ZAM offers a dedicated Unicore Test GridJülich 25 July 2001 ZAM (Central Institute of Applied Mathematics), Research Centre Jülich, recently announced, a dedicated UNICORE (Uniform Interface for Computer Resources) Test Grid is now available. UNICORE realised a uniform batch access to different computers. This test version can be used for functionality tests.
UNICORE is a Grid Computing Environment that allows seamless,
secure, and intuitive submission of jobs to different systems at
multiple sites. To allow interested users to try the functions
of UNICORE without being a partner in either the UNICORE Plus or
the EUROGRID projects a dedicated UNICORE Test Grid has been
established.
The Test Grid consist of three UNICORE sites, Usites for short,
(Terra, Mars, and Saturn) each of which has one ore more virtual
systems (Vsites called Luna, Phobos, Deimos, Pandora, and
Dione). They are all simulated on one Unix workstation. In a
real Grid the Usites are typically different computing centers
connected over high-speed networks, the Vsites are hardware
platforms. An access to real supercomputers in not realised.
The UNICORE client software runs on MS Windows and Unix
platforms. To use the client, the some steps in the web site
have to be performed once to generate a certificate and to
install the client at the desktop. From then on, UNICORE can be
started by clicking on the Icon (Windows) or from the Unix
command line. The UNICORE user certificates for UNICORE Test
Grid are valid for 30 days. The disk space is limited to 100 MB
for user's home directory. This should be sufficient to test the
functions of UNICORE.
UNICORE works independent of any browser, however the process to
generate a certificate and the associated user environment
automatically, has only been tested with Netscape 4.6x/4.7x
which is available for both Unix and MS Windows.
A detailed description of the installation procedure, from
downloading the client up to defining security certificates can
be found on the web site:
http://www.fz-juelich.de/unicore-test
Uwe Harms |
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