NEESgrid Tools and Services Alpha Release Announced

released 02.25.03

Contact

Karen Green NCSA Public Information Officer kareng@ncsa.uiuc.edu 217.265.0748

CHAMPAIGN, IL — The NEESgrid Systems Integration Team at NCSA has released an early alpha version of NEESgrid Tools and Services, which will help to put more earthquake engineers and their research "on the grid."

The software will allow researchers at sites across the country to connect to and participate in the NEESgrid, a grid-based computing environment that allows earthquake engineers to collaborate remotely on experiments involving simulations of earthquakes and other natural and man-made catastrophes. This is the first official release of an integrated NEESgrid software set that includes installation, configuration, and deployment documentation.

NEESgrid Tools and Services comprises four installation packages for the crucial components of the NEESgrid infrastructure. The NEES Point of Presence (NEESPOP) permits user entry into the NEESgrid services framework, manages security and streaming data, and incorporates elements of Globus Toolkit™ grid services software. The TelePresence System (TPS) includes proxy software that will enable researchers to view remote experimental simulations via video streaming. TPS also enables access to ENotebook, an electronic, Web-accessible laboratory notebook which researchers can use for unstructured data entry. The data and collaboration component uses the CompreHensive CollaborativE Framework (CHEF) to permit users to access, browse, and download experimental data and metadata. Finally, the Data Acquisition package (DAQ) provides an interface between the earthquake simulation equipment itself and the other grid services.

The current release of NEESgrid Tools and Services uses LABView as its example data acquisition system; thus, sites already using LABView, particularly NEESgrid Early Adopter sites, will be able to implement the current early alpha release most easily. Beginning in April, NCSA will offer a series of training workshops geared toward potential users, administrators who need to install the software, and developers who wish to create interfaces linking the software with data acquisition systems other than LABView. For more information on the workshops, see http://www.neesgrid.org/news/announcement.html.

Users interested in installing, implementing, and/or testing the NEESgrid software should contact Doru Marcusiu for details. For more information on the current release, see http://www.neesgrid.org/news/index.php?category=Project%20News.