Rethinking grid computing as a mainstream solution
By Luke Meredith
NEWPORT, R.I. -- Grid Strategies Inc. CEO Mike Bernhardt -- one of the most fervent advocates of grid computing in the IT industry -- will be the first one to tell you that there might not be a more controversial topic in the game right now than what both friend and foe alike have dubbed "the grid."
But Bernhardt is quick to argue that just because the idea of grid computing as a common enterprise solution is a divisive issue doesn't mean it's one standing on shaky ground. Keynoting a panel discussion titled "Grid Computing: The Convergence of HPC and Mainstream Computing" at the High Performance Computing and Communications Conference Tuesday, Bernhardt's message to attendees sitting on both sides of the grid fence was simple.
Like it, love it or hate it -- grid computing is here, and it's not going away.
But grid computing continues to fight a two-front battle against both perception and practicality. Even Bernhardt admits that, as little as a year ago, he believed in grid's bad reputation -- that the lack of standard definitions was slowing down its widespread adoption.
But this lack of a standard definition remains a major problem. Grid computing, according to a basic definition, is the application of the resources of many computers in a network to a single problem at the same time, and which requires the use of software that can divide and farm out pieces of a program to as many as several thousand computers -- essentially distributed, large-scale cluster computing.
But there is no one single grid, like there is no one Internet. However, the Web was launched with one set of standards, which led to widespread compatibility. Grid has had no such luck in finding such a common set of standards, leaving many to wonder how exactly to define what grid itself even is.
According to Wolfgang Gentzsch, the managing director of MCNC Grid Computing &Networking Services in Research Triangle Park, N.C., one of the first things users need to do when thinking of grid is to look past what it is and instead look at what it can do.
"Don't worry about definitions -- if it's distributed, connected by network, managed by middleware, it's a grid," Gentzsch said.
After seeing an increasing number of companies across a broader spectrum of industries adopt both grid standards and middleware, and following discussions he's had with HPCC attendees, Bernhardt said he's convinced the convergence of HPC and mainstream computing has picked up considerable speed in the past 12 months.
"What I'm finding is more validation. Folks that last year even were skeptical about grid, where it can go, what it can do and [if] it will it ever break out of the very tight niche high-end computing circle are starting to see there are more applications for it. I think the standards are helping to push that. They are fostering innovation," Bernhardt said.
According to Tony Lock, chief analyst at Great Britain's Bloor Research, the reason grid computing is gaining acceptance is because it is seen as a member the utility computing family. Utility computing has gained credibility in IT circles because it has potentially enormous cost benefits for companies.
"I think given recent rise in power of processors themselves coupled with Linux and grid infrastructure, more mainstream business applications are being deployed [on grid systems]," Lock said. "In that respect it's not completely bunk that HPC and mainstream are converging in areas where it makes sense … recent developments have made it more sensible and affordable in niche areas, financial services in particular."
Whether it's defined as a cluster or an advanced computing network, the capabilities of grid as a computing resource are undeniable. But translating that power into the adoption of grid technology as a mainstream enterprise solution remains to be seen.
Cliff Jervis, a partner in a Northeast-based computer company and an attendee at the HPCC conference, was one audience member who walked away from the discussion ready to give grid a chance.
"I'm excited for it. I think the key I see is that standards [are] a big deal. I don't think it's out there at all. Probably the largest obstacle from that comes from more from the politics of people accepting what it really means and how they are going to use it," Jervis said. "I would like the simplest user, someone with a browser sitting in an Internet cafÉ in Brazil, able to hook into somebody in New York City. With those kinds of connections, local and global, I think the grid could work for that with standards-based type tools that anyone could use."
Land Rover
Land Rover is using grid to speed the development of its award-winning sport utility vehicles.
The SUV pioneer needed assistance in shortening its design analysis process, also known as clash analysis, and as a result, the company is now utilizing IBM grid-enabled technologies to generate timely and accurate information on its designs during pre-production.
To land the business, IBM Business Consulting Services (BCS) helped Land Rover reengineer its process, bringing a significant improvement in the time taken for analyses and resolution and delivering a rapid increase in time-to-market for new vehicles.
Taking time, cost complexity out
“IBM helped us take time, cost and complexity out of our product development process,” said Dave Walker, manager, vehicle packaging, Land Rover.
Now grid workstations, with CATIA V5 computer aided design software, improve the process by generating timely and accurate results, which are monitored and managed using tools developed on IBM WebSphere Application Server.
IBM's grid project at Land Rover is built on a core component of the IBM Automotive Engineering Innovation Framework (AEIF), an initiative targeted at the automotive market to streamline engineering development processes.
The initiative provides a simplified way to integrate advanced technologies (e.g., grid), middleware and relevant applications to optimize complex analysis and design environments.
ZheJiang Transport Bureau
ZJ Transportation travels on demand
In another engagement, BCS also helped ZJ Transportation, a Chinese government transportation bureau, implement a collaborative grid solution.
Zhejiang Transportation Bureau, the transportation government and administration department of the Zhejiang province, is now aligned with more than 100 transportation companies across the Zhejiang province through a deployment of grid-enabled technologies.
The network of transportation companies is now able to share bus routing information, ticket pricing and on-line scheduling. The bureau used its existing ticket selling infrastructure and implemented Web Services standards as integration interface, enabling its collaborators to have access to information similar to a third-party ticketing vendor.
The new consolidated ticket selling system will serve three million passengers each day in Zhejiang Province and have the capability to serve 10 millions in the coming future. It has also improved customer satisfaction and provided a higher quality of ticketing service.
Norwich Union Life
As a leading life insurance company, Norwich Union Life relies heavily on computer modeling to "prototype" financial products and to determine the embedded value of its life insurance portfolio. This requirement – initially driven by regulatory compliance – is now delivering competitive advantage to Norwich Union Life (NU-L) with help from IBM.
IBM has a long-standing relationship with this client, so it made sense for NU-L to consider IBM for its grid applications. IBM performed a series of three BCS consulting engagements for NU-L's most critical modeling application, including a grid application assessment, solution design, and TCO study.
These grid engagements provided support for other sales. For instance, client application intelligence helped the IBM eServer team take out incumbent HP when the customer doubled its computing capacity last year. And, IBM's grid thought leadership helped secure an IT optimization contract – worth tens of millions of dollars – last December.
Set for a May end-date, the grid engagement at NU-L will be performed by an international team in the Montpellier Design Centre, leveraging Platform Computing technology.
There are 400+ clients in the insurance industry with similar business needs for a grid. Contact the grid team in your geography for help and support. While this customer cannot be referenced externally and remains IBM Confidential, the issues supporting this win can be shared with clients.
This win demonstrates our grid leadership and is a huge competitive step for our offerings and capabilities. I encourage you to share other win stories like this with us, so your colleagues can learn through your best practices how to continue to win in the market.
AIRBUS
Grid Win of the Month: Airbus improves design process, speeds products to market with IBM Grid solution
As one of the world's leading manufacturers of passenger and freight aircraft, Airbus relies heavily on computer modeling to "prototype" its new designs quickly and efficiently – increasing safety and functionality while slashing time-to-market. In the aerospace industry, the main process for testing the integrity of moving parts during the design process is called Clash analysis. Clash analysis, or interference checking, operates on a many-to-many basis requiring, for example, 2.5 billion comparisons for an aircraft with 50,000 moving parts. The computational power required for Clash analysis is staggering, and increasing both the accuracy of that analysis and the efficiency of the overall design process can make the difference between profit and loss in this highly competitive industry.
When Airbus needed to improve the accuracy of its design process, reduce Clash analysis time and shorten the horizon for new product development, they turned to IBM and Business Partners PLM and Platform LSF for a Grid solution. Using CATIA workstations running CATIA V5 and grid management software from Platform LSF, Airbus achieved truly phenomenal process improvements:
Slashing distributed Clash analysis time for one typical model from eight hours to 32 minutes;
Running a test they had previously halted after six days in only three days. Airbus can now complete 90% of this type of job in only six hours, receiving preliminary "indicator" results in just minutes; and
Eliminating prototype wastage by greatly improving accuracy at the design stage.
The net result: Airbus plays better, faster and more efficiently in the aerospace industry without a massive investment in an entirely new IT infrastructure.
This win is just another example of how a cross-disciplinary IBM team from STG Grid, BCS and S&D – working in concert with our Business Partners – can deliver real-world solutions to help our clients maintain the competitive edge.
