Alternative Software Stacks for OGSA-based Grids

The Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) has been a major step forward for Grid Computing, but its de facto reliance on the Web Services Resource Framework (WSRF) and WS- Notification have left some in the community questioning if the Grid software and protocols have become too complex. In this paper, we consider the feasibility of an “alternative” software stack, based on WS-Transfer and WS-Eventing. We compare and evaluate WSRF/WS-Notification vs. WS-Transfer/WS- Eventing, first via a “hello world” service and then via a more complete Grid scenario for remote execution called “Grid-in-a-Box”. By qualitatively and quantitatively evaluating each approach, we find that subtle differences exist (e.g., the naming of resources, the creation of resources) but they are overwhelmingly equivalent in their functionality and implied performance. Overall, this paper uniquely shows that there could be alternative software stacks for OGSA- based Grids.

Humphrey, Marty, Glenn Wasson, Yuli Kiryakov, SangMin Park, David DelVeccho, Norm Beekwilder, and Jim Gray. "Alternative Software Stacks for OGSA-based Grids." University of Virginia Dept. of Computer Science Tech Report (2005).