# Presentation: 551107

## UNICORE: Uniform Interface to Computing Resources

- Dietmar W. Erwin
- Forschungszentrum Jülich
- Zentralinstitut für Angewandte Mathematik (ZAM)

## Contents

- Goals of UNICORE
- Architecture overview
- The UNICORE Project
- Results of prototype phase I
- Next steps and summary

**Contents**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## Motivation

- Computing resources are available
**but ...... **
- not where the user is
- distributed teams
- distributed know-how
**and ....**

**Motivation**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## Motivation

- Different vendors
- Different software (OS, RMS)
- Different usage models
- Incompatible administration
- Incompatible data management

**Motivation**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## Motivation

- Users work with the computer
- they are familiar with
- the have resources
- New systems require
- additional learning
- additional conversions of jobs and data
- high administration overhead

**Motivation**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## Motivation

- Expensive resources are used sub-optimally
- Problems are solved inefficiently
- Solvable problems are not solved
**This holds for research and industry**

**Motivation**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## What is UNICORE?

**What is UNICORE?**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## Goals of UNICORE

- Production-ready for existing environments
- Based on existing/emerging technologies
- Access to distributed data
- Interdependent jobs on distributed systems

**Goals of UNICORE**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## Goals of UNICORE

- Intuitive GUI for batch submission
- Same look-and-feel independent of target system:  *hide the seams*
- Facilitate distribution of work to most suitable platform or site
- Provide full information about resources

**Goals of UNICORE**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## Goals of UNICORE

- Map abstract UNICORE specifications to site specific functions
- Map UNICORE ids (certificates) to local account names (Unix logins)
- Site retains full control over resources
- No changes to local RMS or accounting

**Goals of UNICORE**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## Goals of UNICORE

- Access via www
- Java and Java applets
- X.509 certificates
- Jigsaw server
- Codine from Genias

**Goals of UNICORE**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## Goals of UNICORE

- User specifies target system (s)
- UNICORE distributes jobs to sites
- UNICORE synchronizes execution
- UNICORE transfers required data between sites

**Goals of UNICORE**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## What is not in the UNICORE prototype?

- Computational steering
- Application specific interfaces
- Resource brokers
- Support for every platform

**What is not in the UNICORE prototype?**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## The UNICORE Architecture

- User Workstation - the desktop
- UNICORE Gateway - dedicated servers at each site
- Execution server(s) at each site

**The UNICORE Architecture**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## UNICORE Architektur

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## The UNICORE Architecture

- Access to UNICORE via Browser and https using X.509 certificates
- Executes Job Preparation Agent (JPA) and Job Monitor Controller (JMC) - signed applet
-  Creates Abstract Job Object (AJO)
- Communicates with Gateway

**The UNICORE Architecture**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## The UNICORE Architecture

- Runs Jigsaw  https server
- verifies certificates
- maps certificate to site specific login
- interfaces to site specific authentication
- manages resource pages
- communicates with NJS

**The UNICORE Architecture**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## The UNICORE Architecture

- Runs Network Job Supervisor (NJS)
- translates Java to Codine
- creates site specific batch jobs
- submits jobs to local batch systems (NQS, LL. ...)
- manages output
- manages files
- controls dependencies between jobs
- Communicates with NJS at other sites

**The UNICORE Architecture**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## The UNICORE Architecture

- Run local Batch system
- Local systems remain unchanged for UNICORE
*Sites will hopefully adopt best practices from UNICORE and see improvements from vendors*

**The UNICORE Architecture**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## The UNICORE Project

- Three phases with overlapping design and development
- Schedule:
- phase I	August 1998
- phase II	December  1998
- phase III 	July 1999

**The UNICORE Project**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## The UNICORE Project

- Architecture definition and technology demonstration
- Functions
- Job submission to one NJS
- Local data
- One Browser (Netscape)
- One compute platform (CRAY T3E)

**The UNICORE Project**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## The UNICORE Project

- Architecture enhancements
- Additional functions
- Job submission to one NJS
- Data management by UNICORE within one site
- Job control
- At least one more compute platform

**The UNICORE Project**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## The UNICORE Project

- Functions
- Job submission of dependent jobs on multiple sites
- Distributed data
- One more Browser (I.E.)
- Additional compute platforms

**The UNICORE Project**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## The UNICORE Project

**Software companies**:Genias  and Pallas - primary implementers
**Research centers and Universities**:FZ Jülich; RUS Stuttgart; DWD Offenbach; LRZ Munich; RZU Karlsruhe; PC2 Paderborn; ZIB Berlin

**The UNICORE Project**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## The UNICORE Project

**Industrial and scientific**:ECMWF and fecit, Great Britaindebis, Stuttgart and Inpro, Berlin
**Vendors**:IBM; NEC; SGI/Cray; SNI/Fujitsu

**The UNICORE Project**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## Results of Phase I

- GUI for JPA to create AJO
- Works with Netscape 4.05 + AWT 1.1.5
- https based on Jigsaw server from U of Graz
- Certificates generated by LRZ for UNICORE
- Resource pages implemented for T3E

**Results of Phase I**

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- October 1998

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## Next Steps (Phase II)

- GUI for Compile/Link/Execute
- Job Status and Control
- Incarnation for Fujitsu VPP
- Real user on Prototype I and II

**Next Steps (Phase II)**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## Next Steps (Phase III)

- Enhance job  control (GUI and functions)
- Support for IBM, NEC, others
- Other browsers
- Demonstrate prototype phase III

**Next Steps (Phase III)**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## Beyond the prototype

- Offering through vendors
- Add application specific support
- Add functions for metacomputing
- Enhance for additional security requirements
- ......   many more ideas exist

**Beyond the prototype**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998

## Summary

- Users want UNICORE now
- UNCORE has vendor support
- UNICORE is already viewed by BMBF as a basis for future work

**Summary**

- D. Erwin

- October 1998