Virtual Laboratory:
Exploring e-Science in CAS
Kai Nan, Jianjun Yu, Xing Hang
Computer Network Information Center (CNIC)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Xi’An, March 19, 2016
Outline
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Motivation
e-Science and Virtual Laboratory
Current Work on VLAB
Planning in Future
The Definition of e-Science
• Three kinds of e-Science:
• Computationally intensive science in highly
distributed network environments
• Science that uses immense data sets that require
grid computing
• Distributed collaboration, such as the Access Grid
• Examples:
• social simulations, particle physics, earth
sciences, bio-informatics, …
• Cited from wikipedia
Why e-Science
• Challenges in modern science research (from
the view of scientific researchers )
– Science problems are more complex than ever
– Science research object is not isolated, but cross
discipline and large-scale
– Science data processing, simulation and
computing become indispensable methods
– need more and more communication,
collaboration, coordination among them closer
than ever
Why e-Science
• From the perspective of resources
– Great total amount with limited utilization
– Lack of effective usage of resources
– Scientists need to collaborate sharing their
resources and knowledge
Why e-Science
• From the perspective of IT:
– What researchers need
application
application
• Huge demand for computing technologies
• Huge demand for sharing
the resource / collaboration
– What provides
• High speed network
• HPC
• Large scale of scientific data
– How to provide
application
middleware
SDB
HPC
HSN
• e-Science environment
• Give scientists a more EASY-TO-USE interface to help
them using the heterogeneous resources
What e-Science do
• Provide a research collaborative environment
– Combining all resources: including computing,
network, data, human,….
Videoconference &
On-line Forum
Communication & Collaboration
Experiments & Field
Stations
Supercomputer
Center
Computing
Facility
Observation &Experiment
Database
Computation & Simulation
Documentation
Storage
Specimen Facility
Library
Theory Analysis
Networks
Software Tools
Outline
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Motivation
e-Science and Virtual Laboratory
Current Work on VLAB
Planning in Future
CAS 11th Five-year Informatization
Program (2006- 2010)
• Continue to develop the infrastructure and
existing applications
• e-Science Facility
– Networks of field stations/instruments(60), Mobile
equip., Digital library of natural resources
• e-Science Applications
– HEP, Astro, Bio, Geo, Chemistry, …(about 10 or
16)
• Resource Integration Platform
• Supporting Environment for Applications
Our vision of e-Science
• Virtual Laboratory based e-Science
– An integrated collaboration environment to
support e-Science
– Composed of shared and collaborative hardware,
software, data, information, human, ….
• An EASY-TO-USE interface for scientific
researchers
• A basic form and tool for e-Science activities
e-Science VS. e-Science Virtual Labs
• e-Science would be
applications-driven
• “Virtual Labs” , the key
position in our e-Science
framework ,the core
component to make eScience a reality
• Should emphasize that
Virtual Labs don’t mean
make experiments online
Virtual Labs Solves
• Virtual Lab is proposed to be
– a basic unit of research activity in the eScience environment
– the right user interface between scientists and
their e-Science environment
Virtual Labs Goals
• With Virtual Labs,
– all kinds of resources could be integrated into
a single access point
– customized and flexible services would be
provided according to the specific
requirements of different domains in an easier
way than ever before
– Multidisciplinary, multi-organization
collaboration could be carried out online.
Features of Virtual Labs
• Ease of use
– much easier to use than current systems.
• Resource integration
– provide the user with a single operating environment under
which many kinds of resources, such as supercomputers, mass
storage facilities, scientific databases, digital libraries, high
bandwidth link, scientific equipment, etc. could be accessed in a
seamless way.
• Customized service
– provide a user with what he or she wants completely and exactly.
Each user may have a specific workbench individually.
– users may choose different services at different times or at
different prices.
• Ubiquitous research
– benefit from state-of-the-art technologies on mobile computing
and related so that user could use the Virtual Lab at any time
and anywhere.
Features of Virtual Labs (cont’)
• Collaborative work
– enable a lot of scientists, who are from multiple independent
institutions, from multiple sites across the world, and from
different professional backgrounds, to work together on a
collaborative project or a common problem.
• Scalability
– support hundreds of users from tens of institutions, but should
work just as well for three or five users.
• Management
– interact with outer management systems, such as ARP in CAS,
to help improve efficiency during the whole lifetime of a research
project or other research activities.
Virtual Labs Goals in 2006- 2010
• Provide a virtual lab environment
– Scientific Virtual Organization management
– Scientists can access, organize and manage resource easily and
transparently
– Integrate resources from CAS, such as computing, storage,
database, library
– Document share and collaboration
– Organize Internet-based activities, such as project review,
conference
• At least three e-Science applications on Virtual Labs
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Biology
Astronomy
High Energy Physics
...
VLAB Projects
• Exploration of e-Science
Virtual Lab with our vision
• A product under Virtual Lab
concept
• We focus more on how to
develop an e-Science
environment for real
scientific application
e-Science
Virtual
Labs
VLAB
Architecture of VLAB
Virtual Workbench
Resources & services
Core toolkit
VO management
Scientific Workflow
Computing
Resource Plugin
AV Plugin
Document Collaboration
Database Plugin
Device
Plugin
Activity Collaboration
Didital Library
Plugin
Other
Plugins
CA
New technologies Advancing VLAB
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SOA
Grid computing
Web Services
Scientific workflow
Portal (WSRP)
…
The core components of VLAB
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Virtual Workbench
Core Toolkits
e-Science Security Infrastructure
Virtual Labs services
Virtual Workbench
• A universal portal for e-Science activities
– Open, scalable, flexible integrated platform for
different resources
– Support flexible requirements from scientists
– Support component reuse
– Assure usable and accessible
Core Toolkits
• Virtual organization management tool
• Document collaboration tool
• Activity organization tool
e-Science Security Infrastructure
• Construct a PKI based security infrastructure
– CAS e-Science CA
– Be authorized by APGrid PMA, 2006
– Be trusted by IGTF
– Based on OpenCA package
Virtual Labs Services
• Deploy the basic VLAB platform
• Work and develop with the front-line
scientists for specific add-in, like
visualization tools
• Take specific requirements from real
scientific application
Current Work on VLAB
• SDG(Scientific Data Grid)
– Data processing centered e-Science
• AVLAB (Astronomical Virtual Lab)
– e-Science application
• Duckling&CLB
– Virtual Lab core toolkit
Scientific Data Grid
• Aimed at:
– connecting massive data resources in
Scientific Database
– realizing effective sharing of those
geographically distributed, heterogeneous
and autonomous data resources via grid
computing technology, especially data grid
technology
What SDG provides
• DAS
– Data Access Service
• IMS
– Grid Information Service
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Security Infrastructure
Storage Service
SDG Portal
SDG Toolkit
Avian Flu Alert System
Virtual Observatory Grid
Other Grids
High Energy Physics Grid
Scientific Data Grid Applications
Scientific Data Grid
Scientific Data Grid Middleware
Scientific Database
DAS
• Goal:
– Access over forty scientific
databases in CAS
– Integrate immense
scientific data sets
– Provide universal interfaces
for researchers
• Functions
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Metadata extraction
Database schema mapping
Block data set
GT4 compatible
avlab
• Astronomy Virtual Laboratory
– A key demonstration project of MOST
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Is one of the typical application of virtual laboratory (e-Science)
Why use e-Science solution
• Requirements for collaborative observation are massive,
whereas astronomers always use telephone and email,
making low efficiency and bad results
• e-Science based avlab make the collaborative observation
online and real-time, and easy to coordinate the observation.
• Scientists can share their results and ideas at real-time
• Can eliminate the weather factor with several telescopes’
collaborative work
• Can provide an easy share of telescopes and the observation
results
Telescope from 4 places
Xinglong Observatory
Yunnan lijiang
Shanghai sheshan
Huairou Observatory
Open and stable services
• 7*24 stable service
• Open to public,
everyone can use and
register
AVLAB用户所属单位统计
• Now almost 80
scientists are registered
国家天文台
21%
30%
上海天文台
云南天文台
12%
国外研究机构
7%
国内其他研究机构
21%
9%
国内高校
AVLAB用户种类统计
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
申请评议
时间分配
项目支持
协同观测
一般用户
avlab support
• Apply for the use of
telescope online
• Give a universal operation
interface for all telescope
• Scientists can share ideas
to others online
Duckling & CLB
• Document Collaboration
– Wiki based document publishing, editing
– Integrated with liferay communities
• Document Sharing tools
– File upload, lock, unlock, update
Planning in Future
• To develop Virtual Lab version 1.0
• Popularize the VLAB environment
Vlab
applications
2006.12
Vlab
framwork
design
2006.12
Vlab
proposal
2007.12
Vlab 1.0
2007.5
Vlab develop
2007.9
Virtual
workbench
&Core toolkit
Protein
Astronomy
Planning in Future
• Select typical science areas to deploy Virtual
Lab
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Biology
Astronomy
High Energy Physics
...
• step by step, case by case, project by project
and worldwide cooperation to actualize the eScience of CAS
• Need more international cooperations!
Summary
• e-Science or science researches through
cyberinfrastructure will be one of the main
goals of CNIC,CAS in the next five years
• e-Science need more international
collaborations on cyberinfrastructure and eScience applications
• Merging scientific domain and IT, not only in
IT technology and scientific knowledge, but
also in human, e.g. e-scientist
Thanks!