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New Sun Grid @ Network.com Features
A host of new features make the powerful Sun Grid Compute Utility more flexible than ever before. With expanded
availability, access to online data and services, and new methods for creating applications and submitting jobs, the
Sun Grid is the most affordable and intelligent solution for high performance computing.
Details
International Access
Sun has expanded international access to the Sun Grid Compute Utility, bringing the flexibility,
scalability, affordability and convenience of Network.com to 24 countries, including the U.S.A. Application
developers, ISVs and end-users from these countries will now have access to Network.com's on-demand,
$1/CPU-hr,
pay-per-use computing infrastructure, as well as to the open source and ISV applications published in the
Network.com application catalog.
- The countries able to access the Sun Grid at this time are: United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Canada,
China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New
Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.
*ANNOUNCEMENT*: (8/21/07) Sun recently added *the Netherlands* to its list of international countries able to access the Sun Grid Compute Utility, bringing the total to 25 countries.
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Internet Access
Using the new Internet Access feature, Sun Grid application developers can now take advantage of the
resources of the entire Internet when running their Jobs on Network.com. Most applications running on the Sun
Grid Compute Utility are self-contained, with necessary libraries and data sets uploaded prior to execution.
Some applications, however, require access to remote data or systems. Sun Grid Internet Access allows enabled
applications to securely access external Web data and services, vastly expanding the potential for innovative
new applications and services on the Sun Grid.
- Jobs with Internet Access enabled will be allowed to open outbound TCP/IP connections to any Internet
host and port combination. This allows jobs on the Sun Grid Compute Utility to access large data sets or
databases that can be difficult (or perhaps impossible) to upload.
- This feature is currently enabled on all Sun Grid accounts and can be enabled or disabled on a per Job
basis. Customers wanting to have this feature disabled on their account should contact Sun Grid Customer
Care by using the Help button. Please select "Internet Access" as the Category for your request.
- When paired with a tunnel technology such as ssh, Internet Access can provide a secure inbound connection
to a service application running on the Sun Grid Compute Utility. The Java Tunnel Service integrates with the Sun Grid Internet
Access feature and implements ssh-style forward, reverse, and loopback tunnels. Please note: you must
register for a Java Tunnel Service account.
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Job Submission Application Program Interface
A new Java API allows developers to create and submit jobs to the Sun Grid Compute Utility. The Java API
is an
alternative to the Network.com Web-based portal and was designed for developers who prefer the flexibility
and
autonomy of using a programmatic interface. The API allows an independent Java client application to log in,
create
resources, submit jobs for execution, and download run results.
Additionally, by making user interaction independent of the Sun Grid Web portal, Sun allows Independent
Software
Vendors (ISVs) to provide services that enhance the value of using the compute utility.
- Developers can write Java client applications using the Sun Grid Job Submission Application Programming
Interface (API).
- This feature is currently in limited Beta release. Please contact Sun Grid Customer Care by using the Help
button
if you wish to try out the new Java API. Use the Category "Download API" in making your request.
- Once you have been approved for access, Customer Care will send you the API libraries and accompanying
documentation.
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Job Catalog
The Sun Grid Compute Utility allows application developers - including end users and Independent Software
Vendors
(ISVs) - to publish applications in a viewable list called the Job Catalog. The Job Catalog is a resource for
users
to search and sample applications that are available on the Sun Grid.
- Users can find applications based on Category (i.e. "Computational Mathematics") and Sub-Category (i.e.
"Numerical Computing").
- Conduct searches by Company, Application, Product and/or Version.
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Digital Entitlement Token
Simple-to-employ Digital Entitlement Tokens (DET) ensure that application owners can control access to
their
software published in the Job Catalog.
- Software publishers can require use of Digital Entitlement Tokens to run their software.
- Users can easily contact a protected application's publisher to obtain Tokens via a Web site link in the
catalog.
- Tokens employ readily available X.509 certificates and signed jar files so that creation, maintenance and
use is
easy, requiring no special tools.
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Increased Flexibility
Feedback from users has inspired us to make the Sun Grid Compute Utility easier to use and more flexible
than
ever.
- Additional file archive and compression formats added including 'tar,' 'tar.Z' and 'tar.bz2.'
- Automatic detection of upload format. Your download format preference is saved in your account.
- Output results are available as resources for job input directly.
- Time zone preference is saved in your account.
- Resource editing has been enhanced to allow re-uploading, saving a tremendous amount of time for returning users.
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