Showing papers on "Utility computing published in 1994"

A Distributed Computing Center Software for the Efficient Use of Parallel Computer Systems

Abstract: Nowadays, Computing systems accessible to researchers with ”Grand Challenge” problems consist of a hardware mixture ranging from clusters of workstations to parallel supercomputers. This hardware is available via geographically distributed networks with various communication capabilities.

Facilitation of health care delivery through enhanced communications

Abstract: To realize the advantages of advanced computing technology in medicine we will have to blend computing and communications facilities into a seamless entity that can support ubiquitous computing for medical use. Work-group computing applications, high speed networks linking a multiplicity of servers, and mobile computing platforms can provide the next generation of devices and services for the physician. Ultimately, the biggest challenge for communications and computing in medicine will be found in the requirement for standards in semantics and syntax in the highest levels of the OSI model. We present here our view of the functional requirements for physician communications and computing to meet standard medical practice in Western societies.

Distributed systems in the undergraduate curriculum

Abstract: Much of the design and development for new computing systems in the 1990's is being done in a networked computing environment with distributed goals So why do so many 4-year college computer science departments still not teach "Distributed computing systems" in their undergraduate curriculum? The reasons are varied, but one main one is the belief that such a course requires expensive hardware and the very latest software development tools This article demonstrates how a course for undergraduates in distributed computing can be successful at giving the students the concepts and principles, while enabling them to create such an application to experience the distributed environment, and do it all on a limited budget The principles are highlighted along with a practical design and development component, which can give seniors a way to tie together many of the principles and applications of previous courses

Design and implementation of a trader-based resource management system

Abstract: Distributed computing systems are composed of various types and sizes of resources. Providing a reliable and efficient distributed computing environment largely depends on the effective management of these resources. ISO has begun work on a proposed standard for Open Distributed Processing (ODP). The ODP framework includes a mechanism called the Trader which provides a framework for exchanging services in an open distributed computing environment. This paper presents a design of Trader-Based Resource Management System (TBRMS) which employs and extends the ODP Trader concept to the management of general resources in distributed computing systems. We describe its architecture, information model, and user interface. We also present an implementation effort of its prototype which uses the X.500 Directory Service as its resource information repository.

Managing end-user computing new challenges or the end of euc?

Abstract: For companies faced with the need to deliver new applications more quickly and at lower costs than before, client/server computing is becoming a reality. End-user computing, although not directly involved in creating the new applications, is affected by the shift in computing architecture.

Community computing and the computing community

Abstract: We explore briefly the historical notion of community, and indicate how technology is changing our view of what constitutes a community. We then examine the kinds of value (information, communication and service) that can be and “ought to” be delivered over computer networks, and suggest adaptations of current network structures that could deliver these values effectively and efficiently. The focus will be on the local geographical community, and on the nature of interconnections between local communities. Finally, we consider technological and social challenges inherent in providing community computing and networking. THE INDIVIDUAL’S WORLD VIEW Whatever else can be said about the universe, it is not absolute. Each of us is, in our own view, the center of it; thus it has one cente~ it has many centers; it has no center. The way you and I perceive the universe, or any part of it, will depend on our unique perspectives. We do not necessarily value the same things, and the value of a thing to us depends upon how it relates to us as individuals. In the highest sense, we would like to believe that Technology exists to serve people in the pursuit of higher human values such as knowledge, creativity, community, culture, integrity and wisdom. Technology is not an end in itself, but serves to empower, to connect, to enhance, and to assist. Even in that context, however, the role of technology is subject to personal interpretation. The value of the technology to an individual depends on that individual’s personal goals. Such goals may be subsumed in the above list, or may be more immediate goals such as to save effort, save time, make money, exert influence, or cultivate friendships. From our individual perspective, the world can be viewed as a large onion, with the self at the core. Subsequent layers might correspond to family, neighborhood, community, area, state, region, nation, and finally world. In a narrow sense, one might think of individuals interacting within alfamily; families interacting within a neighborhood; neighborhoods interacting within a community, and so on. In practice, of course, the various kinds of interactions are far more complex than this; indeed, from our individual perspective, it is we, as individuals, who interact with various amalgamations of other individuals. WHAT IS COMMUNITY? When we hear of a neighborhood, many of us automatically think of some collection of homes or other living units in geographical proximity. Indeed, that is essentially the dictionary definition of neighborhood. However, technology and Fred Rogers began a redefinition of neighborhood more than a quarter century ago, and the term has come to include mental/spiritual proximity in addition to geographical proximity. Similarly, “Community” at one time tended to connote geographical proximity (city or town), although it has also been used to indicate some more tightly-focused commonality of interest as well. We are used to hearing about a “University Community” in conjunction with an institution of higher education or a “Community of Faith” in conjunction with a church. Historically, neighborhood and community have been defined in terms of geographical boundaries, technological boundaries (such as local telephone calling area), and political boundaries. More recently, new forms of community have been defined by social boundaries, technological boundaries, and experiential boundaries. What characterizes community in the modern world, then, is lmerely some form of interdependence: perhaps a common geographic location, or common interests, or common beliefs, or common culture, or common experience. TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNITY Technology has fostered new forms of community by dramatically diminishing the importance of the old boundI Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and its akzta appea~ and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Association for Computing Machinery, to copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee anoYor specljic permission. 01994 ACM ISBN 0-89791-656-5/94/459940 $3.50 Meet the Shadowy Future 35 aries. Television has for years had the capacity to bring world events into our personal space in a timely and dramatic manner. However, that does not, in general, inject our person into the world space, and so does not involve us personally in a community. On the other hand, computers and particularly computer networking have had the opposite effect; they let us as individuals explore the world space and (more or less frequently) “meet” other people. This tends to make us as individuals feel we are a part of a community (whether or not we actually are). In any case, technological networking has dramatically decreased the importance of geographical proximity and other factors that used to be definitive of community, and has fostered the development of geographically and politically diverse communities formed around common interests, common beliefs, or common experiences. The Computing Community is at once the parent and the child of modem computing technology. WHAT’S OUT THERE? At times, the discussion of the marvels of “the Internet” seems to be all hyperbole and no substance. Everyone knows “the Intemet” is a Good Thing, but comparatively few can provide ready examples of benefits that have accrued directly from the existence of computer networking. Many of the arguments for acquiring new technology seem to follow the Field of Dreams philosophy, “if you build it, they will come.” In the case of technology, however, “they” sometimes seems to refer to nothing more than bucketful of bits. Clearly, none of the technology is free. Equipment costs money; transportation of data costs money; and all of it occupies a great deal of effort on the part of many different people (which, after all, money was invented to represent). Somebody has to pay for all this; and that somebody is clearly the person at the center of the universe. Let us consider, then, what resources in the various layers of the universal onion might be valuable to an individual. Personal and family resources tend to be “my own” private resources. Personal computers and software, if it’s perceived that this will somehow advance our progress toward our goals. If we make that investment, most likely we have some personal information that we store on our personal computer; such things as financial records, an inventory of our “stuff,” family history, our embryonic bestselling novel, and so on. We may buy an encyclopedia on CD-ROM, baseball statistics, or other information of interest to us. If we see good reason, we may invest in a telephone line and a modem so we can get beyond our personal space. In all these cases, we justify these expenses to ourselves, in conjunction with our other priorities. In most cases, unlike the ones to follow, information stored on personal or family computers is not intended for public access. 36 Neighborhood and community resources are available on many college and university campuses through the Campuswide Information Systems. These systems typically include such items as telephone directories, events calendars, policies and procedures, university catalogs, and other information for delivery, although some include facilities for applying for admission or getting a computer account. At present, neighborhood and community resources are available by network in only a few cities and towns, but the number is growing rapidly. Things such as local government services, community calendars, and telephone books are only a few of the features that could be included in such a system. The pattern of these two layers continues throughout the remaining layers of the universal onion. Each layer may add its own value (services) to the network, and one of the values each layer may add is access to other layers of other onions. So, for example, in an regional computing system, one might find access to other state computing systems within the region, in addition to access to information on regional resources such as the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois. Examples are not difficult to come by, and we will not belabor them here. Most resources at the outer layers of the onion are things that are, or have historically been, available in other forms. Telephone directories, for instance, are routinely printed and distributed for most communities (geographical and otherwise). The cost of making these resources available via network must be borne by someone, and the benefit of doing so must justify the cost. Either the individual seeking the information will pay, or the organization supplying it will. The information or service will continue to be a viable part of the network only so long as someone benefits enough to continue footing the bill. WHAT ISA NETWORK? We need to distinguish between the structural network and the conceptual network. Structurally, a network consists of things to be connected together (“nodes”) along with cables and electronics necessary to move signals from one node to another. In our onion model, the self can be networked to the self by a standalone computer (these are of decreasing size and increasing portability, so we will not discuss the obvious counterexample of home vs. oi%ce). In many families, a single standalone computer is adequate, although some families are connecting multiple computers together via local area networks. Connections from the family environment to other layers tend to be via telephone line and modem. While this can typically connect one with any layer, the advantages of connecting to a resource within the local calling area are, in most cases, obvious.

System Support for Distributed Computing

Abstract: This paper hints at models and mechanisms which are part of current distributed systems research, and which may be of interest in the area of distributed, parallel computing as well. In this context, an experimental toolkit which allows for object-oriented programming of distributed, failure-resilient applications is presented. The toolkit, called Electra, supports novel features like object-oriented communication, object-groups, and reliable multicast. We will compare the performance of a compute intensive application implemented on Electra, on PVM, on a transputer, and on two different Linda systems.

Secure Distributed Computing: Theory and Practice

Abstract: The general area of secure distributed computing and the interplay between distributed computing and security/ cryptography research is reviewed. Recent theoretical and practical developments are discussed.

The State-of-the-Art in Real-Time Computing

Abstract: The emerging generation of complex software systems presents significant challenges that must be addressed with new development technologies. Such systems are highly distributed and employ many heterogeneous processors, some of which may be parallel processors. Additionally, there are many non-functional requirements (related to timing, reliability, security and fault tolerance).

A National Scientific Computing Environment for the Biological Sciences

Abstract: A framework for developing a computing environment for researchers in the biological sciences which utilizes HPCC resources is described. This framework addresses the need to provide an organized network resource discovery and access capability for the genome researcher on a national scale. In particular, this framework addresses the issues of integrating autonomous computing tools, authenticating both users and the tools being accessed, dynamic and transparent tool location determination, application and network fault tolerance, and scalability. This framework is based, in part, on open-systems concepts and a distributed computing paradigm. on the network, providing support for highly reliable, fault tolerant service, and being scalable in large networking environments. As part of the US. Government’s High Performance Computing and Communication initiative (HPCC), a computing environment that addresses these issues on a national scale is being developed at the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU). As part of the development effort, a prototype system has been implemented which utilizes resources and services at the Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center (PSC), the National Library of Medicine (NLM), MU and elsewhere. The prototype system provides researchers in the biological sciences with a powerful capability to integrate a diverse set of resources that facilitate their research efforts.

Communication in distributed computing environments

Abstract: Computing is often viewed as a tool and a computing system is typically treated as a toolbox of applications for performing operations such as calculations and data storage and transfer. Currently, humans develop these application tools and apply, or specify how to apply, them. Recognizing that computing is a fundamental discipline challenges us to accept the notion that a computing system could play other roles than merely serving as a toolbox. An active player will require massive parallelism and mechanisms for abstracting over interactions. >

Creating information kiosks for the new distributed computing environment

Abstract: Steve Burdick, Multimedia Coordinator for Information Technology Division (ITD) User Services-Communications, will be presenting an on-line information system developed at the University of Michigan. The talk will include a demonstration of the kiosk system. WHAT IS IT? The “Guide to Computing on Campus” is an interactive version of a printed booklet which is distributed to new users on campus. Both guides contain information regarding computing resources and facilities. WHY DO IT? As the University of Michigan made the switch to a distributed computing environment, the Communications Team within User Services was charged with the task of providing information to new as well as migrating users on campus. Due to the expected volatility of the information, it was clear that a number of channels would be required to keep users up-to-date. Printed materials generally require an extended production phase and do not allow for latebreaking information. An electronic kiosk could be developed in tandem with a printed guide and then deployed much later with updated information as needed. Revisions could also be easily and economically incorporated. THE PROCESS After a series of meetings with representatives fi-om the orientation and the Future Computing Environment (FCE) roll out teams, the content and basic format was selected. It was decided that early users would need answers to some or all of the six topics shown in Figure 1. Once the basic format was established, a story board was created and each module was mapped out for structure and content. Within six weeks, the structure was complete and the content was plugged in as each section was written and approved. The most difficult task was assembling accurate information as it emerged from several overlapping sources. PHASE ONE: ORIENTATION Deployment was done in two phases. The first phase took place during summer orientation. For two months starting in June, 160 students per day were processed through the orientation rituals. As they stood in line for Ii) cards, they were given an opportunity to review the interactive guide at three kiosk stations. Another set of stations in a separate building for parent orientation was also in place. The kiosks were driven by Apple Macintosh CIS and Quadras. These were left on and available around the clock. Permission to copy without fee all or part of this tnaterial is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and its data appea~ and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Association for Computing Machine~, to copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee andor specific permission. 01994 ACM 0-89791-656-5/94/459940 $3.50 I Meet the Shadowy Future 1 The Macintoshes were secured to the kiosks and the files were protected using Apple’s ‘AtEase’ finder utility. PHASE TWO: FALL FCE ROLL OUT The second phase was planned for the fall roll out of the FCE. Kiosks were deployed at strategic locations including four major campus computing sites as well as the FCE demo area. The content in this version of the guide drilled deeper than the orientation guide—primarily because of the audience, and also because it was expected users would have more time to explore. EVALUATION User feedback was considered vital to the success of this Guide. In planning for the Orientation version, specific objectives were defined. After reviewing the kiosk presentation, the goal was to give the user a sense of the range of computing resources on campus and that there was help available to them from a number of sources. We also wanted users to feel comfortable about using computers on campus. Users and test subjects were asked to fill out a short survey which measured their reaction in those three areas. To gauge the effectiveness of the user interface, users were observed from a short distance and notes were made about which sections were accessed within the guide. When overheard, comments were also noted. Some interviews were also conducted. All of this feedback was taken into consideration during development of subsequent versions of the Guide. Figure 2: ‘