How do we ensure the future for e-science?

How do we ensure the future for e-science?


The scientific community is increasingly dependent on digital technologies,  so how can we ensure that our researchers will always have the IT resources they need?

Many say the time has come for Europe to unite its national efforts into a sustainable, interoperable pan-European grid infrastructure. They've called it  the European Grid Infrastructure, or "EGI" for short.

On 1 May 2010, EGI took over the coordination of European grid infrastructure. Through the previous DataGrid and Enabling Grids for E-SciencE (EGEE) projects, researchers across the globe reaped the benefits of grid technologies. Now EGI.eu, the organization established to coordinate EGI, hopes to continue this trend.

WHY BOTHER TO FEDERATE NATIONAL RESOURCES?

Many people think that joining National Grid Initiatives (NGIs) to form a massive pan-European grid will offer advantages such as:

  • Improved coordination: EGI could put in place a coordinated grid computing and data storage solution, reducing the effort required to maintain and coordinate multiple independent solutions.
     
  • Improved compatibility: EGI could offer compatible, interoperating technologies that simply and reliably service to Europe’s grid computing needs.
     
  • Improved collaborative ability: EGI could pave the way for smooth and regular coordination of not only computing resources, but human and intellectual resources also.
     
  • Improved capacity: EGI could unite European computing and data storage resources, creating a resource with unparalleled facility to push scientific progress towards new and innovative solutions.

WHO WILL MANAGE EGI?

The coordinating body responsible for managing EGI is EGI.eu. Individual NGIs will contribute to high-level EGI management through participation in the EGI Council. Together, NGIs and EGI.org will direct the progress, operations, maintenance and sustainability of the EGI infrastructure.

EGI.eu will not provide any IT resources but will act as the ‘glue’ enabling coherent access, interworking and accounting between NGIs.

WHO WILL PAY FOR EGI?

 
Although EGI marks a change from short-term funded projects to a long-term service, for the first four years EGI.eu will be financially supported by the European Commission funded project EGI-InSPIRE. EGI-InSPIRE, has been set up to aid the development of the e-Infrastructure in Europe. A €73M project, €25M of EGI-InSPIRE’s costs will be contributed by the EC, with the remainder coming from NGIs and EIROs (European International Research Organizations).
 
In order to finance the EGI activities, EGI.eu will pull together the resources contributed by the EC through EGI-InSPIRE and the membership fees paid by the NGIs and the EIROs. However, these fees will increase over time, reducing the organization’s dependency on EC funding.

 

EGI-InSPIRE will aid the transition to the EGI model. By the time it ends in 2014, it is essential to ensure that strong independent NGIs are effectively organized through EGI.eu.

THE BIG 3: CHALLENGES FOR EGI

1) Scalability EGI must strive to comprise an operations model that provides for flexibility, low cost of entry, and scalability. This will provide the resilience EGI requires to flourish as it grows.

2) Interoperation EGI must identify “best practices” in e-infrastructures, ensuring that NGIs use EGI-certified and verified grid technologies. This standardization will ensure that different NGIs can interact and interoperate.

3) Promotion of NGI autonomy After the initial transition to EGI, NGIs will be fully responsible for sustaining support for their user communities, middleware requirements and technical operations.

Read more in GridTalk's GridBriefing...