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| Titel |
Geoscientific Workflows using Grid Computing Infrastructure |
| VerfasserIn |
Ryan Fraser, Robert Woodcock, Terry Rankine |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2010
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 12 (2010) |
| Datensatznummer |
250034820
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| Zusammenfassung |
| A major benefit of high-performance computing is the vast improvement it offers scientists
and researchers in Australia when it comes to exploring large data problems. Thus, high
performance computers and grid computing have become key components in exploration and
mining applications in the past few years; anything from running numerical simulations to
creating a virtual laboratories or providing a mechanism to discover and process geodetic
information collected by GPS stations.
However, scientists have previously been restricted in their abilities to access
high-performance computing for these and other uses due to the fragmented nature of the
infrastructure. Australia’s high-performance centres host a range of different supercomputers
from different manufacturers, with differing configurations, different architectures. Each
supercomputer is different so users who want to use more than one supercomputer
successfully need to know the difference between them all.
CSIRO has found an answer to this dilemma via the AuScope Grid. AuScope Grid is
creating an e-Research Infrastructure to federate and make nationally distributed datasets and
high-performance computing resources interoperable. AuScope Grid is developing tools to
manipulate large data volumes and establishing an appropriate governance framework to
ensure sustainability.
AuScope Grid’s premise is to comprise distributed data storage hardware, high bandwidth
network links, data management protocols, middleware and software. Major geoscience and
geospatial data stores of the government agencies are deploying this technology for use
internally and as an external face to their data. Combining this with high-performance
compute resources and high-bandwidth networks the academic community can now tackle
some of the science problems they have wanted to attempt for some time but have not been
feasible until now.
AuScope has deployed a grid computing platform which standardises access to
high performance computers regardless of the machines’ type, manufacturer and
location.
Grid computing is “middleware infrastructure”, the essential catalyst that sits between a
high-performance computer and a workflow client, such as the Virtual Rock Laboratory (a
virtual space to crush rocks or particles) that simplifies access to high performance compute
resources.
Workflows were possible before the deployment of grid computing infrastructure but
some required an order of magnitude longer to produce the desired outcome (differences of
up to 6 months have been recorded) and typically required the user to have a degree in
Computer Science. The Virtual Rock Laboratory, Geodesy Workflow and the Desktop
Modelling Toolkit are all examples of workflow clients developed to enable complex
scientific workflows. Grid computing has aided the development of these workflows and
made it possible for scientists to process large scientific problems in record times. |
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