Grid
computing is increasingly being viewed as the next phase of
distributed computing. Built on pervasive Internet standards,
grid computing enables organizations to share computing and
information resources across department and organizational
boundaries in a secure, highly efficient manner.
Organizations around the world are utilizing
grid computing today in such diverse areas as collaborative
scientific research, drug discovery, financial risk analysis,
and product design. Grid computing enables research-oriented
organizations to solve problems that were infeasible to solve
due to computing and data-integration constraints. Grids also
reduce costs through automation and improved IT resource utilization.
Finally, grid computing can increase an organization’s
agility enabling more efficient business processes and greater
responsiveness to change. Over time grid computing will enable
a more flexible, efficient and utility-like global computing
infrastructure.
The key to realizing the benefits of grid computing
is standardization, so that the diverse resources that make
up a modern computing environment can be discovered, accessed,
allocated, monitored, and in general managed as a single virtual
system—even when provided by different vendors and/or
operated by different organizations.
Want More?
If you consider yourself a grid novice or are
not familiar with distributed computing concepts, consider
visiting CERN's
GridCafe. Created and managed by CERN (a European
Organization for Nuclear Research and an important partner
with OGF in grid adoption), GridCafe gives simple and easy
to understand answers to the why's, what's, and how's of grids.
If you consider yourself a grid
expert (or want to become one), then consider reading the
articles in the March 2005 version of IEEE
Proceedings on Grid Computing, several of which
were written by OGF leaders and by participants in the OGF.
Just for Kids
IBM and New York Hall of Science
and the Association of Science-Technology Centers has dedicated
a section of TryScience to educating young students about
grid technologies. The new section, titled The
Grid, aims to teach
kids what type of work best fits on the grid and how best
to prioritize projects on a grid network.
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