ACADEMIA

Working towards the holy grail of a sustainable European grid infrastructure, the European Grid Initiative Design Study (EGI_DS) is shaping the grid of tomorrow. During the annual Enabling Grids for E-sciencE (EGEE) project User Forum, held this week at Clermont-Ferrand, France, the Design Study team unveiled an interactive Knowledge Base to help map the route ahead, as part of a keynote speech given by the project’s director, Dieter Kranzlmüller. Supported by 38 countries in Europe and collaborating with the National Grid Initiatives (NGIs), the EGI Design Study is defining the future operational model for the EGI, based on the experiences and building on the results achieved in the EGEE project, and by collecting and studying the requirements for the e-Infrastructure through use cases. “The experience of EGEE is an invaluable asset in the preparation of the EGI organization. The results of EGEE and the input from the EGEE experts are of major importance in solving the many challenges of setting up a sustainable organization for the operation of the European grid,” says Kranzlmüller. The EGI Knowledge Base is now online! The EGI Knowledge Base has been set up to provide a dynamic environment for the European NGIs and the EGI_DS team. In addition to showcasing some of the project’s work, the EGI Knowledge Base is designed to be a one-stop source of information on the evolving status of individual European NGIs. The “wiki” nature of the site means that the NGIs themselves are editors, and are thus in full control of their content. The Knowledge Base also provides discussion areas, keeping topical communications in easy to find locations. An interactive image map allows users to access the individual NGI articles with one click, while another extension provides the means to conduct surveys. “The EGI Knowledge Base is a great tool, which provides a very useful overview of the situation of NGIs and grid projects in Europe. This is an important basis for the developments of the EGI, but also for the advancement of the individual countries. By learning how one country addresses particular problems, other countries could learn and avoid early pitfalls,” describes Jacko Koster, the NGI representative for Norway. Kranzlmüller explains: “The future EGI organization is intended to be the glue between the various grid communities in Europe and beyond. For this, we are seeking to implement the right processes and mechanisms, and the sharing of functionality between National Grid Initiatives and EGI. The result will be a sustainable environment for the application communities utilizing grid infrastructures for their everyday work.“ To explore the EGI Knowledge Base visit its Web site.