A portable grid infrastructure for resource-aware applications

Abstract

Modern, resource-intensive enterprise and scientific applications are increasingly architected using parallel and distributed components deployed on grid platforms. Grid environments are typically heterogeneous and subject to large load variations. Such characteristics require a portable programming infrastructure and comprehensive support for resource management as well as dynamic adaptation to varying resource availability. Resource-aware applications pro-actively monitor and dynamically adapt their behavior to accommodate to changing resource consumption constraints. Strategies such as internal load-balancing and job re-submission can correct sub-optimal scheduling decisions and thus enhance performance. As utilizing the potential of resource awareness requires close interaction with resource management subsystems, implementations often rely on low-level, platform-specific features, which impair portability. What is needed is uncompromised portability of all aspects of resource management in grid systems. We demonstrate that the Java platform, equipped with the APIs for distributed resource management, can be used for building a portable grid infrastructure. In particular, we describe the design and implementation of a cluster management system capable of controlled execution of parallel, resource-aware Java applications. We empirically show that our solution allows for efficient, fine-grained resource management, sufficient for tapping the performance benefits promised by the resource-conscious applications.