UNICORE-Globus interoperability: getting the best of both worlds

Summary form only given. This work describes a software prototype developed at Research Center Julich to demonstrate the interoperability between UNICORE (Uniform Interface to Computer Resources) and Globus without changes to any of the systems. By combining UNICORE's workflow oriented approach to job submission with Globus, grid users can gain seamless access to a wide number of Globus enabled systems. We define the following scenario of a job submission from UNICORE to Globus: the user prepares the job via UNICORE's graphical user interface, chooses a Globus site where the job is to be computed and submits it to UNICORE's target system interface (TSI). This is the entity normally interfacing with the local batch system. It is enhanced to communicate with Globus. The TSI translates the job description from the UNICORE specific abstract job object (AJO) into the GRAM Resource Specification Language (RSL) and submits it to the GRAM Gatekeeper. Standard Globus mechanisms are used to monitor the status of the job and transfer the output back to the TSI.