The VL-e Proof of Concept Environment & The VL-e PoC Installer Jan Just Keijser System Integrator P4 Team NIKHEF

What is the PoC environment? Application development NL-Grid production cluster Central mass-storage facilities + SURFnet Initial compute platform Stable, reliable, tested Cert. releases Grid MW & VL- software VL-e Proof of Concept Environment VL-e Rapid Prototyping Environment DAS-2, local resources VL-e Certification Environment NL-Grid Fabric Research Cluster Test & Cert. Grid MW & VL-software Compatibility Flexible, test environment Environments Usage Characteristics Virtual Lab. rapid prototyping (interactive simulation) Flexible, ‘unstable’ PoC Release nRelease Candidate n+1 Developers environment is a shared, common environment, where different tools and services are both used and provided by the VL-e community

PoC: Hardware and Software The PoC Distribution is set of software that  provides a layer of middleware for developing VL-e Grid applications  Serves as a reference set of software that is present all throughout VL-e Grid  Is released as a set of Linux RPM’s for RHEL3/CentOS3/ScientificLinux3 platforms The PoC Environment is the ensemble of systems running the PoC Distribution The PoC Installer is a setup program wrapped around the PoC Distribution for easy installation and configuration Current version (Alpha):

PoC Central Facility topology

Grid Certificates Grid access involves access to many different computer systems in many different sites. With old- style username/password, a unique username and password are required for each computer system. This is too cumbersome for both the end user and the admins; On the Grid, you will be using a certificate. This certificate binds together your identity (name, affiliation, etc.) and a unique piece of digital data called a “public key” The use of a public key to authenticate yourself is based on “asymmetric cryptography”. Where do I apply for a grid certificate?

Common Questions: Does it run on Windows?  Short answer: No  Longer answer: Sort of … Do I really need to use certificates?  Yes, Grid Site administrators need to keep track of who is doing what. Without resorting to giving everybody a unique userid, a different mechanism is required. For this, a PKI and X.509 certificates are used. Where do I apply for a grid certificate?

“If Microsoft is the answer, then it must have been a very silly question” Questions?