OCI: Collaborative Research: Community Driven Improvement of Globus Software

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This collaborative proposal describes development work on the software system known as the Globus Toolkit spanning a 5-year period. This development work, labeled as "Community Driven Improvement of Globus Software", or CDIGS, promises generally to respond to the needs of the scientific user community in adding enhanced functionality and performance to an existing and well-used software base exceeding 2.5 million lines of code. The proposal guides the reader first through a primer on the Globus user community and the Globus technology and components. The detailed project plan focuses on the first 24 months and cites specific work in the areas of security, data management, execution management, information services, and common runtime. Their methodology on software engineering practices describes how they plan to develop, integrate, and make available new capabilities across major GT code releases. The proposal also describes in several sections their approach to user engagement and community support, leveraging multiple channels of engagement ranging from meetings and community events to IRC and email list forums. One section covers the project team and management plan, where the roles of well known and veteran GT developers and designers are defined. The project team consists of about 14 FTE covering full-time software engineering, coordination, management, and documentation. The management plan includes the creation of a Technology board that oversees software engineering activities, an External Advisory board comprised of industry/academic/federal experts and stakeholders, and a Globus Alliance board charged with defining technical direction and providing a direct tie with the Globus Alliance organization. The proposal included 102 letters of support, including letters from most of the significant grid-related projects worldwide.Intellectual Merit: Despite the term "research" appearing in the title, the proposal is clear about being a development project. The proposal claims that new knowledge will be gained, spanning areas of software engineering, in the pursuit of delivering Globus technology to the scientific users in grid environments. Broader Impact: The proposal identifies throughout the dependence on GT by a slew of major CI initiatives. Continued support and new development of Globus will thus support and further enable these existing distributed environments, as well as smooth the way for new grid environments to form in the support of distributed science, engineering, and education. The proposal makes a direct case for CDIGS supporting production science.