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A High-Speed Data Access Component for a National Virtual Observatory Data Grid Node
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| We propose to augment the Science Archive of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and employ it as a testbed for the development of a high-speed data access layer for a National Virtual Observatory data grid node. Our goal is to produce a scalable, distributed archive framework that uses standardized software toolkits and interfaces so as to provide a prototype for grid-compatible astronomical archives. We aim to achieve this by developing a MPI-based parallel, distributed system that features loosely-coupled clusters of compute and data nodes. The current design of the SDSS Science Archive already features a high degree of parallelism and scalability. However, it uses a proprietary, non-portable communication protocol and data access primitives that are specific to the object-oriented DBMS that serves as its data repository. The proposed re-engineering aims to use MPI to provide high-speed communications and portability in order to obtain a data access layer that is optimized for parallel communication, independent of the underlying DBMS architecture, and conforms to the NVO standards and protocols.
The virtual data grid that is expected to be the backbone of the NVO data services infrastructure will require individual archives to be structured in a data-parallel paradigm and be able to respond to requests for data and metadata in a fast, efficient, and standardized fashion. The successful deployment of the proposed component will also provide the high-speed data access required for the fast cross-identification and matching algorithms using co-operative agent technology that we are currently in the process of developing as part of an AISRP 2000 funded project.
This proposal relates to the fabric layer of the proposed NVO architecture, and requests funding for two years for partial salary support and travel support for the PI, travel support for one Co-I, and full support for one post-doc at JHU reporting to the PI. The project plan also includes collaboration with the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh (ROE) and the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC) for MPI expertise. Additional travel support required for this collaboration is included in the budget. |
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