Representation of performance data in grid systems

The increasingly frequent exchange of performance data in grid systems across heterogeneous platforms requires a uniform “representation” of various types of performance data. This paper reviews the current related research, considers the defect of existing methods, and proposes a new portable description method: grid performance data description (GPDD) using an extensible markup language (XML)-based grid performance data representation language (XGPDRL). GPDD describes the abstract structure, which has excellent extensibility (all types of performance data can be described in one format), efficiency, and flexibility. XGPDRL defines the grammar of the GPDD performance data representation, and is both extensible and portable. For benchmarking purposes, performance data can be collected during runtime, represented in XGPDRL, and analyzed visually using a browser across heterogeneous platforms. GPDD and XGPDRL can conveniently ensure data comprehension across various platforms, and are very suitable for grid performance data representation.