Dinner Discussions
John Kewley
CCLRC Daresbury Laboratory
Questions to Answer
1. What is the broad consensus on the
definition of a CampusGrid?
2. How different is a CampusGrid from
a Condor (or other Compute) Pool?
3. What are the next steps to realise
the vision of full CampusGrids?
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.
What is a CampusGrid? (1)
 Whatever you define it as!
 A mythical beast
[possible confusion with a hippocampus here]
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/nondedicated resource available for
researchers
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?)
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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?
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.