Moving Grid systems into the IPv6 era

This paper focuses on integrating IPv6 functionality into Grid systems. We outline the advantages of IPv6 and the benefit to Grid systems. We then introduce our methodology and our efforts to provide IPv6 support on Grid systems using the Globus Toolkit Version 3 as our concrete working example. The status of global Grid IPv6 activities is introduced. We conclude by summarising how to bring IPv6 into Grid systems

Make Grid systems IPv6-enabled and provide mobility support in Grid systems based on mobile IPv6.

During the last few years, systems have emerged to perform large-scale computation and data storage over IP-enabled data communication networks using Grid middleware technology. Grid middleware integrates the computational resources, which may be distributed geographically, over networks. These Grid implementations are currently supported only over IPv4. The next generation Internet Protocol - IPv6 - is replacing IPv4 with a number of improvements. Since IPv6 is expected to become the core protocol for next generation networks, Grid computing systems should be able to continue to work as the lower-layer network protocols migrate to IPv6. Therefore, we studied in depth what needed to be done to integrate IPv6 functionality into Grid middleware here we include both Grid middleware itself and its interface to the underlying networking environment. We have also given consideration to how a Grid implementation can be made to work in heterogeneous IPv4/IPv6 networks. We have used the Globus Toolkit as our working example of a Grid implementation. However, the mechanisms and approaches for integrating IPv6 into the Globus Toolkit are generic. It should cover the integration of IPv6 into most other Grid implementations and even to other IP-based applications. Another aspect of my work relates to the provision of mobility support for Grid middleware, since a lot of Grid resources and users have to be mobile in the wide-area distributed computing environment. Amongst the many mobility solutions, Mobile IP we find the most suitable it has two main advantages in its provision of mobility support in the lower-layer network infrastructure. Firstly, it separates the mobility operations from upper-layer applications, here the Grid middleware. No resultant changes are required in either the applications or the Grid implementations. Secondly, Grid hosts can maintain the identities, so that they can work continuously. The use of Mobile IPv6 rather than Mobile IPv4 is more efficient. This shows that our effort in making Grid middleware IPv6-enabled has brought advantages into the Grid computations. The success of running Grid middleware over Mobile IPv6 builds up only the lower infrastructure for the mobile-enabled Grid by solving the transparent access and handover issues in mobility scenarios. The Grid needs to be modified and improved further in order to work effectively in the mobile environment. The study indicated the major Grid-relevant issue in mobility scenarios is that the status of the Grid changes frequently. Therefore, we introduce a dynamic Grid resource discovery mechanism. Then, we categorise these important characters into four aspects. They are monitored and parameterised dynamically allowing Grid middleware to assign Grid resources dynamically. Eventually, we provide Grid resource mobility functions. Finally, while we have concentrated on the Grid environment, most of methodology and the generic approach apply equally well to other environments