The grid overlay system model

Abstract

The grid overlay system model is a new technique for forming a grid computing model for research computing. In this method we construct a grid that is dynamically allocated from a set of resources in a unique and progressive manner. This new system model allows for construction of virtual environments for execution of applications on many diverse shared resources. The system can dynamically scale to create a range of resources from a single machine to a virtual cluster of machines. This model provides a virtual container that can run legacy and customized software in an emulated environment or directly on the host's hardware through virtualization. Using this model on current consumer hardware allows for a unique blend of software containment with dynamic resource allocation. Our model, in combination with commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware and software, is able to create a large grid system with multiple combinations of hardware and software environments. In our model we propose a unique set of abstraction layers for systems. The combination of our model with current consumer hardware and software provides a unique design principle for addressing grid implementation, hardware reusability, operating system deployment and implementation, virtualization in the grid, and user control techniques. This provides a robust and simple framework that allows for the construction of computational research solutions in which performance can be traded for flexibility, and vice versa. Our model can be applied to computational research grids, service oriented grids, and even scales to collections of mobile or embedded system grids.