Portals and User Interfaces

1. Portals and User Interfaces NW-GRID Seminar 2005 Rob Allan CCLRC e-Science Centre Daresbury Laboratory Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

2. A Unique N.W. England Offering:advancing Grid Technologies and Applications Technology “tuned to the needs of practicing scientists”. Hooks to other Grid consortia: NGS, WRG Top end: HPCx and CSAR Portals, client toolkits, active overlays Pharma, meds, bio, social, env, CCPs Applications and industry Mid range: NW-GRID and local clusters User interfaces Sensor networks and experimental facilities Advanced Network technology Desktop pools: Condor etc. Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

3. NW-GRID Roadmap • Roadmap must contain several components, hence this Seminar: • Security • Middleware • Applications • System software • Support services • User interfaces Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

4. Key Areas of Concern Services and Middleware • Evolving, security (single sign-on), too much Java?, service oriented, registries, semantics, authorisation, brokering, scheduling, workflow, accounting Data • Registries, metadata markup, digitisation, semantics, service-enabling existing repositories Collaboration • Many tools, need integration, audio/ visual, AG needs better support, virtual organisations, project management and development of consortia, confidentiality User Access • Preferred interfaces, Web/ desktop, link to existing (desktop and Web) tools, lightweight, mobile Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

5. Technology Roadmap (or Minefield?) Service-based Wonderful World of Web Services… GT4.2 GT4 Library-based GT4 beta GT3.2 Level 5 Globus GT1/ GT2 GT3 Level 4 GSC + StarterKit Globus GT2… Level 3 “Core + Development” “Production” Level 2 OGSA ?(WSRF) Level 1 “Service” OGSI Testbeds Level 0 “Skeleton” “Evaluation” 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

6. The Grid “Client Problem” Many clients want to access a few Grid-enabled resources Grid Core Middleware e.g. Globus Workplace: desktop clients Consumer clients: PC, TV, video, AG Portable clients: phones, laptop, pda, data entry… Grid Core Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

7. How to Deliver e-Science Services? • Provide a Grid with heavyweight functionality (Globus?) - Grid-enabled compute and data servers analogous to Web servers; • Implied need for client-server software architecture, e.g. using Web services: • Web-based portal with familiar browser – example Sakai + uPortal • Client programming library - API in C, C++ Java, Perl, Python, R etc. – example GROWL • Ability to link to existing applications/ GUIs • Command-based shell interface • Drag and Drop desktop interface • Need a published set of services on Grid hosts – OGSA model, registry, semantics; • Need easy development and deployment framework for applications and client tools - encourage community contribution via an open process. Hide the complexity from the users Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

8. GROWL: Client-Server model http://www.growl.org.uk by Dan Grose and John Kewley Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

9. Tools available in GROWL • Authentication and Session Management • File upload/ download • SRB client interface • File transfer • Job submission (Globus, Condor) • Application specific services (e.g. SABRE) • Helper scripts for Grid certificates, and proxies and remote file management • Workflow scheduling Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

10. Distributed Architecture using Web Services Service End-points Portal Clients Proxy Web Service Internet Authorisation and policy repository Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

11. e.g. NGS Portal http://portal.ngs.ac.uk by Dharmesh Chohan, Xiao Dong Wang and Xiaobo Yang Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

12. Tools available in NGS Portal • Authentication • MyProxy management • Globus job submission • Job monitoring • GridFTP • SRB • UDDI (coming) • INCA (coming) • OGSA-DAI (coming) • Discussion forum (coming) Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

13. Collaboration using the Sakai Framework http://www.grids.ac.uk/Sakai by Adrian Fish and Miguel Gonzalez Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

14. Tools available in Sakai v2.1 • Calendar • E-Mail • Discussion • Resource management • Chat • Web content • RSS News • Wiki • Shared whiteboard • Audio/ visual discussion tool • Presentation • Educational tools Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

15. Linking Grid tools into Sakai by Xiaobo Yang Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

16. Areas for Future Development • Workflow – tools needed to compose and access workflows to underpin complex scientific procedures. e-HTPX and WOSE projects are investigating (DL) • Resource brokering and Scheduling – some work ongoing with Condor, JSDL etc. (DL, Liverpool, Manchester) • Payment – services developed in the Grid Markets project (DL, Manchester, Liverpool John Moores) • OGSA-DAI and data archives – part of planned e-Infrastructure for e-Social Science (Lancaster, DL, Manchester) • Information and Knowledge Management - (DL, Lancaster, Manchester) Developing e-Science technology for e-Research

17. Thanks to Lancaster: • Rob Crouchley • Adrian Fish • Miguel Gonzalez • Dan Grose also collaborators in Cambridge, Oxford and Portsmouth Daresbury: • John Kewley • Xiao Dong Wang • Xiaobo Yang • David Meredith • Phil Couch • Rik Tyer • Asif Akram • Mike Gleaves • Adam Braimah Developing e-Science technology for e-Research