Grid Computing

In the power industry, there are suppliers of power and consumers of power. These are connected using a power-grid. The same node may some times act as a consumer and sometimes as a supplier depending on load. This enables the power industry to manage fluctuating demand and supply across a wide region.

Grid computing brings this concept to the computing industry. Grids connect a large number of computers to create a massive computing resource which can then be used by consumers of computing resources, either free of cost or by paying a fee !

You can make a grid out of the computers within your organization or computers connected together through Internet. While it is a complex task to build general purpose distributed grids, it is a lot easier to build special purpose grids that perform specific tasks.

A grid will necessarily contain many grid servers, grid clients, a grid registry, a grid broker and a grid meter. The broker will manage a large computing task by distributing it across one or more grid servers, possibly over a period of time, and return the results of computation back to the grid client when the task is completed. It will also have to detect and recover from node or network failures. The grid registry will make it possible for clients and servers to register with the grid. The grid meter allows for measuring amount of computing resource supplied by various suppliers and used by various clients.

Whether you would like to use CORBA or Web Services (or both), SANKHYA Varadhi will make your task of designing and building a grid a lot easier.

If you are working on an academic grid computing project, you may qualify for a free 1-year subscription developer license of SANKHYA Varadhi. Contact sales@sankhya.com or use this form.