The VL-e Proof of Concept Environment&

The VL-e PoC Installer

Jan Just KeijserSystem Integrator P4 Team

janjust@nikhef.nlNIKHEF

What is the PoC environment?

Application development

NL-Grid production clusterCentral mass-storage facilities

+SURFnetInitial compute

platform

Stable, reliable, testedCert. releases Grid MW & VL-

software

VL-e Proof of Concept EnvironmentVL-e Rapid Prototyping Environment

DAS-2,local resources

VL-e Certification Environment

NL-Grid FabricResearch Cluster

Test & Cert.Grid MW & VL-software

Compatibility

Flexible, test environment

Environments

Usage

Characteristics

Virtual Lab.rapid prototyping

(interactive simulation)

Flexible, ‘unstable’

PoC Release n Release Candidaten+1

Developers environment

is a shared, common environment, where different tools and services are both used and provided by the VL-e community

PoC: Hardware and Software

• The PoC Distribution is set of software that provides a layer of middleware for developing VL-e

Grid applications Serves as a reference set of software that is present

all throughout VL-e Grid Is released as a set of Linux RPM’s for

RHEL3/CentOS3/ScientificLinux3 platforms

• The PoC Environment is the ensemble of systems running the PoC Distribution

• The PoC Installer is a setup program wrapped around the PoC Distribution for easy installation and configuration

• Current version (Alpha): http://poc.vl-e.nl/distribution

PoC Central Facility topology

Grid Certificates

• Grid access involves access to many different computer systems in many different sites. With old-style username/password, a unique username and password are required for each computer system. This is too cumbersome for both the end user and the admins;

• On the Grid, you will be using a certificate. This certificate binds together your identity (name, affiliation, etc.) and a unique piece of digital data called a “public key”

• The use of a public key to authenticate yourself is based on “asymmetric cryptography”.

• Where do I apply for a grid certificate?https://ca.dutchgrid.nl/request

Common Questions:

• Does it run on Windows? Short answer: No Longer answer: Sort of …

• Do I really need to use certificates? Yes, Grid Site administrators need to keep track

of who is doing what. Without resorting to giving everybody a unique userid, a different mechanism is required. For this, a PKI and X.509 certificates are used.

• Where do I apply for a grid certificate?https://ca.dutchgrid.nl/request

“If Microsoft is the answer,then it must have been

a very silly question”

Questions?