us)
• Open Science Grid – will develop compatibility with LCG
• RoW e.g. China
– Want use other software, but must be EGEE compatible
– Also driven by user requirements
– Sets framework for relationship with OMII and others
• Other factors
– JISC and Shibboleth

1. New developments evaluated by ETF
– must have some longer term support likely
2. User requests treated on case by case basis
3. NGS Technical Board consider against needs
• user demand
• new functionality
• improved functionality
• improved security/performace/managability
4. Proposal brought to GOSC Board
• Prepared by GOSC “executive”
• N.Geddes, S.Pickles, A.Richards, S.Newhouse

• April 2005 Extensions of NGS membership
• July 2005 First assessment of NGS WS infrastructure
Outline plans for 2005/2006 NGS AAA devt.
Migration and/or interoperability of GT2/GT4
• Oct 2005 Deployment of Resource Brokering and VO mgmt
Client (compute element) compatibility with EGEE
Decision on support for GT4 infrastructure
• Jan 2006 Evaluation of Shibboleth interoperability solutions
• April 2006 Approval of Shibboleth interoperability plans
• July 2006 Interoperability with Shibboleth infrastructure
• Oct 2006 Technology refresh for core NGS nodes

The beginning …

– Backup slides to follow …

EDS Services Transition Roadmap
Step 6: Grid
Agility
Drivers
Reduce
Risk
Step 5: Utility Service
• Standards
• Visibility
•
Quality
•
Security
•
Efficiency
Improve
Scalability,
Service
Quality/Levels,
Productivity & more
Improve
Utilisation
Step 4: Virtual Service Suite
Step 3: Automated Operations & Managed Storage
Reduce
TCO
Step 2: Consolidate (Server, Network, Storage, etc)
Step 1: Migrate & Manage (Regional Facilities)
© 2004 Electronic Data Systems Corporation. All rights reserved.

Director, GOSC (Chair)
Technical Director, GOSC
Collaborating Institutions
CCLRC
Leeds
Oxford
Manchester
Edinburgh/NeSC
UKERNA
London College
ETF Chair
GridPP Project Leader
OMII Director
EGEE UK+I Federation Leader
HEC Liaison
Also invited e-Science User Board Chair.
Director, e-Science Core Programme
Neil Geddes
Stephen Pickles
Prof. Ken Peach
Prof. Peter Dew
Prof. Paul Jeffreys
Mr. Terry Hewitt
Prof. Malcolm Atkinson
Dr. Bob Day tbd
Dr. Stephen Newhouse
Prof. Tony Doyle
Dr. Alistair Dunlop
Dr. Robin Middleton
Mr. Hugh Pilcher-Clayton
Prof. Jeremy Frey
Dr. Anne Trefethen