Education and Grid Services

1. Education and Grid Services Geoffrey FoxProfessor of Computer Science, Informatics, Physics Pervasive Technology Laboratories Indiana University Bloomington IN 47404 gcf@indiana.edu http://www.infomall.org http://www.grid2002.org

2. Who is Geoffrey Fox? • Undergraduate degree in math, PhD Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University • Theory, Experiment, Computation, Phenomenology of particle physics Caltech for 20 years • Worked with Feynman, Hey, Wolfram • Dean for educational computing and associate provost for computing Caltech; Professor of Physics; department chair • Developed parallel computers for science • Computer Science Syracuse, Florida State, Indiana • Main area of research last 20 years • Interdisciplinary work in computational science with many fields – Earth Science/Biology at moment • Chief technologist Anabas corporation (WebEx done right) • Technology for distance education on the Grid • Teaching class from Indiana to Jackson State this semester • Informatics, Computer Science, Physics at Indiana • Pervasive Technology Lab Information technology initiative at Indiana University funded by Lilly • Director Community Grids Laboratory

3. What is a MLE Managed Learning Environment • An MLE is the full range of information systems and processes of an institution that contributes directly or indirectly to learning and the management of learning • A Virtual Learning Environment VLE is the subset of MLE components that provide online learning interactions for learners and teachers • MLE Components include enrollment, security, portal, digital library functions on learning resources, access to administrative material, payment, attendance tracking, authoring curriculum, learning planners, quizzes, homework, grading, assessment, distance teaching, computer-aided instruction, collaboration tools

4. Some Players with Education Grid like Capabilities • IMS and ADL in the USA have set standards for some of the special learning metadata structures • CHEF (Michigan) and Colloquia (Bangor) are academic groupware projects aimed at education • Access Grid from Argonne is Audio-Video conferencing • Sakai and OKI are Mellon Foundation projects implementing electronic learning capabilities • Blackboard and WebCT are popular (some places) academic e-learning support systems • Several inhouse efforts like OnCourse at Indiana • Docent, Topclass etc. are learning content management systems LCMS mainly selling to corporate training market • Centra, Interwise, Placeware, WebEx, GrooveNetworks are well known collaboration systems that might support distance learning/tutoring and participatory education

5. Grids in a Nutshell • Grids are by definition the best of HPCC, Web Services, Agents, Distributed Objects, Peer-to-peer networks, Collaborative environments • Grid applications are typically zero or one very large supercomputers, lots of conventional machines, with unlimited data and/or people supporting an electronic (virtual) community • Data sources and people are latency tolerant … • Multiple supercomputers (or clusters) on same Grid as in TeraGrid/ETF largely for sharing of data and by people • Grids are supported by Global Grid Forum, W3C, OASIS … setting standards • Grids are a “service oriented architecture” hiding irrelevant details • Services are electronic resources communicating by messages • Message based architecture gives scalable loosely coupled component model

6. Information/Knowledge Grids • Distributed (10’s to 1000’s) of data sources (instruments, file systems, curated databases …) • Data Deluge: 1 (now) to 100’s petabytes/year (2012) • Moore’s law for Sensors • Possible filters assigned dynamically (on-demand) • Run image processing algorithm on telescope image • Run Gene sequencing algorithm on compiled data • Needs decision support front end with “what-if” simulations • Metadata (provenance) critical to annotate data • Integrate across experiments as in multi-wavelength astronomy Data Deluge comes from pixels/year available

7. PortalService Security Catalog A typical Web Service • In principle, services can be in any language (Fortran .. Java .. Perl .. Python) and the interfaces can be method calls, Java RMI Messages, CGI Web invocations, totally compiled away (inlining) • The simplest implementations involve XML messages (SOAP) and programs written in net friendly languages like Java and Python PaymentCredit Card Web Services WSDL interfaces Warehouse Shipping control WSDL interfaces Web Services

8. Database Each service should beable to run independently on separate machines Typical Grid Architecture UserServices Portal Services Re-use Application ServiceLibraries ApplicationCustomization Application Service Application Service Middleware SystemServices SystemServices SystemServices Re-use “Core”Grid Raw (HPC) Resources

9. Service B Service A Module B Module A Messages 10 to 1000 millisecond latency Method Calls1 to 10 microseconds Some Technical Issues • All IT approaches support systems with multiple capabilities • They often reveal and/or standardize interfaces • They could be different method calls, Java classes, or Web/Grid service interfaces • We will ONLY use the word Service when interface can be efficiently accessed by messages with service as an isolated single service • Grids build systems from message-based services Capabilities often called services even if NOT using a Service Oriented Architecture

10. Message-based or Method-based • Method-based interfaces are most efficient but can only be run in that fashion in a single monolithic implementation • One service with multiple ports • i.e. each interface might be accessed via message but all capabilities need to be co-located • Technologies like Java RMI allow distributed objects but requires serialization (often non trivial) and unclear if application supports performance loss • “Message-based services” support standards and distributed deployment with easy use of standards compliant services from different implementers.

11. Sakai • The University of Michigan, Indiana University, MIT, Stanford, and the uPortal consortium are joining forces to integrate and synchronize their considerable educational software into a pre-integrated collection of open source tools.  • Sakai builds on OKI – Open Knowledge Initiative – interfaces • These Open Service Interface Definitions were developed outside the Grid process but appear to have overlaps with many Web service and Grid standards • Note OGSA-DAI, Security, Workflow, WS-Notification, Grid monitoring, WebDAV overlaps • Although they are called “services”, I think they are being developed initially inside a (single) Java container • Does not address real-time collaboration except for chat

12. Portals • These are used rather inconsistently for • A general term for the whole user experience with an interface to multiple capabilities • Narrow specification of certain capabilities such as customization, server side support for web page generation, aggregation of document fragments (one per service), security • Broad specification to include both user interface and services • Note portals tend to be monolithic frameworks because that’s how one used to build such things • Jetspeed and CHEF’s modification of it are both frameworks • Portals need to be broken up into distributed message based services for security, customization, layout, rendering • Shouldn’t invest too much in today’s frameworks although they have some wonderful features • However Portals do encourage “component” model for user interfaces and so this fits service model so every service can be packaged with its (document fragment) user interface • So portlets are good even if containers primitive

13. The OGCE Computing Grid Portal • Provides Portlets for • Management of user proxy certificates • Remote file Management via Grid FTP • News/Message systems • for collaborations • Grid Event/Logging service • Access to OGSA services • Access to directory services • Specialized Application Factory access • Distributed applications • Workflow • Access to Metadata Index tools • User searchable index • Real Time Collaboration • Audio/Video Conferencing

14. Example Capability: File Management • Grid FTP portlet– Allow User to manage remote file spaces • Uses stored proxy for authentication • Upload and download files • Third party file transfer • Request that GridFTP server A send a file to GridFTP server B • Does not involve traffic through portal server User Portal Server Jetspeed 1 of many Portlets GridFTPService GridFTP Server A GridFTP Server B

15. Education Grids • Education Grids can be considered from at least two points of view • 1) Exploiting e-Science and other relevant research government or business grids whose resources can be adapted for use in education • Opportunity to make education more “real” and to give students an idea what scientific research is like • 2) Support the virtual organization that is the teacher and learner community • Actually this community is heterogeneous with teachers, learners, parents, employers, publishers, informal education, university staff …. • Build the Education Grid as a Grid of Grids

16. Typical Science GridService such as Research Database or simulation Science Grids Bioinformatics Earth Science ……. Campus orEnterprise Administrative Grid Transformed by Grid Filterto form suitable for education Education Grid Publisher Grid Learning Management or LMS Grid Student/Parent … Community Grid Digital Library Grid Informal Education (Museum) Grid Inservice Teachers Preservice Teachers School of Education Teacher Educator Grids Planning Grid Education as a Grid of Grids

17. Education Grid View of e-Science Resource e-Science Resource Filter Education Grid of Grids • Services in an Education Grid fall into three classes • 1) Those that special to Education such as quiz (as in IMS), learning plan or grading services • 2) Those that are important but can be taken from other Grids such as collaboration and security • 3) Those that come from other Grids and are refactored for education • The simulation is reduced in size • The bioinformatics database interface is simplified Education Grid

18. Field Trip Data ? Discovery Services RepositoriesFederated Databases Streaming Data Sensors Database Database Research Education SERVOGrid Data FilterServices Customization Services From Researchto Education ResearchSimulations Analysis and VisualizationPortal EducationGrid Computer Farm Geoscience Research and Education Grids

19. Session Server XGSP-based Control Media Servers Filters NaradaBrokering All Messaging Admire SIP H323 Access Grid Native XGSP XGSP Web Service MCU Architecture Use Multiple Media servers to scale to many codecs and many versions of audio/video mixing WebServices NB Scales asdistributed High Performance (RTP)and XML/SOAP and .. Gateways convert to uniform XGSP Messaging NaradaBrokering

20. Requirements or Issues to be Addressed I • Interoperability: Several standards – e.g. H323, T120, SIP, Access Grid – which are inconsistent with themselves and with modern Web standards • Integration: Integrate all forms of collaboration – instant messenger, audio-video conferencing, application sharing • Life-cycle costs: use commodity software components • Extensibility: Interfaces defined for adding new capabilities • Legacy: Support existing relevant infrastructure • Network Quality of Service: communication links are dynamic and of variable quality and bandwidth.

21. Requirements or Issues to be Addressed II • Performance: Allow maximum performance with given network with no unnecessary client or server overheads • Fault Tolerance: Fault tolerant session control • Security: Support multiple levels of security for clients, servers and communication traffic • Scalability: Current systems are often limited by architecture or implementation (such as a single server) in number of simultaneous participants • Pervasive Access: Need to support wide range of clients from hand-held devices to sophisticated desktop system. • Ease of Use: Simple web portal interface; no special hardware • Archiving: Universal mechanism for archiving collaborative session

22. Collaboration Architecture • Use Grid and Web Service base architecture • Define XML-based Collaboration Interface specification capturing semantics of existing standards • Define open interfaces allowing both third party services to be developed and to allow competitive implementation of base infrastructure • Use software overlay network to support needed dynamic routing and message-based architecture • Use active measurements to find network performance and network or server/broker faults • Use Web Service message based security • Use publish/subscribe paradigm for all messaging to support multi-participant sessions and archiving • Use distributed scalable fault-tolerant middleware including WS-RM (Web Service Reliable Messaging) or equivalent • Web Service architecture with N logN servers to support N participants • 1000 simultaneous streams needs around 50 low-end Linux servers • Does not need multi-cast; supports web-cams • Supports Polycom and Access Grid clients

23. Summary • Grids are inevitably important for Education • Grid of Grids interesting way to build “new Grids” that might be accepted by skeptical participants and enhance re-use • IMS has set data but not many service standards • Partial step to interoperability • Sakai is building modern (probably wonderful) open e-learning capabilities but appears not to be a Grid/WS standards compliant service architecture • Current academic/commercial systems are successful but monolithic and perhaps are too education-specific • Opportunity to build service-based Education Grid Infrastructure interacting with broad community (from Grids to WS to Schools of Education) exploiting other Grids • Can build collaboration – A/V Conferencing, Shared applications, groupware – in Grid/WS architecture • Can develop best practice and tools to allow e-Science grids to be linked to education • Can encourage use of component-based portals