Globus Toolkit
The Globus Toolkit is a middleware software toolkit for building grid systems and applications. It was originally developed by the Globus Alliance, a collaboration of researchers and software developers from around the world, aiming to enable the creation of a global "computational grid" where computing resources could be shared across institutional boundaries.
History
- 1995-2000: The concept of grid computing was formalized, leading to the establishment of the Globus Project at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory.
- 2001: Release of Globus Toolkit 2.0, which included core services like Grid Security Infrastructure (GSI), GridFTP for high-performance data transfer, and the Globus Resource Allocation Manager (GRAM).
- 2002: Formation of the Globus Alliance to further develop and promote the toolkit.
- 2005: Globus Toolkit 4.0 was released, introducing a Web Services Resource Framework (WSRF) based architecture, enhancing interoperability with Web services.
- 2010s: The focus shifted towards cloud computing integration, with enhancements for cloud storage, data management, and job submission services.
- 2018: The Globus Alliance transitioned into the Globus Project at the University of Chicago, focusing on research and development in data management for research computing.
Key Components
- Grid Security Infrastructure (GSI): Provides secure communication between users and services.
- GridFTP: A high-performance, secure, and reliable data transfer protocol.
- Globus Resource Allocation Manager (GRAM): Manages job submission, monitoring, and control over grid resources.
- Monitoring and Discovery Service (MDS): For resource discovery and monitoring.
- Replica Location Service (RLS): Tracks the locations of data replicas in a grid environment.
- MyProxy: A credential management service allowing delegation of user credentials.
Applications
The Globus Toolkit has been used in various scientific and research applications, including:
- Climate research for data sharing and processing.
- High-energy physics experiments, like those at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.
- Bioinformatics for distributed data analysis.
- Astronomy for processing large volumes of observational data.
Relevance Today
While the original vision of a global computational grid has evolved, the principles and technologies developed in the Globus Toolkit remain relevant:
- It has influenced the development of cloud computing technologies by providing foundational concepts in resource sharing and security.
- Its components are integrated into various scientific computing environments, research clouds, and data management systems.
- The Globus Project continues to evolve the toolkit, focusing on data management and transfer in research computing environments.
Sources
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