Unlocking the power of the Grid

The Grid, it is widely agreed, is the next big thing in computing, but a consensus on what exactly it is can be harder to come by. Grid computing implies the idea of accessing computational resources over a network, the Internet, untroubled by low-level concerns about where these resources might be located. Almost inevitably, the US is in the lead, with NASA's Information Power Grid (IPG) providing the world's most credible example of a functioning Grid. The objective of the IPG is to facilitate the interconnection of computing systems across a number of NASA sites, allowing, for example, the multi-site simulation of a whole space shuttle design. The paper discusses the e-Science Programme. The UK e-Science Grid represents a technical challenge, operating across nine separate centres, each with their own IT policies. Each of the centres on the e-Science Grid provides a local knowledge-base of Grid expertise, implementing currently available public-domain Grid middleware, including the Globus Toolkit, and developing a portfolio of industrial projects.