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among applications and toolkits but also among implementations of key
services. The goal is to mix and match components, but this potential will
only be realized if the grid community continues to work at defining stan-
dards. The Global Grid Forum community is applying lessons learned from
1G and 2G grids and from Web Service technologies and concepts to create
3G architectures.
12.8 Globus
Current implementations of open grid architecture follow a Web Service-
based interface enabling interoperability between different implementa-
tions of the protocols. Since Web Services by definition are stateless, the grid
community (Globus alliance) introduced a set of enhanced specifications
called Web Services Resource Framework (WSRF) that Web Services could
implement to become stateful. Open Grid Services Architecture now defines
a service-oriented grid computing environment, which not only provides
standardized interfaces but also removes the need for layering in the archi-
tecture and defines a concept of virtual domains, allowing dynamic group-
ing of resources as well.
The standard bodies involved in evolving the grid protocols were
a. The Global Grid Forum (GGF)
b. Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
Standards (OASIS)
c. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
d. Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF)
e. Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I)
A reference implementation of these protocols is available in a popular
open-source software toolkit called Globus Toolkit (GT), which was devel-
oped by the Globus alliance, a community of organizations and individu-
als developing fundamental technologies behind the grid. The nice thing
about this software is that it enables existing resources to easily join a grid
pool by enabling the required protocols locally. To get started on setting up
a grid, one just needs to download and install GT on any of the supported
platforms. To create a resource pool, it is a good idea to install a resource
scheduler such as the Condor cluster scheduler and configure that as a grid
gateway for resource allocation. After some initial security configurations
(obtaining signed certificates and setting up access rights), the grid can be
up and running!
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