Deliverable template

1Introduction

1.1Purpose and structure of the document

Integration of new user communities is part of EGEE vision. The purpose of the document is to present the strategy adopted by the EGEE project to host scientific applications coming from multiple disciplines under the concept of virtuous cycle. The document describes the tools and structures set-up by EGEE application identification and support activity to implement its part of the virtuous cycle.

The document is organized as follows:

• 
  Chapter 2 gives an executive summary of this document.
  
• 
  Chapter 3 describes the virtuous cycle concept introduced in the Technical Annex to describe the different steps involved in the integration of new user communities.
  
• 
  Chapter 4 and chapter 5 focus on NA4 contribution to the virtuous cycle. Chapter 4 describes how NA4 aims to identify new application areas and chapter 5 how they are integrated into the project.
  
• 
  Chapter 6 provides a brief description of the applications already identified and deployed on the infrastructure. It also shows other emerging dimensions of EGEE impact on research communities.
  

1.2Application area

The document is particularly aimed at project members to clarify the project strategy to integrate new user communities. It is also relevant to any person or group looking for information on EGEE policy with respect to new applications and disciplines. It should also be of interest to other European projects interested in deployment of applications on the EGEE infrastructure

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1.3References

1. 
   EGEE Technical Annex https://edms.cern.ch/document/477239/4
   
2. 
   NA4 Deliverable DNA4.1, “Definition of common application interface and planning document” https://edms.cern.ch/document/475319
   
3. 
   NA4 quality plan https://edms.cern.ch/document/475550
   
4. 
   myGrid project http://www.mygrid.uk.org
   
5. 
   BIRN project http://www.nbirn.net
   
6. 
   Project glossary http://egee-jra2.web.cern.ch/EGEE-JRA2/Glossary/Glossary.html
   
7. 
   GridLab Project home page: http://www.gridlab.org.
   

1.4Document amendment procedure

This document is under the responsibility of CERN, CNRS and INFN. Amendments, comments and suggestions should be sent to Vincent Breton (email:[e-mail]).

1.5Terminology

The full EGEE Glossary [6] can be found at the following url: http://egee-jra2.web.cern.ch/EGEE-JRA2/Glossary/Glossary.html. In this section we only redefine the terms, acronyms, and abbreviations used frequently in the present document.

Glossary

ARDA	A Realisation of Distributed Analysis for LHC (CERN LCG project)
CDSS	Clinical Decision Support System (biomedical application)
CIC	Core Infrastructure Centre
EGAAP	EGEE Generic Application Advisory Panel
GATE	GEANT4 Application for Tomographic Emission (biomedical application)
GPS@	Grid Protein Sequence Analysis (biomedical application)
gPTM3D	DICOM data analysis tool (grille – Poste de Traitement Médical 3D, biomedical application)
INFN	Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
I3	Integrated Infrastructure Initiative
LHC	Large Hadron Collider
PMB	Project Management Board
ROC	Regional Operating Centre
SiMRI3D	3D Magnetic Resonance Image Simulator (biomedical application)
VO	Virtual Organisation
xmipp_MLrefine	Macromolecular 3D structure analysis (biomedical application)
CERN	Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire
GILDA	Grid INFN Laboratory for Dissemination Activities
GENIUS	Grid Enabled web eNvironment for Independent User job Submission

1.6Acknowledgements

NA4 happily acknowledges very meaningful contributions from Malcolm Atkinson and Ian Bird to chapter 3.

2Executive summary

The EGEE vision is to provide distributed European research communities with an infrastructure surpassing the capabilities of local clusters and individual supercomputing centres, providing a unique tool for collaborative computer and data intensive e-Science. In the EGEE Technical Annex (Description of Work), the concept of a cycle is proposed to describe the strategy to integrate new user communities on the infrastructure. This so-called “virtuous cycle” describes the contribution of the different project activities to this integration, namely:

• 
  middleware activities implement a new set of grid and network services that are deployed on the infrastructure by service activities;
  
• 
  networking activities use the new grid services for test cases and pilot applications and train established users communities;
  
• 
  dissemination uses the results obtained by the established user community to attract new scientific communities;
  
• 
  new scientific communities get integrated into the project networking activities;
  
• 
  new scientific communities involved in networking activities bring new requirements which are transmitted to the project middleware activities to implement new grid services;
  

NA4 contribution to this integration is critical to identify new communities, to integrate them on the EGEE infrastructure and to deploy pilot applications providing feedback to the other project activities. Integration of new communities involves the following tasks, which are under NA4 responsability:

• 
  allocate a significant and well trained workforce to each newly selected community to support development and production use of its applications on the EGEE infrastructure;
  
• 
  develop and disseminate appropriate information, proactively addressing the needs of new user communities;
  
• 
  identify computing resources for new application deployment;
  
• 
  monitor the integration process and optimize cross-application fertilization to define common application interfaces and tools;
  
• 
  assimilate and evaluate records of the work and provide information to the dissemination, middleware and management activities.
  

To carry out these tasks, the following tools and groups were set up:

• 
  to identify and select new communities, the EGEE Generic Applications Advisory Panel (EGAAP) was set up to advise NA4 about application candidates. EGAAP makes recommendations to NA4 management for allocation of the NA4 resources to the applications which need them and to the EGEE Project Execution Board where the technical consequences of this new deployment are evaluated;
  
• 
  the dedicated GILDA test bed was set up by INFN to allow a first hand experience for new grid users as well as provide a platform for training and dissemination;
  
• 
  a joint NA4/SA1 working group was set up to advice the EGEE management on new VO acceptance and deployment as well as on other matters such as policy issues, security, confidentiality and access. For each new application this group discusses the best mapping to VOs, and the practical issues of getting new resources into EGEE;
  
• 
  through the Project Technical Forum, application requirements are collected, ranked and discussed with middleware developers (JRA1, JRA3).
  

This document provides a list of applications deployed on the infrastructure at Project Month 6. It also highlights how EGEE can collaborate with existing application-focussed grid projects beyond application deployment. Contacts and collaborations have already started with the following partners:

- projects expressing interest to use EGEE middleware to deploy their own infrastructure

- projects wishing to deploy on EGEE the high level services or the platforms they are or have been developing

- research grid infrastructures for joint deployment of applications and/or exchange of technology.