Basic tips for Grid Computing
Grid computing is a method of computing using computer resources which are geographically distributed and interconnected in order to achieve high computing Performance. It allows the sharing of geographically distributed heterogeneous resources for problems in science, engineering, and commerce. It uses the same concept as electricity power line (grid) which provides access to electricity to consumers. By extending this concept to computing resources gave birth to Grid Computing and it’s capabilities are immense to computing world. This type of computing tries to emulate other utility services (electricity, water etc)
offered through a grid by offering information technology services as a utility and paying only for what they utilize, just like electricity and water.
Why Grid Computing
- Easy Access to data/information.
- Virtualization of machines which means accessing information without caring about the physical hardware.
- Access to resources easily.
- Enable collaboration of teams over the Internet, to work on one complex task.
- Increase redundancy, where there is a system failure, it is easy to migrate and restart applications automatically, on another machine.
- Resources are heterogeneous (platforms, operating systems, devices, software, etc.). Users can choose the best suited system for their application.
- Increase average utilization of resources e. g processor etc.
Sample Grid
Source: IBM, Redbooks Paper
APPLICATIONS
- Computational intensive application e.g scientific applications
- E-Business applications to improve business models and practices.
