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IDGF-SPInternational Desktop Grid Federation - Support Project

OverviewLondon, UK, 26/9/2012

Robert Lovas, MTA SZTAKI - Project coordinator

IDGF-SP is to be supported by the FP7 Capacities Programme under contract nr RI-312297 .

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Potential of volunteer computing*

§ The number of privately owned PCs is currently 1 billion and is projected to grow to 2 billion by 2015

§ This resource pool is self-financing, self-updating and self-maintaining – people buy new PCs, upgrade system software,

maintain their computers, and pay their electric bills§ Consumer PCs are state-of-the-art general purpose

computers with 100 million GPUs (tens of thousands GPUs are already being used for volunteer computing)

*More details in ‘Volunteer Computing – The ultimate cloud’ (Crossroads, Spring 2010) from David P. Anderson.

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Involve and engage in long-term significantly more citizens and new communities in the § volunteer and § private (campus-wide or enterprise)

Distributed Computing Infrastructures by supporting the (1) rapid creation, (2) efficient operation, and (3) dynamic expansion of this type of DCIs for e-Science. Coordinate and synchronise the dissemination and support activities of major European stakeholders of volunteer and Desktop Grids with focus on the International Desktop Grid Federation.

IDGF-SPInternational Desktop Grid Federation - Support Project

Supported by: EC in the FP7Project acronym:

IDGF-SPContract n°: RI-312297Project type: CSA-SA

Start date: 01/10/2012Duration: 24 monthsFunding from the EC:

860.000 €Total funded effort

in person-month: 136Web site: http://idgf-sp.eu

Coordinator:Dr. Robert Lovas

email: rlovas@sztaki.hu

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Background

EDGeS (2008-2010), DEGISCO (2010-2012), and EDGI (2010-2012) projects paved the way for a strong lively community: International Desktop Grid Federation. There are many active Volunteer Computing projects and initiatives including e.g. Climateprediction.net and Citizens Cyberscience Centre, etc., and some related projects with scope on education such as GLOBAL excursion (secondary schools).But --- Still not enough focus on volunteers and support to get more of them involved.

Volunteers around the world in BOINC communities are mainly ‘techies’, not enough regular citizens.Need to pull Desktop and volunteer Grids inside regular ICT departments of more scientific organisations.

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Background: Ecosystem

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Objectives I.1. Significantly increase the number of citizens, companies and other

organisation that donate computing time to science through desktop Grids.

2. Strengthen the collaboration of Desktop Grid operators and other DCI operators with a regard to producing material, portals and procedures to get/keep citizens involved. Exchanging experience, reusing each other’s successes, and set up coordinated European or worldwide campaigns to inform and attract citizen volunteers.

3. Maintain the support infrastructure established and/or operated by IDGF• Portal and collaboration environment • Certification services• Certified services directory (including certified - validated -

application repository)• Infrastructure related support tools (helpdesks, monitors) and

methods (competency matrix, expert groups)• Key infrastructure elements; application repositories, bridges

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Objectives II.

4. Promote Desktop Grids usage inside scientific organisations with special focus on university Desktop Grids. Goal is to increase the usage, knowledge and acceptance of Desktop Grid technology in universities and research institutes.

5. Track technology changes/evolution and adopt them in the technical support and dissemination mechanisms as well:

• green aspects,• clouds for QoS in Desktop Grids, etc.

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Overall WP structure

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Partners MTA SZTAKI: Experience with Desktop and Service

Grids & coordination of European projects. Useful related new projects: SCI-BUS, where 27 Grid user communities to be supported for 3 years.

AlmereGrid: First City desktop grid in the world. Good connection to local media channels. Dissemination expertise in several European projects. Green Desktop Grid expertise

International Desktop Grid Federation: the organisation supported by IDGF-SP. Involvement of IDGF in IDGF-SP assures good collaboration and swift take-up of the project results

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Partners University of Westminster: Experience with porting

and supporting applications for Desktop Grids and integrated systems. Desktop grid operations at campus level.

University of Leiden: Expertise in operating a large Desktop Grid. Experience with addressing kids with volunteer computing

Charity Engine: Brings a special way of involving citizens into the project

Sony Computer Science Laboratory Paris: was involved in green studies on volunteer computing. Expertise in how to address mass markets.

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Some of the involved initiatives

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Globe adapted from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Globe.svg

IDGF-SPInternational Desktop Grid Federation - Support Project

http://idgf-sp.euhttp://desktopgridfederation.eu