Title: The many faces of the integration of instruments and the grid

Authors: F. Lelli, E. Frizziero, M. Gulmini, G. Maron, S. Orlando, A. Petrucci, S. Squizzato

Addresses: Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Viale dell'Universita, 2 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Dipartimento di Informatica, Universita Ca Foscari di Venezia, Via Torino, 155 30172 Venezia Mestre, Italy. ' Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Viale dell'Universita, 2 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Dipartimento di Informatica, Universita Ca Foscari di Venezia, Via Torino, 155 30172 Venezia Mestre, Italy. ' Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Viale dell'Universita, 2 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Dipartimento di Informatica, Universita Ca Foscari di Venezia, Via Torino, 155 30172 Venezia Mestre, Italy. ' Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Viale dell'Universita, 2 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Dipartimento di Informatica, Universita Ca Foscari di Venezia, Via Torino, 155 30172 Venezia Mestre, Italy. ' Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Viale dell'Universita, 2 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Dipartimento di Informatica, Universita Ca Foscari di Venezia, Via Torino, 155 30172 Venezia Mestre, Italy. ' Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Viale dell'Universita, 2 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Dipartimento di Informatica, Universita Ca Foscari di Venezia, Via Torino, 155 30172 Venezia Mestre, Italy. ' Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Viale dell'Universita, 2 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Dipartimento di Informatica, Universita Ca Foscari di Venezia, Via Torino, 155 30172 Venezia Mestre, Italy

Abstract: Current grid technologies offer unlimited computational power and storage capacity for scientific research and business activities in heterogeneous areas all over the world. Thanks to the grid, different virtual organisations can operate together in order to achieve common goals. However, concrete use cases demand a closer interaction between various types of instruments accessible from the grid on the one hand and the classical grid infrastructure, typically composed of Computing and Storage Elements, on the other. We cope with this open problem by proposing and realising the first release of the Instrument Element (IE), a new grid component that provides the computational/data grid with an abstraction of real instruments, and grid users with a more interactive interface to control them. In this paper we discuss in detail the implemented software architecture for this new component and we present concrete use cases where the IE has been successfully integrated.

Keywords: grid computing; Instrument Element; grid infrastructure; interactive interface; grid-instrument integration; grid components.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWGS.2007.014953

International Journal of Web and Grid Services, 2007 Vol.3 No.3, pp.239 - 266

Published online: 20 Aug 2007 *

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