The Clarens Web Service Framework for Distributed Scientific Analysis in Grid Projects

Large scientific collaborations are moving towards service oriented architecutres for implementation and deployment of globally distributed systems. Clarens is a high performance, easy to deploy Web Service framework that supports the construction of such globally distributed systems. This paper discusses some of the core functionality of Clarens that the authors believe is important for building distributed systems based on Web Services that support scientific analysis

The Ultralight project: the network as an integrated and managed resource for data-intensive science

Looks at the UltraLight project which treats the network interconnecting globally distributed data sets as a dynamic, configurable, and closely monitored resource to construct a next-generation system that can meet the high-energy physics community's data-processing, distribution, access, and analysis needs

The Design and Demonstration of the Ultralight Testbed

In this paper we present the motivation, the design, and a recent demonstration of the UltraLight testbed at SC|05. The goal of the Ultralight testbed is to help meet the data-intensive computing challenges of the next generation of particle physics experiments with a comprehensive, network- focused approach. UltraLight adopts a new approach to networking: instead of treating it traditionally, as a static, unchanging and unmanaged set of inter-computer links, we are developing and using it as a dynamic, configurable, and closely monitored resource that is managed from end-to-end. To achieve its goal we are constructing a next-generation global system that is able to meet the data processing, distribution, access and analysis needs of the particle physics community. In this paper we will first present early results in the various working areas of the project. We then describe our experiences of the network architecture, kernel setup, application tuning and configuration used during the bandwidth challenge event at SC|05. During this Challenge, we achieved a record-breaking aggregate data rate in excess of 150 Gbps while moving physics datasets between many Grid computing sites

The Motivation, Architecture and Demonstration of Ultralight Network Testbed

In this paper we describe progress in the NSF-funded Ultralight project and a recent demonstration of Ultralight technologies at SuperComputing 2005 (SC|05). The goal of the Ultralight project is to help meet the data-intensive computing challenges of the next generation of particle physics experiments with a comprehensive, network-focused approach. Ultralight adopts a new approach to networking: instead of treating it traditionally, as a static, unchanging and unmanaged set of inter-computer links, we are developing and using it as a dynamic, configurable, and closely monitored resource that is managed from end-to-end. Thus we are constructing a next-generation global system that is able to meet the data processing, distribution, access and analysis needs of the particle physics community. In this paper we present the motivation for, and an overview of, the Ultralight project. We then cover early results in the various working areas of the project. The remainder of the paper describes our experiences of the Ultralight network architecture, kernel setup, application tuning and configuration used during the bandwidth challenge event at SC|05. During this Challenge, we achieved a record-breaking aggregate data rate in excess of 150 Gbps while moving physics datasets between many sites interconnected by the Ultralight backbone network. The exercise highlighted the benefits of Ultralight's research and development efforts that are enabling new and advanced methods of distributed scientific data analysis

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Redesigning Distribution: basic income and stakeholder grants a

The Design and Implementation of the Transatlantic Mission-Oriented Production and Experimental Networks

In this paper we present the design and implementation of the mission-oriented USLHCNet for HEP research community and the UltraLight network testbed. The design philosophy for these networks is to help meet the data-intensive computing challenges of the next generation of particle physics experiments with a comprehensive, network-focused approach. Instead of treating the network as a static, unchanging and unmanaged set of intercomputer links, we are developing and using it as a dynamic, configurable, and closely monitored resource that is managed from end-to-end. In this paper we will present our work in the various areas of the project including infrastructure construction, protocol research and application development. Our goal is to construct a next-generation global system that is able to meet the data processing, distribution, access and analysis needs of the particle physics community

The CMS Integration Grid Testbed

The CMS Integration Grid Testbed (IGT) comprises USCMS Tier-1 and Tier-2 hardware at the following sites: the California Institute of Technology, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the University of California at San Diego, and the University of Florida at Gainesville. The IGT runs jobs using the Globus Toolkit with a DAGMan and Condor-G front end. The virtual organization (VO) is managed using VO management scripts from the European Data Grid (EDG). Gridwide monitoring is accomplished using local tools such as Ganglia interfaced into the Globus Metadata Directory Service (MDS) and the agent based Mona Lisa. Domain specific software is packaged and installed using the Distrib ution After Release (DAR) tool of CMS, while middleware under the auspices of the Virtual Data Toolkit (VDT) is distributed using Pacman. During a continuo us two month span in Fall of 2002, over 1 million official CMS GEANT based Monte Carlo events were generated and returned to CERN for analysis while being demonstrated at SC2002. In this paper, we describe the process that led to one of the world's first continuously available, functioning grids.Comment: CHEP 2003 MOCT01

Assessing governance issues of urban utility tunnels

Throughout the centuries, utilities have been an important and sometimes decisive instrument in human development. Municipal policy-makers and engineers have been playing a key role in improving management and technology of urban utilities. With the growth of urban areas and the corresponding increased demand for utility services, available underground space will continue to diminish. Therefore, planning for an urban subsurface sustainable future consists of the ability to lessen the use of raditional trenching techniques and developing coordinated installations of utilities. As an innovative problem-solving technique, utility tunnels become inevitable to reduce congestion of the shallow underground. Utilities management becomes more complex as many public authorities and private companies are involved. Because of the complexity of ownership of the various utility tunnel potential occupants, some form of governmental ownership would probably be the most practicable, although other orms (individual private, joint private, or condominium) of ownership must be nalyzed. Whatever the form of financing and ownership, some single entity must be made esponsible not only for initial construction but also for security, access control, and operation and maintenance throughout the life of the project. The purpose of this paper is to point out some of the utility tunnels innovation and organizational advantages to encourage municipal engineers to demand sustainable solutions for services congestion. Proper adequate governance and security management should be key elements of every decision undertaken in utility tunnels.Cantó Perelló, J.; Curiel Esparza, J. (2013). Assessing governance issues of urban utility tunnels. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology. 33:82-87. doi:10.1016/j.tust.2012.08.007S82873

A universal basic income in the superstar (digital) economy

This paper argues that the structural logic of the digital economy is to widen inequality, not only through its increasing automation of jobs but also in its efficiency in delivering ever greater profits to a smaller number of already-enriched organisations and individuals. Remedial actions that might be taken to mitigate the effects of some of the digital economy’s structural flaws are interrogated here, with a particular focus on universal basic income (UBI) and stake-holding schemes. The paper considers whether the digital economy’s inherent problems are of such magnitude that some sort of financial support for workers to buttress long periods of idleness, or to enable them to take risks in increasingly volatile and unstable global markets, is both desirable and politically feasible