Grid Computing

Grid Computing terms

1. Abstraction Abstraction involves changing the interface of an object and exposing it in a more useful or appropriate form.
2. Acyclic Digraph Directed Acyclic Graph
3. Adaptive Algorithm An algorithm that can "learn" and change its behavior by comparing the results of its actions with the goals that it is designed to achieve.
4. Adaptive Enterprise A marketing term used extensively by HP. An adaptive enterprise matches supply and demand of IT resources in real time, so the business can quickly manage…
5. AFS (Andrew File Systems) The Andrew File System is a mountable networked file system.
6. Aggregator Framework A software framework used to build services that collect and aggregate data. WS MDS Services (such as the Index and Trigger services) are built on the…
7. aggregator services Services that are built on the Aggregator Framework, such as the WS MDS Index Service and Trigger Service.
8. aggregator source A Java class that implements an interface (defined as part of the Aggregator Framework) to collect XML-formatted data.
9. AI (Artificial Intelligence) The capacity of a computer or system to perform tasks commonly associated with the higher intellectual processes characteristic of humans.
10. Algorithm A detailed formula or set of steps for solving a particular problem. To be an algorithm, a set of rules must be unambiguous and have a clear stopping…
11. Ant Apache Open Source Java based build tool.
12. Apache Axis The SOAP engine implementation used within the Globus Toolkit. See the Apache Axis website for details.
13. Apache Commons See http://jakarta.apache.org/commons/ for more details.
14. autoconf GNU Open Source package used to automatically configure the source code package.
15. automake GNU Open Source used to automatically generate Makefile in files.
16. Automation The replacement of manual operations by computerized methods. Automation can both improve efficiency and reduce errors brought on by manual intervention.
17. Autonomic 1. Of, relating to, or controlled by the autonomic nervous system. 2. Acting or occurring involuntarily; automatic: an autonomic reflex.
18. Autonomic Computing An approach to self-managed computing systems with a minimum of human interference.
19. Autonomic Nervous System (AW-toh-NAH-mik NER-vus SIS-tem) The part of the nervous system that controls muscles of internal organs (such as the heart, blood vessels, lungs…
20. Axis C++ Open Source SOAP implementation used by C-Hosting. See http://ws.apache.org/axis/cpp for more details.
21. batch scheduler See the definition for scheduler
22. BLADES BMD Long Wavelength Infrared Advanced Exo -atmospheric Sensor.
23. Bloom filter Compression scheme used by the Replica Location Service (RLS) that is intended to reduce the size of soft state updates between Local Replica Catalogs…
24. Bouncy Castle Crypto APIs http://www.bouncycastle.org (what is this for?)
25. CA (Certificate Authority) The link that allows a server and client to communicate. A CA vouches for the identity of a server and client by issuing certificates stamped with the…
26. CA Certificate The CA's certificate. This certificate is used to verify signature on certificates issued by the CA.
27. CA Signing Policy The CA signing policy is used to place constraints on the information you trust a given CA to bind to public keys.
28. Capacity on Demand Processing power that is available as needed in a timely manner without disrupting other business priorities.
29. Catastrophe Theory A special branch of dynamical systems theory that studies and classifies phenomena characterized by sudden shifts in behavior arising from small changes…
30. CERN (Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire) The Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire is a European organization for nuclear research.
31. certificate Digital signature combining data verification and encryption key. See PKI Digital Signature.
32. Certificate Authority ( CA ) An entity that issues certificates. [fixme - flesh out]
33. Certificate Revocation List (CRL) A list of revoked certificates generated by the CA that originally issued them.
34. certificate subject An identifier for the certificate owner, e.g. "/DC=org/DC=doegrids/OU=People/CN=John Doe 123456".
35. client Any computer system that requests a service of another computer system. A workstation requesting the contents of a file from a file server is a client of…
36. client-config.wsdd Axis client-side WSDD configuration file. It contains information about the type mappings, the transport and other handlers.
37. client/server transfer In a client/server transfer, there are only two entities involved in the transfer, the client entity and the server entity.
38. Cluster Interconnect A very high-speed connection allowing nodes in a cluster to communicate.
39. Clustering Connecting two or more computers together in such a way that they appear to be a single computing resource.
40. command line interface (CLI) (CLI) A software product that allows the user to type in commands at a prompt. Contrast to forms interface.
41. command/response Both FTP and GridFTP are command/response protocols. What this means is that once a client sends a command to the server, it can only accept responses…
42. Commercial Enterprise Application A class of enterprise application which usually exhibits some of the following attributes: Multi-tier architecture.
43. Compute Element A physical grid component that is a general purpose computer, such as a server. See also: Grid Component
44. concurrency Part of an acquisition strategy which combines or overlaps two or more phases of the acquisition process, or combines development T&E with operational T&E.
45. Concurrent Version System (CVS) Source code repository used by the Globus Toolkit.
46. Condor A job scheduler mechanism supported by GRAM. See http://www.cs.wisc.edu/condor/ for more information.
47. Consolidate One of the three steps recommended by Oracle to help data centers move to a Grid Computing architecture.
48. Container In the Exchange Administrator program, an object that contains other objects. For example, the Recipients container is composed of recipient objects.
49. control channel The Communication link (TCP) over which commands and responses flow. Low bandwidth; encrypted and integrity protected by default.
50. Control Theory The mathematical analysis of the systems and mechanisms for achieving a desired state under changing internal and external conditions.
51. credentials Also called access credentials or security credentials. In authentication and authorization, a system uses credentials to identify who is making a call…
52. Cryptix https://www.cryptix.org
53. Cybernetics A term derived from the Greek word for "steersman" that was introduced in 1947 to describe the science of control and communication in animals and…
54. DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) A directed graph containing no directed cycles, i.e. closed directed loops. See also: Mathworld's definition.
55. data center A facility that provides a suitable environment (power, cooling, network connectivity, management services) for housing information technology equipment…
56. data channel Communication link(s) over which the actual data of interest flows. High Bandwidth; authenticated by default; encryption and integrity protection optional.
57. Data Provisioning Making data available when and where its needed and as it becomes available.
58. Decommissioning The process of removing a power plant, apparatus, equipment, building, or facility from operation.
59. DFS (Distributed Files System) A Distributed Files System is a type of mountable networked file system.
60. dual channel protocol [fixme - this term does not appear anywhere in the gridftp docs] GridFTP uses two channels: One of the channels, called the control channel, is used for…
61. EGA (Enterprise Grid Alliance) The Enterprise Grid Alliance is a consortium of leading vendors and customers focused on developing Enterprise Grid solutions.
62. End Entity Certificate (EEC) A certificate belonging to a non-CA entity, e.g. you, me or the computer on your desk.
63. Enterprise Applications The applications or services that are run within modern enterprise data centers.
64. Enterprise Computing Computing to support the operation of an enterprise.
65. Enterprise Grid An enterprise grid is a collection of interconnected (networked) grid components under the control of a grid management entity.
66. Enterprise Grid Computing A form of grid computing, specifically within an enterprise, resulting in an enterprise grid that includes commercial enterprise applications as a type of…
67. execution aggregator source An Aggregator Source (included in WS MDS) that executes an administrator-supplied program to collect information and make it available to an Aggregator…
68. Exolab Core http://www.exolab.org/
69. extended block mode (MODE E) MODE E is a critical GridFTP components because it allows for out of order reception of data.
70. FC (Fibre Channel) A high-speed network technology typically used to build Storage Area Networks (SAN).
71. Feedback Control A process by which output or behavior of a machine or system is used to change its operation in order to constantly reduce the difference between the…
72. flavor Pre-OGSI Globus description term that uniquely encompasses Machine Architecture, OS, Compiler and other attributes into a single term, for example…
73. fork Terms used to refer to a Unix fork, supported MJS scheduler mechanism.
74. GAA configuration file A file that configures the Generic Authorization and Access control GAA libraries.
75. Ganglia A cluster monitoring tool (re: WS MDS). See http://ganglia.sourceforge.net.
76. GAR The GAR (Grid ARchive) file is a single file which contains all the files and information that the container needs to deploy a service.
77. GASS (Global Access to Secondary Storage) Global Access to Secondary Storage is used for file staging and cache management.
78. GGF (Global Grid Forum) The Global Grid Forum was founded in 2001 when the merger of regional grid organizations created a single worldwide one
79. Gigabit and 10-Gigabit Ethernet An Ethernet technology that raises transmission speed to either 1Gbps or 10Gbps and is compatible with existing Ethernet networks.
80. GIIS (Grid Index Information Service ) Grid Index Information Service is the database that contains indexes of resource information registered by the GRIS and other GIISs.
81. Global Grid Forum The standards body for defining standard specifications for global grids. www.gridforum.org
82. Globus A collaborative academic project centered at Argonne National Laboratory focused on enabling the application of grid concepts to computing.
83. Globus Alliance A group that conducts research and development for academic grids. The alliance, creators of the Globus Toolkit, includes representatives from Argonne…
84. Globus Toolkit A kit designed by the Globus Alliance to provide a set of tools based on standard grid APIs.
85. globusrun-ws A command line program used to submit jobs to a GRAM4 service. See the the GRAM4 Commandline page.
86. GME (Grid Management Entity) The grid management entity (GME) manages all of the grid components within an enterprise grid, including - Their relationships with one another, for…
87. GME Component A super-class of object that represents the management functionality within the logical GME that is associated with a grid component.
88. GPFS (General Parallel File System) General Parallel File System is a type of mountable networked file systems.
89. GRAM (Grid Resource Allocation and Management) The Grid Resource Allocation and Management API is a means allowing programs to be started on remote resources.
90. Grand Challenge A problem that by virtue of its degree of difficulty and the importance of its solution, both from a technical and societal point of view, becomes a focus…
91. Grid Component The grid component is a super class of object that represents every managed entity, whether physical or logical, within an enterprise grid.
92. Grid Computing The use of pools of resources onto which applications or services may be dynamically provisioned and re-provisioned to meet the goals of one or more…
93. grid map file A file containing entries mapping certificate subjects to local user names. This file can also serve as a access control list for GSI enabled services and…
94. Grid Resource Allocation and Management (GRAM) (GRAM) Comprises a set of WSRF-compliant Web services to locate, submit, monitor, and cancel jobs on Grid computing resources.
95. grid security directory The directory containing GSI configuration files such as the GSI authorization callout configuration and GAA configuration files.
96. Grid Security Infrastructure (GSI) GSI stands for Grid Security Infrastructure and is used to describe the original infrastructure of GT security, which is comprised of SSL, PKI and proxy…
97. GridFTP The Grid File Transfer Program provides high-performance and reliant data transfer.
98. GRIS (Grid Resource Information Service) The Grid Resource Information Service is the repository of local resource information derived from information providers.
99. GSI (Grid Security Infrastructure) The Grid Security Infrastructure contains components to secure your grid network.
100. GSI authorization callout configuration file A file that configures authorization callouts to be used for mapping and authorization in GSI enabled services.