1. VL-e PoC Architecture and the VL-e Integration Team
David Groep
VL-e work shop, April 7th, 2006

2. The VL-e PoC: Proof-of-Concept
What is the PoC Environment?
A shared, common environment,
where different tools and services are
both used and
provided by the VL-e community
The basis for further application development

3. PoC Position in the VL-e structure
Application
specific
service
App1
App 2
App 3
Application
Potential
Generic service
&
Virtual
Lab. services
Virtual Lab.
rapid prototyping
(interactive simulation)
Virtual Laboratory
Additional
Grid Services
(OGSA services)
Grid Middleware
Grid
&
Network
Services
Networking
Network Service
(lambda networking)
VL-e Experimental Environment
VL-e Proof of concept Environment

4. PoC R1 Architectural Vision
Many different tools and services …
… from many different providers …
… tied together in a common framework:
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)
Aim for re-useable software components
Integrated at the work-flow layer
Needs commitment from everyone to work on and with the PoC and in this shared environment

5. Service Orientation All functions defined as services
All services are independent
Operate as "black boxes";
external components neither know nor care how boxes are executed
merely that they return the expected result.
The interfaces are invocable
At an architectural level, it is irrelevant whether
they are local or remote
what interconnect scheme or protocol is used to effect the invocation, &c
In the VL-e and Grid environment, these invocations are across different organisations and domains
from: Adam Belloum, Introduction to Grid Computing , UvA Master of Grid Computing

6. ‘non-SOA architecture’
Service Orientation
‘non-SOA architecture’
‘service oriented’
‘Grid Services’ are services that operate on stateful resources
from: Adam Belloum, Introduction to Grid Computing , UvA Master of Grid Computing

7. Service composition Work flow should be the integrative layer of VL-e
Services in the architecture represent basic (but not necessarily atomic) functionality
Services can also be ‘general purpose’
‘actors’ in work flow system run legacy applications
use such ‘general purpose’ services for high-through or high-performance tasks
don’t just ‘servicize’ everything you see
Work flow should be the integrative layer of VL-e
means functionality should be invocable as a service
work flow (graphical) systems help in composition but are not the only way to interact with services

8. PoC Environment The PoC distribution contains components to
enable service-oriented development
enable application development
provide access to computing, storage, and information systems
distributed geographically
driven by the VL-e application scenarios (use cases)
stable base environment, with managed releases
today R1 is (still) mostly a ‘bag of components’

9. VLeIT – the VL-e Integration Team
Steering PoC Development and the VL-e Architecture

10. VLeIT members Scientific Director (chair) Bob Hertzberger
Applications liaison
Robert Belleman
Adapt. Inform. Disclosure
Machiel Jansen
Workflow
Zhiming Zhao,
Paul van Hooft, Adam Belloum
Information Management
Nader Mirzadeh, Hakan Yakali, Paul van Hooft
Visualization
Robert van Liere
Problem Solving Environments
Breanndán Ó Nualláin
HPCN and RP representative
Kees Verstoep
Scaling & Validation
David Groep
PoC infrastructure
Maurice Bouwhuis

11. VLeIT Activities Application scenario (‘use case’) coordination
Collecting usage scenarios
Correlate across SP’s and identify common elements
Advising the application scenario groups
Define the content of the PoC Distribution
focus on tools that are shared between SP’s
incorporate tools that are the basis for our SOA model
Management of the scientific-programmer pool
prioritization of the development effort
driven by the application scenario groups
Outputs are Recommendations to the Directorate

12. Application Scenario Groups
Scenarios proposed & defined by the application SPs
Small ‘design team’ (3-4 persons)
from application ICT experts and selected P2 experts
comes up with a design/sequence diagram
identifies existing relevant components
does a gap-analysis
proposes the work plan to completion
VLeIT compiles the results
assigns scientific programmers
updates the PoC environment with relevant components or new developments

13. Application Scenario Status
~ 20 scenarios submitted
Subset prioritized for the R1 timeframe
Prioritization based on resource availability
By VLeIT in consultation with the applications
Some have been completed
High-throughput & parallel processing of R …
Several ongoing
Targeted at or intended for the PoC Environment
… see Adam Belloum’s presentation this afternoon

14. Defining content of the PoC Distribution
Application development
Matrix clusters
Central Storage (SRB, dCache/SRM) Distributed Clusters, SURFnet
Initial compute
platform
Stable, reliable, supported
releases of the 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
Typical usage
‘keywords’
Virtual Lab.
rapid prototyping
Flexible, ‘unstable’
Tagged Release Candidates
Download Repository PoC Installer
Common repository Integration tests
stable, tested releases
External software
VLeIT Recommendation Point

15. Elements in the PoC The PoC refers to three distinct elements
PoC Software Distribution
set of software that is the basis for the applications
both grid middleware and virtual lab generic software
PoC Environment
the ensemble of systems running the Distribution
including your own desktops or local clusters/storage
PoC Central Facilities
those systems with the PoC Distribution centrally managed for the entire collaboration
computing, storage and hosting resources

16. The PoC software distribution
The PoC software suite. For convenience, the following elements of this suite can be distinguished:
Grid foundation middleware; the basic software that is based on interfaces and concepts that are globally adopted and standardized. This includes elements such as the security model, resource allocation interface, …
Generic Virtual Laboratory software; the software developed within the project for the PoC.
Services imported from outside; given that not all services are necessarily developed within VL-e, some will be imported.
Associated installation and deployment tools; the PoC suite is installed on the central facilities and (where applicable) also available for distributed installation.

17. PoC R1: Questions and Support
Each software component has an ‘expert’ on VLeIT
to work with you on its optimal use or deployment
coordinate enhancement requests
see under “software” for a list
Availability
Download:
On DVD
Via a trial run in a virtual machine (image on the DVD)

18. http://poc.vl-e.nl/ In Summary
PoC provides common basis for applications
Driven by the application scenarios
Designed for your (application) purposes
Managed via the VLeIT Team