eIGeR: national grid infrastructure

The aim of this eIGeR activity is to procure the equipment for the NGI – computing cluster (including production disk volume and network connectivity) and related development and application software. The equipment will become fully integrated into the National Grid Infrastructure we have been building as a part of the complex e-infrastructure. The actual computing capacities are purchased only marginally as they are mostly added as computing capacities of other owners (e.g. large infrastructure, ESFRI, and VaVpI (Research and Development for Innovation Operation Programme) projects). Coordinated procurement of software, and in particular putting together the planned investments for application or development software, will allow for higher number of licenses or their floating versions.

The grid infrastructure in the Czech Republic has been for several years managed within the MetaCentrum activity. MetaCentrum operates and manages own and entrusted computing and storage resources of academic computing centers of the Czech Republic, and interconnects other resources that remain under operation of their owners. From 2009 the CESNET Association has been officially commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports for the coordination of NGI and representation of the Czech Republic in the bodies of the European grid infrastructure European Grid Initiative (EGI.eu).

The strategic goal of the CESNET Association in the area of grids is primarily the extension and coordination of national grid infrastructure in the Czech Republic by a suitable interconnection of existing and newly procured computing and storage resources of Czech academic community and ensuring smooth participation in the international environment, mainly EGI.

The purpose of the NGI is the provision of central grid service, coordination of individual subjects, development and then enforcement of a recommended standard solution and also ensuring integration into European infrastructures (e.g. EGI). The integrated national grid environment will offer the possibility of collaboration among professionals of different subjects and common use of some unique services. It will allow the connected organizations and research infrastructures and centers to connect to their foreign partners and mutually share the resources generating scientific data, tools for their sharing, processing, storing and presenting, and remote collaboration tools.

The grid infrastructure is constructed in close collaboration with other supercomputer and grid activities (e.g. IT4I and CERIT-SC).

The CESNET2 e-infrastructure services are provided to academic institutions and organizations involved in science, research, and development. The target user group includes, alongside existing academic and research and development organizations, mainly newly started VaVpI (Research and Development for Innovation Operation Programme) and ESFRI projects that represent the advanced scientific potential with extreme requirement for all components of complex e-infrastructure (data transmission, storage, and processing).

Last change: 21.6.2013