[AG-DEV] Re-using node listing data

[Andrew Rowley]

Hi,

I very much like the idea of having the accessgrid.org site extract the information from our local repositories.  This means that we are not creating a single point of failure.  The AGSC have been caught in the past with relying on services in the US - this means that if it goes down in our morning, it may not be back until our afternoon!

Andrew :)

============================================
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-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ag-dev at mcs.anl.gov [mailto:owner-ag-dev at mcs.anl.gov] On Behalf Of Brian Corrie
Sent: 23 May 2007 20:51
To: Jason Bell
Cc: AG-DEV
Subject: Re: [AG-DEV] Re-using node listing data

Hi Jason,

I think this is a great idea, if we can pull it off. I think Todd
probably mentioned some of our efforts here to keep track of nodes that
we collaborate with and that are within our consortium. With a national
collaboration infrastructure on the horizon within Canada, this is only
going to increase.

I think the trick here is to create a data description/schema that
describes nodes that we can all use for a baseline. It is likely that we
will all have ancillary information that we need for individual
purposes, but if there is a single schema where this baseline
information is defined then storage of the information itself is a
secondary question.

The data could be centrally stored and other groups (the Aussies, AG
Schedule, AGSC, Compute Canada) can pull this information for the nodes
of interest as required. Of course another alternative is to have each
of the groups maintain this information locally (probably makes more
sense), and we have a mechanism/filter that extracts the "common schema"
from known regionally authoritative databases for the purposes of
centralizing this information. That is, AGSC, Compute Canada, Pacific
Rim AG, Main AG site, might store regional information and we extract
that information for central purposes (AG Schedule and the main AG site
knows about all nodes) as required. This implies there is a home data
repository for each site somewhere and information gets stored there and
is used by other resources. We would need a catch all site that can
handle those sites that don't have a regional data repository.

Anyway, just some thoughts off the top of my head... Good idea in
general, how do we make it work???

Brian


Jason Bell wrote:
> G'day All
>
> I thought I would get the ball rolling after our interesting discussion
> at the AG-Retreat Reception.
>
> An interesting topic was raised and one I would like to discuss within
> this forum, is how we can use the information stored within the AG Node
> listing for other programs.
>
> Initially, it was conceived that it would be beneficial for other group
> to be able to access the data so they could simply display "Australian"
> nodes at a local website, etc.  From this, other interesting concepts
> arose.  One such example was "wouldn't it be good if AG-Schedule could
> use the data within the node listing", thereby negating the requirement
> to have to register in multiple locations. From this, a concept of a
> single database, or at least mirroring of information was suggested.
>
> Now, I know there were a lot of other issues raised, but whilst the idea
> is still in my mind and hopefully our enthusiasm created from the
> Retreat is still fresh, I would like to see what people think of this
> idea and how we could actually go about implementing it.
>
> I would like to hear what others have to say.
>
> Cheers,
> Jason.
>
> --------------------------------------------
>
> Jason Bell, B.I.T.
> B. Info. Tech. (Honours) Student
>
> Network Engineer
> Information Technology Division
> Central Queensland University
>
> High Performance Computing Support Officer
> Central Queensland University
>
> E-mail : j.bell at cqu.edu.au
> Phone : 07 4930 9229
>
> --------------------------------------------
>
> Patience is a virtue.
>
> But if I wanted Patience,
> I would have become a Doctor.
>
> --------------------------------------------
>