1. National Grid Service and EGEE Dr Andrew Richards Executive Director NGS e-Science Department, CCLRC

2. What is the NGS? The UK’s grid for academics in the e-Science community In Production since October 2004 Four core sites and currently four partner sites Also allows access to HPCx ~ 400 Users

3. National Grid Infrastructure Allow researches to: systematically collect, process, preserve and publish digital information; easily navigate through the available resources; be confident in the quality of the services available; link into international efforts.

4. Brief History of Time 2001 - UK e-Science Grid –GridPP and others start 2003 - Initial grid service ITT –4 independent clusters to investigate provision of a grid service April 2004 - NGS pre-production service –EGEE, GridPP-2 August 2004 – GOSC proposed –Coordinating NGS and providing central services September 2004 - NGS production service / GOSC April 2006 – NGS/GOSC phase 1 review May 2006 - NGS phase-2 approved –More integrated programme –EGEE-2 starts in April October 2006 – NGS phase-2

5. NGS Today

7. NGS Use Files stored Users by institution CPU time by user Users by discipline biology Large facilities Eng. + Phys. Sci Env. Sci PP + Astronomy Medicine HumanitiesSociology ~400 users

8. Applications: 1 Files stored Users by institution CPU time by user Users by discipline biology Large facilities Eng. + Phys. Sci Env. Sci PP + Astronomy Medicine HumanitiesSociology ~400 users

9. Applications: 2 Systems Biology Neutron Scattering Climate modelling Econometric analysis

10. NGS partnership programme Goals: 1.Increase the range and depth of services and resources that NGS can offer to its users by enlisting partners 2.Provide leadership and guidance to sites needing to put their resources “on the Grid” by defining NGS compatibility and certifying compliant sites

11. NGS brands The NGS brand should connote production quality service and support. An NGS Affiliate is a site certified to be NGS- compatible. An NGS Partner is a site that offers significant resources or services to NGS users –With commitments formalised through a Service Level Definition –When this includes access to compute and storage resources via middleware covered in the Minimum Software Stack (the normal case), these need to be certified as NGS compatible too.

12. NGS Compatibility Resource providers join the NGS by Running compatible middleware –as defined by NGS Minimum Software Stack doesn’t prescribe software versions –and verified by compliance tests –and monitored for availability and continuing compliance Providing support and security contacts Providing site-specific information to users, through, but not limited to, the NGS web site Minimum Software Stack today specifies –Globus (GT 2.4.3 or VDT, GT4 pre-WS works), MDS/BDII & schema –SRB (optional) –accounting, monitoring, compiler availability,...

13. Membership options Two levels of membership: 1.Affiliates –run compatible stack, integrate support arrangements –adopt NGS security policies –all access to affiliate’s resources is up to the affiliate except allowing NGS to insert probes for monitoring purposes 2.Partners also –make “significant resources” available to NGS users –enforce NGS acceptable use policies –provide accounting information –define commitments through formal Service Level Descriptions –influence NGS direction through representation on NGS Technical Board

14. Joining, approval and review Prospective members are paired with an NGS buddy to guide them through the joining process –additional support from “NGS-Rollout” list Applications for membership from prospective partners and affiliates are reviewed by the GOSC Board –meets quarterly –prospective resource providers need to have passed compliance tests for a continuous seven-day period GOSC Board takes buddy’s report into account –prospective partners need to provide a Service Level Definition which is acceptable to GOSC board Partners are formally reviewed against their SLD every 6-12 months –partnership status may be withdrawn by GOSC board Affiliates are monitored for continued compliance –affiliate status may be withdrawn by GOSC board

15. More on partnership status Partners can offer services in their SLD not covered by NGS Minimum Software Stack –e.g. Westminster also operates and supports P-GRADE portal and GEMLCA services for NGS users, in addition to GT2 services We can award partner status to a site that does not operate NGS Minimum Software Stack but does offer other “significant resources or services” wanted by NGS users, e.g. –unique instrument; strategically important dataset; higher-level service, expertise and support;... as long as properly covered by an SLD with production-quality support arrangements

16. NGS and ‘EGEE’ NGS roadmap includes interoperability with EGEE (and others e.g. Teragrid) Current NGS middleware is not ‘EGEE’ but a subset – minimal set of common middleware to enable NGS grid to grow NGS/EGEE people are the same Interoperate fully now in areas such as GGUS Utilise tools such as GOCDB Want to be able to take parts of ‘EGEE’ for NGS use –e.g. Resource Brokers (working with EGEE on parallel job submission) –VOMS (using GridPP/LCG knowledge at Manchester) –Accounting –Monitoring – SFT Tests.

17. Management Structure GOSC Board NGS Technical Board Directors User Forum Development Board Operations Board Work Package Reports to External Body Engineering Task Force NGS Work Package JISC e-Infrastructrure Advisory Board Review Group GridPP/EGEE Members

18. NGS TeraGrid OSG EGEE LCG GridPP OMII GT4 & WSRF gLite WS-I+ Globus GGF DEISA common staff & procedures common users

19. www.ngs.ac.uk wiki.ngs.ac.uk support@grid-support.ac.uk