Computational and data Grids in large-scale science and engineering

As the practice of science moves beyond the single investigator due to the complexity of the problems that now dominate science, large collaborative and multi-institutional teams are needed to address these problems. In order to support this shift in science, the computing and data handling infrastructure that is essential to most of modern science must also change in order to support this increased complexity. This is the goal of computing and data Grids: Software infrastructure that facilitates solving large-scale problems by providing the mechanisms to access, aggregate, and manage the computer network based infrastructure of science. This infrastructure includes computing systems, data archive systems, scientific instruments, and computer mediated human collaborations. This paper examines several large-scale science problems, their requirements for computing and data Grid infrastructure, and the current approaches to providing the necessary functionality.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2002
• Where: FGCS
• Authors: William E. Johnston
• Keywords: Data Grid, FGCS 2002, Problems, Science Moves