Tony Doyle - University of Glasgow Introduction

Tony Doyle - University of Glasgow 6 November 2006ScotGrid Expression of Interest Universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow (lead), Heriot-Watt, St. Andrews, Stirling, Strathclyde 1.wide variety of disciplines 2.computing-enabled research 3.portals 4.training 5.accounting 6.infrastructure management 7.distributed computing provision 8.three-year project 9.approximately £5m from SFC 10.comparable equipment resources from partners

Tony Doyle - University of Glasgow 6 November 2006ScotGrid Context Coherent researcher access to all compute and data resources Resources typically only required for relatively short periods for a given researcher or group of researchers The number of identified research groups is large –Existing Grid users: AstroGrid, BRIDGES, DyVOSE, eDIKT, EGEE, ESP- GRID, GEMEPS, GEODE, GLASS, GridPP, GS-SFHS, NanoCMOS, SBRN, VOTES..AstroGridBRIDGESDyVOSEeDIKTEGEEESP- GRIDGEMEPSGEODEGLASSGridPPGS-SFHSNanoCMOSSBRN VOTES –SFC-funded research pooling (SUPA, EastChem, WestChem etc) provides a larger potential user base in each domainSUPAEastChemWestChem –Institute researchers have large overlapping requirements Middleware: EGEE (gLite), OMIIEGEEOMII Hardware providers: Institute Computing Services associated with compute-intensive Research Groups Interoperable Grid Service: EGEE NGSEGEEScotGridNGS

Tony Doyle - University of Glasgow 6 November 2006ScotGrid Timeline EoI Writing Proposal Construction Apr MayJunJulAugSepOct SRDG Call 31 st May – Expression of Interest 31 st August – 1 st meeting 6 th Nov - 2 nd meeting 17 th July – SFC Feedback EoI Feedback NovDecJan 21 st Dec – 3 rd

Tony Doyle - University of Glasgow 6 November 2006ScotGrid Proposal Timeline In terms of defining a timeline: i. identified contacts at all Institutes on August 31st ii. SFC to meet with partners on November 6 th iii. focus on enhanced service aspects, identifying the core Grid technologies and exploring the overall scope Three meetings currently planned: –August 31 st EdinburghInstitute Inputs –November 6 th GlasgowStatus & Feedback –December 21 st Stirling (Technical) Appendices & Draft Proposal Aim: proposal by SFC-requested timescale ~Q Implementation: staged, starting ~Q (need to work in parallel on technical developments)

Tony Doyle - University of Glasgow 6 November 2006ScotGrid 1 st Meeting Input from 8 partner Institutes Wide range of interests represented Discussion regarding the scope of ScotGrid, its use to researchers, and its practical application Many potential users Providers concerned w.r.t. component costing 1.Hardware depreciation (transition from SRIF to fEC) 2.Manpower (Research Council & Funding Council) 3.Running costs Agreed accounting model required between SFC and all Institutes

Tony Doyle - University of Glasgow 6 November 2006ScotGrid Institute Resources Substantial investments in computing resources ScotGrid will integrate and provide access to these 1.Dundee: £1m life sciences HPC facility (currently 200 processors, > 100TB), upgrade planned 2.Edinburgh: £2m Computing and Data Facility (ECDF) planned 3.Glasgow: £1m dedicated grid facility (first components formally opened today) 1 MSI2k, 100 TB 4.Stirling: £850k in central servers 5.Aberdeen: Several new equipment initiatives, including one to support cell biology research 6.Heriot-Watt: 160 dual-core CPU cluster currently being installed 7.St. Andrews: Shared 40-node cluster being set up [HPC facility (1 TB RAM)] 8.Strathclyde: HPC cluster for photonics Total accessible hardware resource: >~£5m

Tony Doyle - University of Glasgow 6 November 2006ScotGrid Accounting and Monitoring Ensure fairness and balance of the institutional resources between the different research communities Effective distributed accounting provides the basis by which partners can have confidence in resource sharing and in additional resource provision and consumption Annual ScotGrid accounts provided to SFC will enable each partner institute to determine their usage charges, providing a basis for long-term sustainability via research grants and the rolling equipment programmes in each university Propose to start accounting in calendar year 2007 (as a test exercise)

Tony Doyle - University of Glasgow 6 November 2006ScotGrid Work Areas 1.Project Management: (1.2 FTE) A dedicated project director plus a fraction of the PI to coordinate the complex technical developments and specialised discipline requirements (“project office”) 2.System Management: (4 FTE) Local technical management of the key facilities forming part of ScotGrid 3.Grid Operation: (6 FTE) A distributed team of technicians to achieve agreed levels of service across the entire ScotGrid infrastructure 4.Accounting Support: (1 FTE) Development of accounting support to ensure fair and well-managed use of ScotGrid facilities 5.Portal Development: (4 FTE) A team of specialists to develop the specialised portals required by client disciplines 6.Training and Outreach: (2 FTE) A team of specialists to determine the development and training needs of client disciplines Grid Research as part of sustainability.. To be discussed this afternoon between the drafting committee, external advisor and SFC

Tony Doyle - University of Glasgow 6 November 2006ScotGrid Benefits Establishment of a Research e-Infrastructure leading to: 1.Expansion in terms of partners and services 2.Robust operations and management procedures 3.Interoperability with other national and international e-infrastructures 4.Integration of key data sources 5.Improved understanding of data provenance 6.Improved and measured ScotGrid reliability 7.Supported research across a range of domains 8.Access by non-Grid focused researchers 9.Service definitions for a sustainable infrastructure 10.Industrial partners testing/utilising Grid services

Tony Doyle - University of Glasgow 6 November 2006ScotGrid Summary Expression of Interest submitted in May Draft proposal used to guide internal discussions Received prompt, positive feedback to EoI from SFC in July Wide range of potential beneficiaries discussed in August Large hardware resources available Need to review work areas today Aim to establish Scottish Grid Service in 2007