TY - JOUR T1 - Necessity is the mother of invention: a simple grid computing system using commodity tools JF - J Parallel Distr ComJ Parallel Distr Com Y1 - 2003 A1 - Myers, D. S. A1 - Michael P. Cummings KW - Apache KW - computing KW - distributed KW - Grid KW - HTTP KW - java KW - Linux KW - Perl KW - SQL KW - Unix KW - XML-RPC AB - Access to sufficient resources is a barrier to scientific progress for many researchers facing large computational problems. Gaining access to large-scale resources (i.e., university-wide or federally supported computer centers) can be difficult, given their limited availability, particular architectures, and request/review/approval cycles. Simultaneously, researchers often find themselves with access to workstations and older clusters overlooked by their owners in favor of newer hardware. Software to tie these resources into a coherent Grid, however, has been problematic. Here, we describe our experiences building a Grid computing system to conduct a large-scale simulation study using "borrowed" computing resources distributed over a wide area. Using standard software components, we have produced a Grid computing system capable of coupling several hundred processors spanning multiple continents and administrative domains. We believe that this system fills an important niche between a closely coupled local system and a heavyweight, highly customized wide area system. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved. VL - 63 ER -