A Complementary Approach to Grid and Cloud Distributed Computing Paradigms

Cloud computing is a new kind of computing model and technology introduced by industry leaders in recent years. Nowadays, it is the center of attention because of various excellent promises. However, it brings some challenges and arguments among computing leaders about the future of computing models and infrastructure. For example, whether it is going to be in place of other technologies in computing like grid or not, is an interesting question. In this chapter, we address this issue by considering the original grid architecture. We show how cloud can be put in the grid architecture to complement it. As a result, we face some shadow challenges to be addressed.

PheGee@Home

In this chapter we present PheGee@Home, a grid-based comparative genomics tool that nominates candidate genes responsible for a given phenotype. A phenotype is the physical manifestation of the interplay of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. Our tool is designed to facilitate the discovery and prioritization of candidate genes controlling or contributing to the genetically determined portion of a specified phenotype. However, in order to make reliable nominations of candidate genes from sequence data, several genome-size sequence datasets are required. This makes the approach impractical on traditional computer architectures leading to prohibitively long runtimes. Therefore, we use a computational architecture based on a desktop grid environment and commodity graphics hardware to significantly accelerate PheGee. We validate this approach by showing the deployment and evaluation on a grid testbed for the comparison of microbial genomes.

Cloud Computing in Higher Education

Cloud Computing promises novel and valuable capabilities for computer users and is explored in all possible areas of information technology dependant fields. However, the literature suffers from hype and divergent definitions and viewpoints. Cloud powered higher education can gain significant flexibility and agility. Higher education policy makers must assume activist roles in the shift towards cloud computing. Classroom experiences show it is a better tool for teaching and collaboration. As it is an emerging service technology, there is a need for standardization of services and customized implementation. Its evolution can change the facets of rural education. It is important as a possible means of driving down the capital and total costs of IT. This paper examines and discusses the concept of Cloud Computing from the perspectives of diverse technologists, cloud standards, services available today, the status of cloud particularly in higher education, and future implications.

Quality of Cloud Services

Cloud Computing has become the predominant paradigm in information technology for the use of distributed resources. It enables the Internet of Services where different provider offer services and compose services to new value added services. For the emerging service value chains the quality the services plays an important role. Therefore, beside software engineering methods aspects like quality of services, business models, and the interaction with the customer have to be considered during the development of cloud services. This chapter describes how these aspects can be integrated in the development process by combining software and service engineering methods and considering quality as a critical success factor in the design time.

Policy for Mobile Devices to Access Grid Infrastructure

Mobile devices are gradually becoming prevalent in our daily life, enabling users in the physical world to interact with the digital world conveniently. Mobile devices increasingly offer functionality beyond the one provided by traditional resources processor, memory and applications. This includes, for example, integrated multimedia equipment, intelligent positioning systems, and different kinds of integrated or accessible sensors. For future generation grids to be truly ubiquitous we must find ways to compensate for the limitations inherent in these devices and integrate them into the grid, in order to leverage available resources and broaden the range of supplied services. On the other hand, most of mobile devices do not have the sufficient capabilities to be either direct clients or services in the grid environment. The existing middleware platforms like Globus do not fully address mobility, yet extending the potential of the Grid to a wider audience promises increase in its flexibility and productivity. This chapter looks into design architecture for mobile computing environment. Focus is given to security and its policies that will enhance the performance of grid computing in terms of secure design, architecture, accessibility, and mobility.

Error Recovery for SLA-Based Workflows within the Business Grid

This chapter describes the error recovery mechanisms in the system handling the Grid-based workflow within the Service Level Agreement (SLA) context. It classifies the errors into two main categories. The first is the large-scale errors when one or several Grid sites are detached from the Grid system at a time. The second is the small-scale errors which may happen inside an RMS. For each type of error, the chapter introduces a recovery mechanism with the SLA context imposing the goal to the mechanisms. The authors believe that it is very useful to have an error recovery framework to avoid or eliminate the negative effects of the errors.