Oracle Tips by Burleson

Chapter 1 Oracle 10g Grid Computing

Grid Computing

These two important resources; processing power and storage systems, are the main areas of attention for grid planners and grid users.

What is Grid?

Back in 1998, Carl Kesselman and Ian Foster in the book “The Grid: Blueprint for a New Computing Infrastructure”, while attempting to give a broader vision of Grid [1.2], wrote:

“A computational grid is a hardware and software infrastructure that provides dependable, consistent, pervasive, and inexpensive access to high-end computational capabilities.” [1.2]

Subsequently, Ian Foster with Steve Tuecke, redefined the definition stating that Grid Computing is concerned with ‘coordinated source sharing and problem solving in dynamic, multi-institutional virtual organizations’. They further noted:

“The sharing that we are concerned with is not primarily file exchange but rather direct access to computers, software, data, and other resources, as is required by a range of collaborative problem solving and resource-brokering strategies emerging in industry, science, and engineering. This sharing is, necessarily, highly controlled, with resource providers and consumers defining clearly and carefully just what is shared, who is allowed to share, and the conditions under which sharing occurs. A set of individuals and/or institutions defined by such sharing rules form what we call a virtual organization.”