Grid Technology

Increased network bandwidth, more powerful computers, and the acceptance of the Internet have driven the on-going demand for new and better ways to compute. Commercial enterprises, academic institutions, and research organizations alike continue to take advantage of these advancements, and constantly seek new technologies and practices that enable them to reinvent the way they conduct business. However, many challenges remain increasing pressure on development and research costs, faster time-to-market, greater throughput, and improved quality and innovation are always foremost in the minds of administrators - while computational needs are outpacing the ability of organizations to deploy sufficient resources to meet growing workload demands.

On top of these challenges is the need to handle dynamically changing workloads. The truth is, flexibility is key. In a world with rapidly changing markets, both research institutions and enterprises need to quickly provide compute power where it is needed most. Indeed, if systems could be dynamically created when they are needed, teams could harness these resources to increase innovation and better achieve their objectives.

Imagine if all this could be done today. It can, with Grid Computing.

Grid Computing delivers on the potential in the growth and abundance of network connected systems and bandwidth: computation, collaboration and communication over the Advanced Web. At the heart of Grid Computing is a computing infrastructure that provides dependable, consistent, pervasive and inexpensive access to computational capabilities. By pooling federated assets into a virtual system, a grid provides a single point of access to powerful distributed resources.

Researchers working to solve many of the most difficult scientific problems have long understood the potential of such shared distributed computing systems. Development teams focused on technical products, like semiconductors, are using Grid Computing to achieve higher throughput. Likewise, the business community is beginning to recognize the importance of distributed systems in applications such as data mining and economic modeling.

With a grid, networked resources -- desktops, servers, storage, databases, even scientific instruments -- can be combined to deploy massive computing power wherever and whenever it is needed most. Users can find resources quickly, use them efficiently, and scale them seamlessly.

No two grids are alike, and no size fits all. By utilizing a flexible computing architecture based on clusters -- systems and software that manage work on distributed systems -- organizations can create and recreate grids to exactly match changing requirements. Indeed, grids can scale from single systems to supercomputer-class clusters utilizing thousands of processors.

Cluster Grids Today, Cluster Grids are the most popular and simplest form of a grid. Meeting the needs of most organizations, Cluster Grids consist of one or more systems working together to provide a single point of access to users. Typically used by a team of users such as a single project or a department, a Cluster Grid can be used to support both high throughput and high performance jobs.
Campus Grids Campus Grids enable multiple projects or departments to share computing resources in a cooperative way. Campus Grids may consist of dispersed workstations and servers, as well as centralized resources located in multiple administrative domains, in departments, or across the enterprise.
Global Grids When application needs exceed the capacity of a Campus Grid, organizations can tap partner resources through a Global Grid. Designed to support and address the needs of multiple sites and organizations, Global Grids provide the power of distributed resources to users anywhere in the world for computing and collaboration. They can be used by individuals or organizations sending overflow work to a grid provider, or by multiple companies working together and sharing data - crossing organizational boundaries with ease.

The Grid -- the IT infrastructure of the future -- promises to transform computation, communication, and collaboration. Over time, these will be seen in the context of grids -- academic grids, enterprise grids, research grids, entertainment grids, community grids, and so on. Grids will become service-driven with lightweight clients accessing computing resources over the Internet. Datacenters will be safe, reliable, and available from anywhere in the world. Applications will be part of a wide spectrum of network-delivered services that include compute cycles, data processing tools, accounting and monitoring, and more.

Despite news to the contrary, the grid is not a futuristic fantasy or technological pipe dream. The grid is here -- and available from Sun -- today. In fact, many Sun customers are exploiting the power of distributed computing with grid technology right now. Indeed, in the course of just one year, Sun's powerful Grid Engine software is managing over 118,000 CPUs worldwide, enabling organizations to put their untapped computing power to work.

Grid computing requires powerful, reliable, high performance systems and sophisticated software that bring the power of computing to bear on complex problems. Sun Microsystems -- the power behind the Internet -- is now the power behind the Grid. A technology leader, Sun provides the components organizations need to build small or large, local or global grids today.

Sun is constantly shaping the future of computing by investing in new technology. Sun recognizes that a consistent, continuous application of time and resources is needed to meet the needs of a rapidly-changing computing marketplace. Significant investments in high performance, low-cost servers, advanced software environments and tools, and adherence to standards ensure that Sun customers will always have access to the best products available. Sun also pursues alliances with other industry leaders in a concerted effort to deliver new products and technologies that foster greater productivity, higher quality products, reduced time-to-market, and ultimately an improved bottom line.

The powerful combination of robust Sun servers and sophisticated distributed resource management software gives organizations a fully integrated solution for Grid Computing -- right now. Today.