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IBM
Grid Computing
Copyright 2020, Faulkner Information Services. All
Rights Reserved.
Docid: 00018707
Publication Date: 2006
Report Type: PRODUCT
Preview
IBM’s grid computing software and middleware are designed for intensive
data processing. Grid computing combines the capabilities of multiple PCs
and servers to perform complex computations. IBM has begun promoting
“smart grids” for utilities to increase awareness of energy usage. IBM
also sponsors the World Community Grid, which pools PC resources from
global volunteers to solve problems related to disease, food distribution,
and other concerns. IBM is currently hosting a Scripps Research project to
help scientists virtually screen chemical compounds to help battle
COVID-19.
Report Contents:
Description
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IBM offers grid computing software, middleware, and services to power
distributed computing systems for enterprises, researchers, and nonprofit
organizations.
Related Faulkner Reports |
| IBM Company Profile |
Grid computing has emerged as a way to harness and take advantage of
computing resources across locations and organizations. Grid computing
refers to the use of numerous PCs and servers to deliver higher levels of
computing than would be possible on just one. In this model, computing
resources are pooled across an enterprise, organization, or even global
community. Hypothetically, grid computing offers limitless possibilities
for computing power, making it ideal for research, analysis, and
large-scale processing.
Vendor |
|
Name: IBM |
Grid computing can be used to consolidate a company’s workload
management, provide capacity for high-demand applications, and reduce
cycle times. It can also increase data and collaboration access by
federating data, supporting large, multi-disciplinary collaboration, and
enabling inter-organizational and business collaboration, also making a
company’s infrastructure highly available by balancing workloads and
accounting for recovery and failover.
Platform Symphony
IBM provides its Platform Symphony software to manage the performance of
distributed applications and big data analytics on a shared grid. The
software is designed to reallocate over 1,000 compute engines per second
to different workloads depending on pre-defined policies.
Platform Symphony Advanced Edition offers an Apache Hadoop-compatible
MapReduce implementation to deliver approximately four times the
performance of open source Hadoop. The Platform Application Service
Controller for Platform Symphony add-on supports cloud native services
including Apache Spark, MongoDB, and Cassandra. Platform Symphony supports
multi-tenancy, which allows different workloads to dynamically share
resources according to policies. It can run on-premise, in the cloud via
IBM High Performance Services, or in a hybrid deployment.
In particular, IBM defines grid computing as the ability – using a set of
open standards and protocols – to access applications and data, processing
power, storage capacity, and other computing resources over the Internet.
A grid is a type of parallel and distributed system that enables the
sharing, selection, and aggregation of resources distributed across
multiple administrative domains based on resource availability, capacity,
performance, cost, and user quality of service requirements.
The IBM-sponsored World Community Grid (WCG) pools PC resources from the
idle capacity of systems owned by volunteers around the world to create a
giant virtual supercomputer. It has traditionally been used to research
diseases such as cancer or HIV/AIDS. IBM is also promoting smart grid
systems, which offers to help utilities or utility-style service providers
increase awareness of their energy usage and flow, to increase efficiency.
In general, IBM’s Grid Computing products can power demanding processes
such as DNA research, intensive mathematical computations, actuarial
analysis, medical records storage, and company-wide data analytics. IBM’s
grid products include software and hardware implementations. Table 1 lists
some of IBM’s top Grid Computing product offerings.
| Product | Description | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Grid Medical Archive | Scalable virtualized storage for healthcare, research, and pharmaceutical clients. It is designed to provide enterprise wide medical image, data, and records access while delivering real time business continuity. |
Combines IBM TotalStorage and System x servers with IBM System Storage Multilevel Grid Access Manager software, on an open source operating system. Grid Medical Archive can be used to:
|
| Grid and Grow Express | Scalable, low end offering for small businesses. It includes IBM and business partner technology along with a “get started” services package to help customers implement a grid computing infrastructure. |
Combines hardware, software, and services for deploying a grid environment. Grid scheduler options include Altair’s PBS Professional, Platform Computing’s LSF, or IBM’s LoadLeveler. |
| Optimized Analytic Infrastructure | Offers high velocity trading, risk management, and sustainable performance. It was designed to provide financial services firms with business and technical data analysis, using IBM’s grid and high performance computing, and is designed to manage applications, workloads, data, and systems. |
Uses technology enhancements – such as System Optimizers – to
|
| Smart Grid | IBM’s initiative to apply grid computing to the power industry. The system uses input and data collected from “smart meters,” customer’s systems, and utilities’ systems to balance and control power consumption, reducing the strain on the connected power infrastructure, and reducing the amount of energy being lost as waste. The technologies involved also figure strongly in potential renewable energy initiatives, many of which suffer from inconsistent generation of power. |
Smart Grid currently includes 4 separate initiatives and segments:
|
| Grid Computing as Part of IBM’s On Demand Strategy |
IBM’s grid computing offerings are part of an On Demand strategy for businesses, allowing them to integrate, manage, and access business and IT processes from anywhere across the company, as well as with partners, suppliers, and customers. IBM’s On Demand strategy is designed to foster responsiveness to business changes, market opportunities, and variable cost structures, while supporting increased focus and resiliency. |
|
Table 2 outlines some of the grid computing projects and research
activities in which IBM is involved.
| Project | Description |
|---|---|
| World Community Grid | The World Community Grid is a grid of PCs from volunteers to form a virtual supercomputer, which provides computing to solve the world’s complex community challenges. Launched in 2004 by IBM, the WCG has connected more than 650,000 members and more than 2.7 million devices. IBM is hosting a Scripps Research project to help scientists virtually screen chemical compounds to help battle COVID-19. |
| The Globus Project | IBM is a key collaborator in the Globus Project, the multi-institutional research-and-development effort for grid. The Globus Project is developing Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA), a set of standards and specifications that integrate Web services with grid computing. IBM’s intraGrid, based on Globus, is a research and development grid that allows IBM to integrate multiple worldwide assets for research purposes, helping understand the complexities of managing a grid infrastructure on an enterprise scale. |
| Open Grid Forum | IBM is a sponsor of the Open Grid Forum, the mission for which is to develop industry standards for grid computing. |
Figure 1 is an infographic displaying statistics that IBM has made
available about the World Community Grid.
Figure 1. IBM World Community Grid Statistics
Source: IBM
Applications
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IBM’s Grid Computing products and services were created to benefit
organizations looking for high power, distributed computing. These
organizations can include large businesses, researchers, and nonprofit
groups such as medical companies engaged in research and recordkeeping;
insurance firms doing risk analysis; and enterprises for general resource
planning. Table 3 outlines the main applications in IBM’s Grid Computing
portfolio.
| Product | Applications |
|---|---|
| IBM Grid Medical Archive |
Healthcare, research, and pharmaceutical clients. |
| IBM Grid Solution for Data Intensive Computing |
Large enterprises for initiatives such as CRM, compliance, |
| IBM Optimized Analysis Infrastructure | Trading and financial services firms. |
| IBM Grid and Grow Express |
Small to medium sized businesses. |
Environment
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Table 4 looks at hardware and software considerations for implementing an
IBM Grid product.
| Hardware and Network Considerations | Software Considerations |
|---|---|
| IBM’s Grid Computing products operate in an environment that can, hypothetically, connect an unlimited amount of PCs and servers. IBM offers its own specific servers for grid computing, which can be connected at a single location or across multiple locations, using a secure network connection. |
IBM’s software for grid computing is largely based on Linux, and it is designed to operate with third party software and hardware. Generally, IBM’s grid computing environments can use most major operating systems, including IBM’s as well as third party systems such as Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, HP-UX, and assorted Linux platforms. Some of the company’s sponsored grid computing projects also run on third-party software, such as the World Community Grid’s BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing) operating system. |
IBM offers several support options for licensed customers. These options
include phone, fax, and Internet resources, as well as a Technical Library
for products, which contains data files, support guides, FAQs, product
downloads, and technical papers. Discussion forums and newsgroups are also
offered.
Pricing
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IBM delivers its grid computing offerings both directly and indirectly –
either through its direct sales force or its international resellers and
qualified partners. These channels provide pricing information on request.
Competitors
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IBM’s top grid competition comes from Cisco’s Smart Grid Solutions, HP
Grid Computing Solutions, and Oracle Grid Computing. These vendors have
delivered grid computing for many years, and continue to increase their
focus in the areas of smart grid utilities, medicine, and distributed
enterprise computing.
In addition, other Internet-based offerings, branded as cloud services,
have grown significantly in popularity in recent years and offer many
similar features and benefits. Competitors in this segment include grid
computing providers like HP along with many specialty competitors. IBM
offers its own cloud services, as well.
Web Links
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- Cisco Systems: http://www.cisco.com/
- Globus Alliance: http://www.globus.org/
- Hewlett-Packard: http://www.hp.com/
- IBM: http://www.ibm.com/
- Open Grid Form: http://www.gridforum.org/
- Oracle: http://www.oracle.com/
- World Community Grid: http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/
About the Author
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Sherry Kercher is an editor for Faulkner Information
Services. She holds a master’s degree in library and information science,
and tracks and writes about storage, communication networks and equipment,
and Internet technologies.
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