1. Common User Environments Working Group Shawn T. Brown, PSC (stbrown@psc.edu)‏ CUE Working Group Lead April, 2009 1

2. The Motivation The diversity of the resources that have evolved through the lifetime of the TG project create unnecessary barriers for users moving from resource to resource Users move between resources –resource decommissioning (particularly relevant) –scaling up science problems –exploiting architecture features –varied algorithms in problem solving –availability and workflow expediency It is crucial to balance the benefits of diverse, individually managed resources with the need to provide a common user experience for the TG 2

3. The Response The CUE working group was formed in Sept. 2008 (along with the QA WG), comprising members from most TG resource providers A requirements analysis was undertaken –User Survey –Research into other Grids –Research into TG surveys –In depth discussion amongst the group 3

4. TeraGrid Resources CUED CUE - Documentation A centrally located, clearly itemized area for documentation of resources with both web and CLI based access. CUEMS CUE Management System A single common command line system for managing one’s environment, with a single entry to load the CUE. CUETP CUE – Testing Platform Simple program or set of programs that can be compiled and executed through the CUE and will help to illustrate its use. CUBE Common User Build Environment Attempting to make common the tools needed for building usable scientific code across resources CUEVC CUE Variable Collection A set of environment variables that will be common across the TeraGrid, making job submission and resource discovery easier.

5. The long term… CUE discussed items with high impact but were infeasible to address with short-term solutions –Common Usernames across resources –Common Job Management software –Common Filesystems –Common Application sets across resources 5

6. CUE-wg Status Requirements Analysis complete –From user-facing requirements, we now have a bounding box on the CUE scope –Short term implements with long term recommendations –We are responding to user requirements, tempered with systems concerns Creating an implementation plan (hit the ground running) –Currently in the planning phase for short-termed implements –Each section to have a set of features with estimated time lines to completion –Identifying resources, internal and external to the TG to implement each area. Submitting a clear set of recommendations to TG-Forum 6