Applying the reflective middleware approach in Grid computing
Geoff Coulson, Gordon S. Blair, Nikos Parlavantzas, Wai Kit Yeung, Wei Ling Cai · Concurrency and Computation Practice and Experience · 2004
Abstract Significant progress has been made in the design and development of object‐based distributed systems and, more recently, in component‐based reflective middleware platforms—i.e. middleware platforms that, through reflection, can be flexibly configured, and runtime adapted/reconfigured—especially in terms of non‐functional properties like quality of service (QoS). In this paper we consider how ideas and principles from such platforms can usefully be applied in a Grid context, specifically, an Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) context. To this end, we identify weaknesses in OGSA in the areas of generic service provision, scalability/performance engineering, and, especially, lack of support for QoS specification and realization, and suggest how these can be alleviated. We believe that such areas will become increasingly important as sophisticated e‐Science applications start to exploit the potential of OGSA's service‐based architecture. We also report on our current research on developing a binding‐type framework, a resource management framework, and a set of performance optimizations for an ongoing OGSA implementation we are working on. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.