Current infrastructures for Volunteer Computing follow a centralized architecture for data distribution, creating a potential bottleneck when tasks require large input files or the central server has limited bandwidth. In this paper we propose two new data models for Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC): an approach based on the popular BitTorrent protocol; and a Content Delivery Network approach. While the latter remains on a theoretical level, we developed a prototype that adds BitTorrent functionality for task distribution and conducted medium-scale tests of the environment. Our preliminary results indicate that the BitTorrent client had a negligible influence on the BOINC client's computation time. The BOINC server showed an unexpectedly low bandwidth output when seeding the file, as well as spikes on CPU usage. This paper discusses the tests that were performed, how they were evaluated, as well as some improvements that could be made in future research on both approaches.

SUMMARYWe describe the background, architecture and implementation of a user portal for the SCOOP coastal ocean observing and modeling community. SCOOP is engaged in the real-time prediction of severe weather events, including tropical storms and hurricanes, and provides operational information including wind, storm surge and resulting inundation, which are important for emergency management. The SCOOP portal, built with the GridSphere Framework, currently integrates customized Grid portlet components for data access, job submission, resource management and notification.

SUMMARYIn this paper we discuss two of the major Grid portal solutions, the Open Grid Computing Environments Collaboratory (OGCE) and GridPortlets, both of which provide basic tools that portal developers can use to interact with Grid middleware when designing their own custom or application-specific Grid portals. We investigate and compare what each of these packages provides, discuss their advantages and disadvantages, and identify missing features vital for Grid portal development. The main purpose of this paper is to identify what current toolkits provide, reveal some of their limitations, and provide motivation for the evolution of Grid portal solutions. Application groups should find this paper useful in helping to choose an appropriate Grid portal toolkit for building their Grid portals rapidly in a flexible and modular way.

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We describe the Astrophysics Simulation Collaboratory (ASC) portal, a collaborative environment in which distributed projects can perform research. The ASC project seeks to provide a web-based problem solving framework for the astrophysics community to harness computational Grids. To facilitate collaboration amongst distributed researchers within a virtual organization, the ASC Portal supplies specialized tools for the management of large-scale numerical simulations and the resources on which they are performed. The ASC Virtual Organization uses the Cactus framework for studying numerical relativity and astrophysics phenomena. We describe the architecture of the ASC Portal and present its components with emphasis on elements related to the Cactus framework.