Data Grid: Storage Resource Broker

Mike Smorul<toaster@umiacs.umd.edu>

SRB Overview

Developed at San Diego Supercomputing Center.

Provides the abstraction mechanisms needed to implement data grids, digital libraries, and persistent archives for data sharing, data publication, and data preservation.

SRB Concepts: Architecture

SRB Concepts: Components

Oracle Client SRB Server

MCAT SRB Server

MCAT RDBMS

SRB Vault SRB Vault SRB Vault

SRB Server

Storage Space

Storage Driver

SRB Server

Storage Space

Storage Driver

SRB Server

Storage Space

Storage Driver

User

SRB Concepts: Access control

Granular access permissions including: Multiple primary owners of grid objects Restrictions on collection and metadata browsing Resource restrictions Standard unix-like permissions

Distributed access through domains within sites and across SRB zones

SRB Concepts: Federation A Federation enables SRB zones to recognize and interact with other zones it opens

many possibilities in the types of interaction

Federation Enables Fragmentation of MCAT DatabaseAn MCAT fragment coming down due to network or system failure does not bring the entire

SRB down. The other sections continue to provide the server leaving only one section temporarily inaccessible.

With federation, meta data can be made to reside closer to the resource by hosting a MCAT server closer to the resource.

This enables reducing network latency, thus may enable an overall improvement in performance when an SRB network spans across large geographical distance.

Federation enables local administrative control of resources enabling the notion of Virtual Organizations (VO) and also make it easy for a new VO to join the network

It also enables easy replication and transfer of documents between VO

Implemented Standards/Protocols GSI based authentication

Globus tickets can be used to authenticate against the SRB

MATRIX project provides a WSDL interface into the SRB

Able to interface and abstract standard storage devices

Interfaces to the SRB

Scommands Unix file system like interface Versions available for Unix,

Dos and Mac inQ –

Windows Explorer style interface

Version available for Windows My SRB

Web Browser interface Client access API

C API JARGON – Java API to SRB. MATRIX – SRB Workflow

management system

Metadata

System level (checksums, guid, structural) Application level per object or collection

User-defined attributes (attribute/value pairs)Extensible schema on mcatDatabase Access Interface (SQL

passthrough) Bulk operations on Metadata, upload

Maturity

SDSC controlled SRB installations:>4,900 users17 Installations

NARA, Teragrid, BIRN…

50.2 million files305Tb total storage

Support

Community and developer supportSrb-chat mail list Bugzilla for bug/feature trackingLimited developer accessPeriodic workshops

Open/Proprietary

Mostly open-source licenseFree to academic and government research

groups.http://www.sdsc.edu/srb/srbOpenSource.html

Commercial services need to contact UCSD Technology transfer office.

Setup Cost

Simple setup of MCAT and first srb master Autoinstall script to configure database, srb, and storage

resource UMD setup in under two hours.

GUI based administration utility Multiple interfaces to allow for simple client access Large SRB installations

may require database expertise

for maintaining MCAT database

Future Plans

OGSA compliant interface Expanded Federation capabilities

depending on community needs See Bugzilla for more

http://srb.npaci.edu/bugzilla/

More Information

SRB websitehttp://www.sdsc.edu/srb/