Grid computing is known as the "third wave of information technology" after the Internet and the Web. It is expected to provide the next generation of distributed applications and services and have a profound impact on research and the development of information systems. Major IT vendors have long been competing to gain control of grid computing.
Sun recently released the beta version of "Grid Engine" Enterprise Edition 5.3, which makes it easier to connect computer grids within the enterprise and provide better management and resource allocation. The Grid Engine software provides an open source version. Since its release in 2000, it has been downloaded 12,000 times and 118,000 CPUs have been managed using the software. Peter Jeffcock, technical product marketing manager of Sun, believes that grid computing has three distinct stages: cluster grid, campus grid and global grid. The release of GridEngine Enterprise Edition 5.3 makes Sun take a step towards a functional campus grid. Sun also works with competitors to support industry organizations such as AVAKI and Globus, and actively participates in the establishment of open standards for grid computing.
Microsoft's research department has also participated in various distributed computing research projects, including Farsite, a fault-tolerant remote file system, and Millenium, which builds distributed systems; HP also said it will provide Coolbase software to enable users to Share a variety of computing devices; Compaq announced that it is developing a global grid computing solutions plan to provide software, hardware and technical support to customers seeking grid computing systems. To this end, Compaq has formed an alliance with Canada's Platform Computing to make full use of this technology, as well as the Compaq Tru64 Unix Alpha server system and the Compaq ProLiant server running Linux, to provide users with complete, integrated, and open grid solutions. Compaq also established the Grid Computing Advanced Research Center to continue research on the technology. Japanese companies are also eager to try grid computing. NTT announced that it would launch a six-month grid computing trial in mid-2002, with participants including Intel, SGI, etc.
In August 2001, IBM announced that it would invest US$4 billion in the field of grid computing and build 40 data centers around the world, officially entering the field of grid computing. IBM was selected by the British government to take charge of the National Grid project, a $25 million grid that will connect computers at eight universities. IBM is working with the University of Pennsylvania in the United States to connect several hospitals to build a complex computing grid. Participating hospitals can quickly utilize medical data from remote locations and share analysis procedures. Recently, IBM also announced a project called the North Carolina Bioinformatics Grid, involving 60 enterprises, universities and biomedical research companies. This is the world's first grid project mainly participated by the private industry. This was only three months after IBM entered the field of grid computing. It seems that IBM is determined to be the "leader" in grid technology.
So, does the implementation of this project mark that grid computing has begun to enter commercial applications?