Virtual Laboratory: Exploring e-Science in CAS

1. Virtual Laboratory: Exploring e-Science in CAS Kai Nan, Jianjun Yu, Xing Hang Computer Network Information Center (CNIC)Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Xi’An, January 1, 2020

2. Outline • Motivation • e-Science and Virtual Laboratory • Current Work on VLAB • Planning in Future

3. The Definition of e-Science • Three kinds of e-Science: • Computationally intensive science in highly distributed network environments • Science that uses immense data sets that require grid computing • Distributed collaboration, such as the Access Grid • Examples: • social simulations, particle physics, earth sciences, bio-informatics, … • Cited from wikipedia

4. Why e-Science • Challenges in modern science research (from the view of scientific researchers ) • Science problems are more complex than ever • Science research object is not isolated, but cross discipline and large-scale • Science data processing, simulation and computing become indispensable methods • need more and more communication, collaboration, coordination among them closer than ever

5. Why e-Science • From the perspective of resources • Great total amount with limited utilization • Lack of effective usage of resources • Scientists need to collaborate sharing their resources and knowledge

6. Why e-Science • From the perspective of IT: • What researchers need • Huge demand for computing technologies • Huge demand for sharing the resource / collaboration • What provides • High speed network • HPC • Large scale of scientific data • How to provide • e-Science environment • Give scientists a more EASY-TO-USE interface to help them using the heterogeneous resources

7. What e-Science do • Provide a research collaborative environment • Combining all resources: including computing, network, data, human,…. Videoconference & On-line Forum Communication & Collaboration Experiments & Field Stations Supercomputer Center Observation &Experiment Computing Facility Database Storage Facility Specimen Library Computation & Simulation Documentation Theory Analysis Networks Software Tools

8. Outline • Motivation • e-Science and Virtual Laboratory • Current Work on VLAB • Planning in Future

9. CAS 11th Five-year Informatization Program (2006- 2010) • Continue to develop the infrastructure and existing applications • e-Science Facility • Networks of field stations/instruments(60), Mobile equip., Digital library of natural resources • e-Science Applications • HEP, Astro, Bio, Geo, Chemistry, …(about 10 or 16) • Resource Integration Platform • Supporting Environment for Applications

10. Our vision of e-Science • Virtual Laboratory based e-Science • An integrated collaboration environment to supporte-Science • Composed of shared and collaborative hardware, software, data, information, human, …. • An EASY-TO-USE interface for scientific researchers • A basic form and tool for e-Science activities

11. e-Science VS. e-Science Virtual Labs • e-Science would be applications-driven • “Virtual Labs” , the key position in our e-Science framework ,the core component to make e-Science a reality • Should emphasize that Virtual Labs don’t mean make experiments online

12. Virtual Labs Solves • Virtual Lab is proposed to be • a basic unit of research activity in the e-Science environment • the right user interface between scientists and their e-Science environment

13. Virtual Labs Goals • With Virtual Labs, • all kinds of resources could be integrated into a single access point • customized and flexible services would be provided according to the specific requirements of different domains in an easier way than ever before • Multidisciplinary, multi-organization collaboration could be carried out online.

14. Features of Virtual Labs • Ease of use • much easier to use than current systems. • Resource integration • provide the user with a single operating environment under which many kinds of resources, such as supercomputers, mass storage facilities, scientific databases, digital libraries, high bandwidth link, scientific equipment, etc. could be accessed in a seamless way. • Customized service • provide a user with what he or she wants completely and exactly. Each user may have a specific workbench individually. • users may choose different services at different times or at different prices. • Ubiquitous research • benefit from state-of-the-art technologies on mobile computing and related so that user could use the Virtual Lab at any time and anywhere.

15. Features of Virtual Labs (cont’) • Collaborative work • enable a lot of scientists, who are from multiple independent institutions, from multiple sites across the world, and from different professional backgrounds, to work together on a collaborative project or a common problem. • Scalability • support hundreds of users from tens of institutions, but should work just as well for three or five users. • Management • interact with outer management systems, such as ARP in CAS, to help improve efficiency during the whole lifetime of a research project or other research activities.

16. Virtual Labs Goals in 2006- 2010 • Provide a virtual lab environment • Scientific Virtual Organization management • Scientists can access, organize and manage resource easily and transparently • Integrate resources from CAS, such as computing, storage, database, library • Document share and collaboration • Organize Internet-based activities, such as project review, conference • At least three e-Science applications on Virtual Labs • Biology • Astronomy • High Energy Physics • ...

17. VLAB Projects • Exploration of e-Science Virtual Lab with our vision • A product under Virtual Lab concept • We focus more on how to develop an e-Science environment for real scientific application

18. Architecture of VLAB Virtual Workbench CA Resources & services Scientific Workflow Core toolkit VO management AV Plugin Computing Resource Plugin Device Plugin Document Collaboration Database Plugin Activity Collaboration Other Plugins Didital Library Plugin Resource Resource Resource Resource Resource Resource

19. New technologies Advancing VLAB • SOA • Grid computing • Web Services • Scientific workflow • Portal (WSRP) • …

20. The core components of VLAB • Virtual Workbench • Core Toolkits • e-Science Security Infrastructure • Virtual Labs services

21. Virtual Workbench • A universal portal for e-Science activities • Open, scalable, flexible integrated platform for different resources • Support flexible requirements from scientists • Support component reuse • Assure usable and accessible

22. Core Toolkits • Virtual organization management tool • Document collaboration tool • Activity organization tool

23. e-Science Security Infrastructure • Construct a PKI based security infrastructure • CAS e-Science CA • Be authorized by APGrid PMA, 2006 • Be trusted by IGTF • Based on OpenCA package

24. Virtual Labs Services • Deploy the basic VLAB platform • Work and develop with the front-line scientists for specific add-in, like visualization tools • Take specific requirements from real scientific application

25. Current Work on VLAB • SDG(Scientific Data Grid) • Data processing centered e-Science • AVLAB (Astronomical Virtual Lab) • e-Science application • Duckling&CLB • Virtual Lab core toolkit

26. Scientific Data Grid • Aimed at: • connecting massive data resources in Scientific Database • realizing effective sharing of those geographically distributed, heterogeneous and autonomous data resources via grid computing technology, especially data grid technology

27. What SDG provides • DAS • Data Access Service • IMS • Grid Information Service • Security Infrastructure • Storage Service • SDG Portal • SDG Toolkit

28. http://www.sdg.ac.cn Scientific Data Grid Scientific Data Grid Applications Avian Flu Alert System Other Grids Virtual Observatory Grid High Energy Physics Grid Scientific Data Grid Middleware Scientific Database

29. DAS • Goal: • Access over forty scientific databases in CAS • Integrate immense scientific data sets • Provide universal interfaces for researchers • Functions • Metadata extraction • Database schema mapping • Block data set • GT4 compatible

30. avlab • Astronomy Virtual Laboratory • A key demonstration project of MOST • Is one of the typical application of virtual laboratory (e-Science)

31. Why use e-Science solution • Requirements for collaborative observation are massive, whereas astronomers always use telephone and email, making low efficiency and bad results • e-Science based avlab make the collaborative observation online and real-time, and easy to coordinate the observation. • Scientists can share their results and ideas at real-time • Can eliminate the weather factor with several telescopes’ collaborative work • Can provide an easy share of telescopes and the observation results

32. Telescope from 4 places Xinglong Observatory Shanghai sheshan Huairou Observatory Yunnan lijiang

33. Open and stable services • 7*24 stable service • Open to public, everyone can use and register • Now almost 80 scientists are registered

34. avlab support • Apply for the use of telescope online • Give a universal operation interface for all telescope • Scientists can share ideas to others online

35. Duckling & CLB • Document Collaboration • Wiki based document publishing, editing • Integrated with liferay communities • Document Sharing tools • File upload, lock, unlock, update

36. Planning in Future • To develop Virtual Lab version 1.0 • Popularize the VLAB environment Vlab applications Protein Astronomy 2006.12 Vlab framwork design 2006.12 Vlab proposal

37. Planning in Future • Select typical science areas to deploy Virtual Lab • Biology • Astronomy • High Energy Physics • ... • step by step, case by case, project by project and worldwide cooperation to actualize the e-Science of CAS • Need more international cooperations!

38. Summary • e-Science or science researches through cyberinfrastructure will be one of the main goals of CNIC,CAS in the next five years • e-Science need more international collaborations on cyberinfrastructure and e-Science applications • Merging scientific domain and IT, not only in IT technology and scientific knowledge, but also in human, e.g. e-scientist

39. Thanks!