1. The Swiss Grid Initiative Discussion Led by Peter Kunszt, CSCS

2. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. KunsztWhy? Do we need a Swiss Grid Initiative?  Is it necessary to have coordination in Switzerland among those working on Grid and collaborative computing projects?  Do we need an organization at all?

3. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. KunsztWhy? Do we need a Swiss Grid Initiative?  Is it necessary to have coordination in Switzerland among those working on Grid and collaborative computing projects?  Do we need an organization at all? Individual institutions need to support many projects Collaborations among institutions is becoming more frequent International collaborations get an increasing scientific role The funding of projects may depend on the ability to collaborate

4. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. KunsztWhat? Do we need a Swiss Grid Infrastructure?  Resources at each individual institute would need to be connected into a national Grid – is this necessary?  Coordination among the resource owners would be needed, and funding to operate the infrastructure.

5. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. KunsztWhat? Do we need a Swiss Grid Infrastructure?  Resources at each individual institute would need to be connected into a national Grid – is this necessary?  Coordination among the resource owners would be needed, and funding to operate the infrastructure. Individual institutions don’t have any spare capacity for collaboration Optimization of available resources across organizations for the same project is necessary The funding of projects may depend on the availability of a national infrastructure

6. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. KunsztWho? Should the setup of the Initiative and the Infrastructure be determined by the users thereof?  Sciences that need to collaborate nationally and internationally have specific needs that would have to be met – will these needs drive the operation of the infrastructure and the thrust of the initiative?  Different scientific domains will have different priorities on certain aspects of the Grid, sometimes even conflicting ones. Should the effort be made to accommodate them?

7. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. KunsztWho? Should the setup of the Initiative and the Infrastructure be determined by the users thereof?  Sciences that need to collaborate nationally and internationally have specific needs that would have to be met – will these needs drive the operation of the infrastructure and the thrust of the initiative?  Different scientific domains will have different priorities on certain aspects of the Grid, sometimes even conflicting ones. Should the effort be made to accommodate them? Infrastructure is the enabler of science, not the other way round The infrastructure only makes sense if its benefit to science is always clear

8. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. KunsztHow? Should there be a Steering Board to drive the Swiss Grid Initiative?  A body where the main stakeholders are represented and can discuss the priorities of the initiative?  A body that has good contacts to the funding agencies to be able to work to secure the necessary funding for the Swiss Grid infrastructure and its projects?

9. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. KunsztHow? Should there be a Steering Board to drive the Swiss Grid Initiative?  A body where the main stakeholders are represented and can discuss the priorities of the initiative?  A body that has good contacts to the funding agencies to be able to work to secure the necessary funding for the Swiss Grid infrastructure and its projects? A mandate has to be given to a body that has the authority to perform accordingly Decision power needs to be with the delegates so that they can enforce the decisions taken at their institutes

10. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. Kunszt How II? Should there be an Executing Management to achieve the goals set by the Steering Board?  SWITCH proposal: No such management, the SB chairperson has the responsibility to achieve the goals of the initiative  CSCS proposal: Have a dedicated executive management with the mandate and authority to run the initiative in its daily operations.

11. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. Kunszt Mission Statement: Proposal Build the basis on which a national Grid infrastructure and service can emerge. Initiate and coordinate Grid activities in Switzerland, helping to raise the necessary funds in the process. Provide the gateway for consulting, support and expertise on Grid and Collaborative Computing for the Swiss research community. Get involved in joint multinational projects where it serves the interests of the Swiss research community. Promote connectivity and collaboration between disciplines and users, especially Computer Science and applications in need of high throughput or ubiquitous computing. Represent the interests of the national research community towards other national and EU Grid projects, international projects as well as standardization bodies and the industry. Identify middleware components to fill gaps and coordinate the solutions developed by the member institutions, improving the services to the community and with the community. Continuously initiate thematic projects and e-Science pilot studies, helping to raise funding thereof.

12. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. KunsztStructure Should there be an Executing Management to achieve the goals set by the Steering Board?  SWITCH proposal: No such management, the SB chairperson has the responsibility to achieve the goals of the initiative  CSCS proposal: Have a dedicated executive management with the mandate and authority to run the initiative in its daily operations. SWITCH presented their proposal, see other set of slides

13. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. Kunszt

14. CSCS suggestion for Organisation Elements of the Organisation  Member Insititutions  Steering Board  Chairman of the Steering Board  Executive Management  Working Groups Uni XETHZ Steering Board EPFLCSCSSWITCH… Project Management Working Group 1 Working Group 2 Working Group 3 Elects Nominates Participates Reports

15. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. Kunszt CSCS and the Swiss Grid Initiative To set up an initiative on the national scale is in the Performance Mandate of CSCS for 2004-2007 First plan and initiation happened in 2004 by Marie-Christine Sawley Most advancement in terms of realizing the initiative since january 2006 : hire of PK as the Manager of the Swiss Grid Initiative Things only get moving when someone is working on it 100%

16. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. Kunszt Duties of SB and Management Steering Board  Take any measures to promote grid technology in Switzerland.  Formulate the strategy of the Swiss grid initiative.  Identify the actions to be taken based on the strategy, formulating milestones for their achievement.  Nominate the Project Management.  Explore common activities between the different grid projects in Switzerland.  Advise funding agencies.  Approve the annual budget request as presented by the project manager.  Approve the annual plan as presented by the project manager.  Review and approve the annual report as presented by the project manager.  Approve any agreements between the Swiss Grid Initiative and external organisations.  Oversee the execution of the annual plan by the project manager.  Advise on representation of the initiative at international bodies Management  Reports to the Steering Board.  Plan and execute the strategic actions as given by the Steering Board.  Plan for the achievement of the milestones set by the Steering Board.  Nominate, supervise and dissolve working groups to execute the tasks and actions.  Coordinate common activities between the different grid projects in Switzerland.  Formulates together with the chairpersons of the Working Groups the annual plan (budget, manpower, resources).  Presents the annual budget to the Steering Board.  Directs the execution of the annual plan and the work of the Working Groups.  Approves expenses up to an amount of CHF XXX. The Steering Board must approve amounts bigger than CHF XXX.  Supervises and directs the project office.  Represent the Swiss Grid Initiative and the interests of the member institutes in national bodies and commissions except if otherwise advised by the SB

17. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. Kunszt Duties of SB and Management Steering Board  Take any measures to promote grid technology in Switzerland.  Formulate the strategy of the Swiss grid initiative.  Identify the actions to be taken based on the strategy, formulating milestones for their achievement.  Nominate the Project Management.  Explore common activities between the different grid projects in Switzerland.  Advise funding agencies.  Approve the annual budget request as presented by the project manager.  Approve the annual plan as presented by the project manager.  Review and approve the annual report as presented by the project manager.  Approve any agreements between the Swiss Grid Initiative and external organisations.  Oversee the execution of the annual plan by the project manager.  Advise on representation of the initiative at international bodies Management  Reports to the Steering Board.  Plan and execute the strategic actions as given by the Steering Board.  Plan for the achievement of the milestones set by the Steering Board.  Nominate, supervise and dissolve working groups to execute the tasks and actions.  Coordinate common activities between the different grid projects in Switzerland.  Formulates together with the chairpersons of the Working Groups the annual plan (budget, manpower, resources).  Presents the annual budget to the Steering Board.  Directs the execution of the annual plan and the work of the Working Groups.  Approves expenses up to an amount of CHF XXX. The Steering Board must approve amounts bigger than CHF XXX.  Supervises and directs the project office.  Represent the Swiss Grid Initiative and the interests of the member institutes in national bodies and commissions except if otherwise advised by the SB All this work cannot be done by a chairperson

18. Swiss Grid Day 28_09_2006, P. KunsztLAUNCH! Agreements reached:  YES we need the initiative  YES having an infrastructure is the goal  YES driving it through science is the way to go  Comment on Computer Sciences – has to be part of it too as the essential ‘glue’ between computing and science Next step: Build the Steering Board, Agree on the Structure Action on PK: Organize the ‘building the SB’ event in the next 8 weeks