Authors: Gurleen Kaur and Inderpreet Singh
Abstract
Grid Computing is a successor the distributed computing and in many ways has successfully redefined the era of global computing. By this, we mean that Grids involve the actualnetworking services and connections of apotentially unlimited number of ubiquitous computing devices and several myriads of disparate resources. Grid Computing has a longand unending list of facilities, opportunities, and provisions to offer. But again it has its own set ofchallenges that restrict the comprehensive exploitation and utilization of its capabilities. A broad insight into the two sides of the coin- Grid Computing has been addressed in this paper.The section-1 gives a brief introduction to grids and grid computing. In the section-2, we have addressed the promising and bright side of this technology. Immediately follows the challenges that need to be resolved to harness the full power of grids.
1. Introduction
The term Grid Computing is no longer a mere buzzword whose genesis was considered only a trick by researchers to fool the political systemfor more research grants so that they could scribble down more lines of useless code. GridComputing has successfully nullified and negated all false arguments and critical anti-thesis discouraging the evolution of this new type of distributed computing. For all those who have heard little about it, we have included the introduction part to enlighten about core grid terminology.
We begin with a simplest definition of GridComputing[1-2]- “It is a type of distributed computing that enables the creation of a computational infrastructure by coupling wide-area distributed resources, for instance, databases, storage servers, high-speed networks, supercomputers and clusters for solving large-scale, massive and computationally complex problems.” Grid Computing is generally confused with other contemporary distributed computing technologies such as Cluster Computing, P2P (Peer2Peer) Computing, etc. But it is distinguishable on certain technical, physical and logical characteristics. We will not compare and contrast them here as it is outsidethe scope of the paper. To sum it up, we can say that though these several distributed computing technologies have certain aspects in common, but still Grid Computing has an edge over them.
Grid Computing can be differentiated from all distributed[3-4] computing paradigms by adefining characteristic: “The essence of grid computing lies in the efficient and optimal utilization of a wide range of heterogeneous, loosely coupled resources in an organization tied to sophisticated work load management capabilities or information virtualization.”
Two major needs have made Grid Computing an undisputed and crowned glory. An economy with limited IT budget that needs to more fully utilize their existing assets (first need) and alsointelligently allocate their resources toappropriate business applications (second need).It is owing to these reasons that grid computing has emerged as a significant new field, clearly distinguishable from conventional distributedcomputing specifically due to its focus on large-scale resource sharing, innovative applicationsand the most important high-performance orientation. Now that we have prepared groundwork for gridcomputing in specific and distributed computingin general, it’s time to look into what it offers?Further, we will explore what challenges confront the grid?
7.REFERENCES
[1] I.Foster, C. Kesselman and S. Tuecke, The Anatomy of the Grid: Enabling Scalable Virtual Organizations, International Journal of SupercomputerApplications, 15(3), 2001.
[2] The Global Grid Forum, http://www.gridforum.org/
[3] Grid Benchmarking Research Group, http://nas.nasa.gov/GGF/Benchmarks/
[4] D.Thain, T. Tannenbaum and M. Linvy,Condor and the Grid, F. Berman, G. Fox, and A. Hey (eds.), Grid Computing:Making the Global Infrastructure a reality,Wiley and Sons, March 2003.
[5]The Globus Project, http://www.globus.org
[6] I. Foster and C. Kesselman (editors), The Grid: Blueprint for a Future Computing In Infrastructure, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, San Fransisco, USA, 1999.
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