A Policy-Based Resource Brokering Environment for Computational Grids

With the advances in networking infrastructure in general, and the Internet in particular, we can build grid environments that allow users to utilize a diverse set of distributed and heterogeneous resources. Since the focus of such environments is the efficient usage of the underlying resources, a critical component is the resource brokering environment that mediates the discovery, access and usage of these resources. With the consumer\u27s constraints, provider\u27s rules, distributed heterogeneous resources and the large number of scheduling choices, the resource brokering environment needs to decide where to place the user\u27s jobs and when to start their execution in a way that yields the best performance for the user and the best utilization for the resource provider. As brokering and scheduling are very complicated tasks, most current resource brokering environments are either specific to a particular grid environment or have limited features. This makes them unsuitable for large applications with heterogeneous requirements. In addition, most of these resource brokering environments lack flexibility. Policies at the resource-, application-, and system-levels cannot be specified and enforced to provide commitment to the guaranteed level of allocation that can help in attracting grid users and contribute to establishing credibility for existing grid environments. In this thesis, we propose and prototype a flexible and extensible Policy-based Resource Brokering Environment (PROBE) that can be utilized by various grid systems. In designing PROBE, we follow a policy-based approach that provides PROBE with the intelligence to not only match the user\u27s request with the right set of resources, but also to assure the guaranteed level of the allocation. PROBE looks at the task allocation as a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that needs to be enforced between the resource provider and the resource consumer. The policy-based framework is useful in a typical grid environment where resources, most of the time, are not dedicated. In implementing PROBE, we have utilized a layered architecture and façade design patterns. These along with the well-defined API, make the framework independent of any architecture and allow for the incorporation of different types of scheduling algorithms, applications and platform adaptors as the underlying environment requires. We have utilized XML as a base for all the specification needs. This provides a flexible mechanism to specify the heterogeneous resources and user\u27s requests along with their allocation constraints. We have developed XML-based specifications by which high-level internal structures of resources, jobs and policies can be specified. This provides interoperability in which a grid system can utilize PROBE to discover and use resources controlled by other grid systems. We have implemented a prototype of PROBE to demonstrate its feasibility. We also describe a test bed environment and the evaluation experiments that we have conducted to demonstrate the usefulness and effectiveness of our approach

Technology 2002: The Third National Technology Transfer Conference and Exposition, volume 2

Proceedings from symposia of the Technology 2002 Conference and Exposition, December 1-3, 1992, Baltimore, MD. Volume 2 features 60 papers presented during 30 concurrent sessions

Exploring the relationship between manufacturing practices, agile capabilities and organisational performance: a case of the Thai automotive parts industry

Contemporary manufacturers have to endure the challenges of a constantly changing economic environment that is increasingly competitive. Today’s business world has witnessed increasingly intense foreign competition, rapid technological change, shorter product life-cycles and customers frequently demanding new products. To deal with this dynamic and uncertain marketplace, firms are required to become more nimble, flexible and quickly responsive to competitive and pressure situations. Recognising this trend, the manufacturing sector has focused on becoming more agile. In business situations characterised by high uncertainty, agility is not just desirable but is quickly becoming a requirement for organisations’ success. Despite number of theories being developed on agility by many academics and practitioners, few businesses have implemented agility to its full potential. Most studies on the experiences in the manufacturing sector have documented events and processes in developed economies. To respond to these issues, this study explores the development of agility in the context of a developing economy, Thailand, and specifically, its automotive parts industry. This study develops and empirically tests a research model to capture the key enablers of agility and the impact of agile capabilities on organisational performance. The conceptual foundation of the research is grounded in the Resource-based View (RBV) and the Dynamic Capability View (DCV), and in a review of the operations strategy literature. The framework establishes the cause-and-effect relationships between manufacturing practices and agile capability and organisational performance outcomes. To do this, seven hypotheses are developed and tested. The research pursues a positivist paradigm by using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis. The psychometric properties of the research instrument are generated through a rigorous procedure of content validity. This is followed by a large-scale questionnaire survey involving the Industrial Estates Authority of Thailand, focusing on tier-1 automotive parts producers. The response rate in this study is 43% (n=297). The findings confirm that the manufacturing practices in which organisational resources are integrated and reintegrated to generate new capability positively influence the development of agility. The results confirm the positive impact of agile capabilities on a business organisation’s success, particularly with reference to operational performance.The research makes an original contribution to the operations strategy and agility literature by developing and validating the research model and the accompanying measurement instrument. In particular, the conception, measurement, hypotheses and empirical findings of the manufacturing practices and the agility construct represent a significant contribution in advancing the theoretical foundation and the empirical basis of agility in the context of developing economies. Finally, the research makes a practical contribution by offering a tool for a business organisation to assess and measure its agility initiative and progress, and to identify those areas where improvement is needed

NASA upper atmosphere research program: Research summaries, 1990 - 1991. Report to the Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency

The objectives, status, and accomplishments of the research tasks supported under the NASA Upper Atmosphere Research Program (UARP) are presented. The topics covered include the following: balloon-borne in situ measurements; balloon-borne remote measurements; ground-based measurements; aircraft-borne measurements; rocket-borne measurements; instrument development; reaction kinetics and photochemistry; spectroscopy; stratospheric dynamics and related analysis; stratospheric chemistry, analysis, and related modeling; and global chemical modeling