Multi-domain grid/cloud computing through a hierarchical component-based middleware

Abstract

Current solutions for hybrid Grid/Cloud computing have been developed to hide from heterogeneity, dynamism and distributed nature of resources. These solutions are however insufficient to support distributed applications with non trivial communication patterns among processes, or that are structured so as to reflect the organization of resources they are deployed onto. In this paper, we present a generic, adaptable and extensible component-based middleware that seamlessly enables a transition of non-trivial applications from traditional Grids to hybrid Grid-Cloud platforms. This middleware goes beyond the resolution of well known technical challenges for multi-domain computing, as it offers mechanisms to exploit the hierarchical, heterogeneous and dynamic nature of platforms. We validate its capabilities and versatility through two use cases: an Internet-wide federation of Distributed Service Buses and a runtime supporting domain-decomposition HPC in heterogeneous computing environments using MPI-like programming. Performance results show the efficiency and usefulness of our middleware, and so contribute to promote research efforts geared towards flexible, on-demand IT solutions.