Access Grid
Encyclopedia
Access Grid is a collection of resources and technologies that enables large format audio and video
based collaboration
between groups of people in different locations. The Access Grid is an ensemble of resources, including multimedia
large-format displays, presentation and interactive environments, and interfaces with grid computing
middleware
and visualization
environments. In simple terms, it is advanced videoconferencing
using big displays and with multiple simultaneous camera feeds at each node (site). The technology was invented at Argonne National Laboratory
, Chicago.
The "Alliance Chautauqua 99", a series of two-day conferences on computational science organised by the NCSA
, was the first large-scale Access Grid event. The Access Grid was later demonstrated at Supercomputing'99 in Portland to an international audience.
there are well over 500 nodes around the world that allow for various forms of creative and academic collaborations. Access Grid users tend to use XMPP
as their text-based back-end. Indeed, the new version of the Access Grid Toolkit integrates an XMPP client with the Access Grid software.
The latest stable version of the software is release 3.2. There's also an installable bundle with some additional video codecs (such as HD) and additional tools.
The International Centre of Excellence for Education in Mathematics (ICE-EM) have funded 10 Australian universities to construct nodes. The nodes allow the mathematics postgraduate community and professionals access to international experts who are visiting Australia. The nodes also provide a means of carrying out collaborative research with peers within Australia and internationally.
Australia's first Access Grid node was built at Sydney VisLab at the Australian Technology Park in August 2001.
By 2007 the Australian AG network has grown to more than 30 sites serviced by Asia Pacific Access Grid (APAG) venue servers at University of Sydney (AG2) and University of Queensland (AG3).
The University of Queensland began providing AG facilities in 2002, with increasing usage every year since then. In 2004, the UQ Vislab began providing the Access Grid installation packages for various Linux distributions, as well as FreeBSD, to the wider AG community, although intellectual property concerns have placed the future of the Linux-based technologies into doubt. It has also been active in developing various enhancements and add-ons including shared applications for remote sensor monitoring shared application, Remote Thermo
and shared GIS based on
GRASS.
By December 2006 each New Zealand university has an operational AG node, and use of the grid is increasing.
Current development work includes a
federated data management using Storage Resource Broker (SRB)
and high definition video communications.
The first Access Grid (AG) node was built at the University of Manchester
in 2001, with JISC-funded support from the Access Grid Support Centre (AGSC) in Manchester from April 2004 to July 2011. There are now over three hundred AG nodes registered in the UK, ranging from full room nodes to small individual desktop nodes.
There are a number of academic projects using AG technologies such as the Taught Course Centre
and MAGIC (postgraduate mathematics)
mathematics projects.
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
based collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
between groups of people in different locations. The Access Grid is an ensemble of resources, including multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
large-format displays, presentation and interactive environments, and interfaces with grid computing
Grid computing
Grid computing is a term referring to the combination of computer resources from multiple administrative domains to reach a common goal. The grid can be thought of as a distributed system with non-interactive workloads that involve a large number of files...
middleware
Middleware
Middleware is computer software that connects software components or people and their applications. The software consists of a set of services that allows multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact...
and visualization
Visualization (graphic)
Visualization is any technique for creating images, diagrams, or animations to communicate a message. Visualization through visual imagery has been an effective way to communicate both abstract and concrete ideas since the dawn of man...
environments. In simple terms, it is advanced videoconferencing
Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing is the conduct of a videoconference by a set of telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously...
using big displays and with multiple simultaneous camera feeds at each node (site). The technology was invented at Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory is the first science and engineering research national laboratory in the United States, receiving this designation on July 1, 1946. It is the largest national laboratory by size and scope in the Midwest...
, Chicago.
The "Alliance Chautauqua 99", a series of two-day conferences on computational science organised by the NCSA
National Center for Supercomputing Applications
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications is an American state-federal partnership to develop and deploy national-scale cyberinfrastructure that advances science and engineering. NCSA operates as a unit of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign but it provides high-performance...
, was the first large-scale Access Grid event. The Access Grid was later demonstrated at Supercomputing'99 in Portland to an international audience.
there are well over 500 nodes around the world that allow for various forms of creative and academic collaborations. Access Grid users tend to use XMPP
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol is an open-standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML . The protocol was originally named Jabber, and was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999 for near-real-time, extensible instant messaging , presence...
as their text-based back-end. Indeed, the new version of the Access Grid Toolkit integrates an XMPP client with the Access Grid software.
The latest stable version of the software is release 3.2. There's also an installable bundle with some additional video codecs (such as HD) and additional tools.
Australia and New Zealand
The Access Grid has generated great interest and activity in Australia, where factors such as widely disparate geographic locations and relatively low population-densities have previously presented great obstacles to "in-person" collaborations.The International Centre of Excellence for Education in Mathematics (ICE-EM) have funded 10 Australian universities to construct nodes. The nodes allow the mathematics postgraduate community and professionals access to international experts who are visiting Australia. The nodes also provide a means of carrying out collaborative research with peers within Australia and internationally.
Australia's first Access Grid node was built at Sydney VisLab at the Australian Technology Park in August 2001.
By 2007 the Australian AG network has grown to more than 30 sites serviced by Asia Pacific Access Grid (APAG) venue servers at University of Sydney (AG2) and University of Queensland (AG3).
The University of Queensland began providing AG facilities in 2002, with increasing usage every year since then. In 2004, the UQ Vislab began providing the Access Grid installation packages for various Linux distributions, as well as FreeBSD, to the wider AG community, although intellectual property concerns have placed the future of the Linux-based technologies into doubt. It has also been active in developing various enhancements and add-ons including shared applications for remote sensor monitoring shared application, Remote Thermo
and shared GIS based on
GRASS.
By December 2006 each New Zealand university has an operational AG node, and use of the grid is increasing.
Current development work includes a
federated data management using Storage Resource Broker (SRB)
and high definition video communications.
United Kingdom
UK academic community support for Access Grid Toolkit, IOCOM and EVO technologies on JANET is provided by the JANET Videoconferencing Management Centre.The first Access Grid (AG) node was built at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
in 2001, with JISC-funded support from the Access Grid Support Centre (AGSC) in Manchester from April 2004 to July 2011. There are now over three hundred AG nodes registered in the UK, ranging from full room nodes to small individual desktop nodes.
There are a number of academic projects using AG technologies such as the Taught Course Centre
Taught Course Centre
The Taught Course Centre or TCC is a collaboration between the mathematics departments at five UK universities aimed at providing a broader range of lecture courses for postgraduate students.-Members:The five collaborating universities are:...
and MAGIC (postgraduate mathematics)
MAGIC (postgraduate mathematics)
The MAGIC group is a consortium of mathematics departments in the United Kingdom which runs a range of postgraduate-level lecture courses using Access Grid videoconferencing technology...
mathematics projects.
External links
- http://www.accessgrid.org/
- http://www.ja.net/agsc
- http://www.vislab.uq.edu.au/research/accessgrid/
- http://agschedule.ncsa.uiuc.edu/