IT-Tude.com → Technical solutions → Articles → 

Portal Based Access to Grid Resources

This article investigates how portals can be used to provide a platform independent, user-friendly framework for accessing Grid resources over a network, or the internet at large. We look at the specific example of the Textile Grid Portal and how its architecture can be expanded into a generic solution.

The Textile Grid Portal uses Grid components to provide end-users with a simple interface to a Grid system controlling multiple resources.

Diagram of Textile Grid Portal Architecture
Textile Grid Portal Architecture

The current version of Textile Grid Portal uses UNICORE to access HPC resources required to run production scheduling and fabric rendering jobs. OGSA-DAI is used to provide a single standardised access point to the Trame database, and potentially other databases in the future. The GridSphere portal framework provides simple web access to the applications running on the Grid resources and also supports collaboration between users. More information on the Textile Grid Portal is available on its solution page, including access to the software and demonstration videos.

If we extrapolate from this to the expanded, generic design in the below diagram, we can see how various Grid middleware and IT-tude.com components can be put together to provide a powerful Grid solution.

Generic Portal Based Access to Grid Resources

GridSphere and the Vine Toolkit provide a simple web interface to the middleware. In this example, the portal interfaces with OGSA-DAI and another Grid middleware such as the Globus Toolkit or UNICORE, which is capable of submitting jobs to the underlying HPC resources.

OGSA-DAI is used to provide a standard access layer to several databases which are distributed over several locations. These databases could hold anything from information on fabrics by different suppliers to car parts from various manufacturers etc. This is an example of the Data Federation design pattern. By using OGSA-DAI, the work required to integrate these databases is greatly reduced and can be hidden from the portal. The OGSA-DAI Data Publisher can be used to simplify installation of OGSA-DAI in the framework.

The other middleware component is used to submit jobs to resources. The IT-tude.com Job Submission Monitoring and Control (JSMC) portal component implements the JSMC Pattern and is compatible with the Globus Toolkit, UNICORE, gLite and GRIA. The resources where the job will be processed may be hosted at the same site as the portal, or farmed out to another source, such as a commercial Grid resource provider. This framework provides simple, on-demand access to powerful computing resources.

The Portal itself uses the GridSphere portal framework, the Vine Toolkit library and the IT-tude.com portals components. The Portals Security component implements the Portals Security Pattern and allows users to securely authenticate themselves to the portal and the underlying Grid resources. The File Management component implements the File Management Pattern which allows users to easily upload, download and view files on the portal. These files could be associated with jobs to be run on the Grid resources, or documents to be shared with other users. The User Management component implements the User Management Pattern which allows users to manage their account and personal information. In addition, authorised users can view information on other users and manage their rights to given content and resources.

Further Reading

Job submission middleware supported by the JSMC component:

Other relevant middleware and components:

Relevant IT-tude.com articles: