Birds of a Feather Session: Usable Systems in the Global Environment
Date: Thursday 21st September 2006, 09:00-10:40, Auditorium
Organiser: Dr Nicholas A Walton (naw@ast.cam.ac.uk) Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, UK
Background:
A number of major UK projects are are now deploying systems for operational and scientific use. These projects are generally aimed at providing a complete solution for their specific domains providing capabilities to meet the user science demands of their communities. Thus AstroGrid is aimed at providing a coherent access and data analysis environment for astronomical research, CancerGrid will provide a working services-based Grid infrastructure for cancer clinical trials. GridPP is building a computing Grid, to analyse the data deluge from CERN's next particle accelerator.
Further these UK projects exist in a global environment, (e.g. AstroGrid and the International Virtual Observatory Alliance, Euro-VO) where access and interoperability with similar domain projects and implementations in other countries or regions is vital to ensure full scientific functionality for their UK end science user base. GridPP links with OSG in the US and with NorduGrid (both through the LCG project), with other science communities and with other grid communities beyond Europe and the US (through the EGEE project) A current example of this initiative is GGF GIN (Grid Interoperation Now) initiative that is examining interoperation between different large-scale production grids.
Aim of Session:
This BOF session will assess how major UK domain specific escience projects have configured themselves to interface to the global environment. Specific areas up for discussion include:
- Defining domain specific interoperability standards, how communities have organised, and agreed high level interoperability standards, against which projects develop functional implementations.
- Use of common cross domain standards and middleware components. Thus experience of use of OASIS/ GGF/ WS-I standards.
- System design to allow transparent end user access to partner project data and applications
- Design and operation of usable systems to allow for secure and authorised inter-operation between UK escience systems and global partner projects.
- Examples of scientific usage of UK projects where specific access to partner project data and applications has been facilitated by use of interoperability standards.
The BOF sessiion will provide an opportunity for sharing of best practice across escience domains in addressing the common problems of UK based projects interacting and inter-operating in the larger system of global projects. The feedback from the exemplar science usage will highlight the opportunities and difficulties presented by the interface of UK projects in the global context.
09.00 Introduction Nic Walton
09.05 Experiences from CancerGrid and caBIG; what are the real issues in international interoperability? Peter MacCallum [PPT]
09.17 eMinerals in the International Context Martin Dove [PPT]
09.29 GridPP: the UK's contribution to the international collaboration building a worldwide Grid, the LHC Computing Grid. Tony Doyle [PPT]
09.41 OMII-UK - supporting the UK e-Science community and their international collaborators Steven Newhouse [PPT]
09.53 Balancing UK Service demands with building a Virtual Observatory infrastruture for Europe Nic Walton [PPT]
10.15 Challenges in building an integrated system for medical research in an international context. Sharon Lloyd [PPT]
10.27: Open Discussion
10.40: Close
