FAQ
EGEE User's questions
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What is the process transfer policy and how do you transfer a process from one node to another node?
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Please read the EGEE Users Guide to the gLite Workload Management System and the Logging and Bookkeeping Service at https://edms.cern.ch/file/572489/1/WMS-guide.pdf.
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What sort of training will EGEE offer users?
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The NA3 activity is in charge of delivering a comprehensive training programme for EGEE users and resource providers alike. The aim is to make the training programme sustainable by offering a "train the trainers" programme and comprehensive online learning. There are three types of training offered:
- Application developers – to help enrich the functionalities provided on the EGEE infrastructure;
- Users and developers – to show the potential of grid architectures to solve appropriate problems;
- Site administrators - to allow them to install EGEE middleware and connect to the e-Infrastructure;
A list of upcoming training events can be found here .
A library of online training materials can be found in the Training section.
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How can users keep up to date about the development of EGEE?
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A Dissemination and Outreach Activity (known as NA2) within the project maintains a one-stop-shop for all project information, including the EGEE website, newsletters, brochures, posters, videos and news feeds. EGEE publications are available to download from the Press Room.
To subscribe to the EGEE news mailing list and receive the EGEE newsletters and news announcements, please contact project-eu-egee-dissemination(at)cern.ch. (To unsubscribe please contact the same address).
EGEE hosts two major events per year, the EGEE annual conference and the EGEE User Forum. For more information about our events (past and future), please visit the Events section.
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What are the benefits of contributing resources to EGEE?
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For resource providers, there are several advantages to joining EGEE:
- Large scale operations – EGEE has created and coordinated a large scale operational computing grid. This leads to significant cost savings and at the same time an improved level of service provided for each participating resource partner.
- Specialist competence – By distributing service tasks among the partners EGEE makes use of the leading specialists in Europe to build and support the infrastructure.
- User contacts – The EGEE distributed support model allows for regional adaptation and close contacts with regional user communities.
- Collaborations among resource partners – partners within EGEE may form collaborations and launch development and support actions not included in the present proposal. This leads to cost sharing of R&D efforts among partners.
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How do I create a new Virtual Organization (VO)?
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A Virtual Organisation (VO) is a group of grid users with similar interests and requirements who are able to work collaboratively with other members of the group and/or share resources (data, software, expertise, CPU, storage space, etc.) regardless of geographical location. A list of all registered VOs is available from the CIC Portal. You will need to be a member of a VO before you are allowed to submit jobs to the grid. Exceptionally, if an existing VO is not appropriate a new VO can be created.
To start a new Virtual Organisation (VO), you as the VO manager must fill in the VO Registration Form. You must have a grid certificate to access and submit this form. The approval process takes a minimum of three business days. After that the minimum VO services must be deployed; EGEE can help deploy the core services. For advice on creating a new VO, please contact the VO Support Team.
To provide resources, please see the EGEE Operations Group's information for resource centers. Note that each virtual organisation is expected to integrate computational resources into the EGEE infrastructure generally equivalent to its average consumption, although this can be relaxed in exceptional circumstancesFor more information, contact Application identification and Support.
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How do I incorporate my resources into the grid?
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The procedure for how a Resource Centre joins the EGEE infrastructure is outlined in this PDF document (228 Ko).
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How do I negotiate for more resources?
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Storage and compute resources located at a Resource Centre are not only needed by a VO when they start up, but throughout their lifetime. The same procedure can be used by VO’s to negotiate for additional resources from willing RCs for long-term use, or to provide short-term access to support dedicated campaigns for specific applications.
Operationally, the policy for ‘matchmaking’ between VOs and RCs is defined by the Resource Allocation Group which:- Maintains policies relating to VO registration;
- Organises, allocates and manages the central seed-resources;
- Provides a scalable model that can match small and large VO’s to resources (seed, permanent, campaign) and facilities for their core infrastructure services;
- Monitors and reports on the allocation process and usage of all central and regional seed resources.
During this process EGEE takes no view on the scientific merits of the VO - its activity and applications – as it is up to the RC to agree to the use of its resources by the VO. If the members of the VO wish to integrate their own resources into EGEE (and enable their VO on these resources) the relationship between the VO and the RC is direct. It is up to the RC and the VO to decide if these resources should join those generally available within EGEE for any member of the VO, or to be restricted to only specific members of the VO.
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How do I port my application to the grid?
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The EGEE Application Porting Support group provides assistance for new and experienced grid users who wish to port applications to the EGEE grid. Members of the team work closely with application owners to understand their requirements and to identify suitable approaches and tools for the porting process. Intensive workshops and personalized training events organized by the team ensure that new applications benefit from the EGEE Grid as soon as possible. Please visit the Grid Application Support Centre to learn more about the application porting group and to apply for assistance.
Success stories on applications that were ported to the EGEE infrastructure with the help of the porting group are available here. Members of the porting group are currently support these applications.
The GILDA test bed, a virtual laboratory for demonstrating the capabilities of grid computing, is also available here. -
How do I incorporate a new service in the grid?
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The RESPECT program (Recommended External Software for EGEE CommuniTies) aims to publicize grid software and services that work well in concert with the EGEE gLite software and thereby :
- Expand the functionality of the grid infrastructure for users,
- Reduce duplicated development when porting applications, and
- Speed the porting of new application to the grid.
Anyone may propose new packages via the defined procedure.
For more information about services such as GridWay Metaschedular, P-GRADE Portal and Ganga, please go here.
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How do I make my application available via a portal?
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The first step is to talk with the GENIUS developers. There are also some other portals deployed in biomedical community.
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How can I let the developers know about my requirements and my applications?
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The EGEE Regional Support Applications Registry site is maintained by members of the NA4 user community support and expansion activity. The contents of the registry are collected and updated by the regional support teams participating in NA4. This registry is the central point for gathering and providing information about the scientific applications deployed in EGEE, exploiting the project's international grid infrastructure. By developing an awareness of the size and strength of local user communities and by identifying the disciplines driving forward innovation, NA4 is able to understand the regional requirements, identify new potential user communities and expand the exploitation of the infrastructure. If you are interested in adding your application to the Regional Applications Database, please contact the team responsible for your region. You can find the necessary contact information here.
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Who do I contact if my jobs fail?
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To use the grid effectively, users must have quick responses to questions and high-quality documentation. EGEE provides a team that specialises in responding to application-related problems through the GGUS ticketing system. This team also catalogs and reviews existing documentation as well as writes new documentation as necessary.
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Where can I see the state of the grid?
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Monitoring systems are available here:
The GridPP monitoring page is a graphical representation of the EGEE Grid Infrastructure created by Imperial College in London.
N.B. You will need Java installed to view the Real Time Monitor.For an overview of the grid, the Grid Observatory collects, publishes, and analyzes, data on the behaviour of the EGEE grid. The ultimate goal of The Grid Observatory is to integrate data collection, data analysis, and the development of models and of an ontology for the domain knowledge.