During this unit I understood that A grid is a collection of machines, sometimes referred to as nodes, resources, members, donors, clients, hosts, engines, that work together to share computing power, storage, and services. These machines cooperate to solve large and complex problems more efficiently than a single computer.
Also, I got three primary ways to exploit the computation resources of a grid.
1. The first and simplest is to use it to run an existing application on an available machine on the grid rather than locally (Remote Execution)
2. The second is to use an application designed to split its work in such a way that the separate parts can be executed in parallel on different processors. (Parallel Processing)
3. The third is to run an application that needs to be executed many times, on many different machines in the grid. (High-Throughput Computing)
Again, I became aware of concept of Scalability in grid as a measure of how efficiently multiple processors on a grid are used. If twice as many processors make an application complete in one half the time, then it is said to be perfectly scalable.
Among the other points were Types of Grid Resources:
- Computation: Processing power provided by CPUs and processors.
- Storage: Includes main memory and secondary storage such as hard disks.
Grids provide integrated storage (data grids) using memory or secondary storage. Networked file systems (AFS®, NFS, DFS™, GPFS) allow capacity expansion, unified access, and reliable sharing. Database federation can combine multiple storage sources. - Communication: Network connections that allow machines to exchange data.
- Software and Licenses: Software may be installed on specific machines to save costs. License management ensures concurrent usage limits are respected.
- Special Equipment and Architectures: Includes specialized hardware, system configurations, and usage policies.
- Jobs and Applications: An application is the complete task to be done, while jobs are the individual programs executed on grid machines.
Next, Job Management in Grid Computing
Grid systems manage jobs using different methods:
1. Scheduling: Selecting suitable machines and assigning jobs to them.
2. Reservation: Booking specific resources in advance for future use.
3. Scavenging: Using idle machines by assigning them jobs when they become free.
Lastly, I learned about Grid Software Components
Grid computing uses special software to manage resources, security, communication, and job execution. These components coordinate activities within the grid.
1. Intragrid refers to a grid system within a single organization.
2. Intergrid refers to connections between multiple grids from different organizations.
Overall, this unit explains the basic concepts, resources, and management techniques used in grid computing. It shows how grid systems share computing power, storage, and applications to improve performance and scalability.