Grid software components

We mentioned above that schedulers react to current loads on the grid. Usually, the donor software includes some tools that measure the current load and activity on a given machine using either operating system facilities or by direct measurement. This software is sometimes referred to as a load sensor. Some grid systems provide the means for implementing custom load sensors for other

than CPU or storage resources.

Such measurement information is useful not only for scheduling, but also for discovering overall usage patterns in the grid. The statistics can show trends that may signal the need for additional hardware. Also, measurement information about specific jobs can be collected and used to better predict the resource requirements of that job the next time it is run. The better the prediction, the more efficiently the grid’s workload can be managed.

The measurement information can also be saved for accounting purposes, or to form the basis for grid resource brokering, or to manage priorities more fairly.

The information can also be displayed in various forms to better visualize grid activity and utilization.