The Advanced Resource Connector (ARC)
middleware integrates computing resources
(usually, computing clusters managed by a batch
system or standalone workstations),
making them available via a secure common Grid layer.
Conceptually, ARC provides an edge service to batch systems and
temporary file cahes. Through this service, called ARC Compute Element (ARC-CE),
users can submit computational tasks to a variety of batch systems
in a uniform manner, using a generic job description language. One of the key
features of ARC is that it handles input and output data movement on the
server side, thus optimising bandwith consumption and increassing overall efficiency
of computing resource consumption. ARC is complete with a client toolkit,
which relies on resource information in order to select a best matching facility.
Information about facilities is collected by dedicate probes an published via ARC-CE.
Only authorised users can submit tasks, and authorisation relies on X509 proxy
certificates and the concept of Virtual Organisations.
Complete documentation, including component descriptions, installation details, usage instructions, articles and presentations, can be found at the documentation page.
Until recently, ARC relied on largely proprietary technologies based on GridFTP for most communications, and LDAP for information publishing. Today, Web Service based interfaces are being actively promoted. For backwards compatibility with deployed services, both pre-WS and WS-technologies are available in ARC releases.
The ARC middleware by NorduGrid (in the past called NorduGrid middleware) is a software solution that uses Grid technologies to enable sharing and federation of computing resources distributed across different administrative and application domains. ARC is used to create Grid infrastructures of various scope and complexity, from campus to national Grids. It is distributed under the Apache v2.0 license.
In a nutshell, ARC is:
Pre-WS ARC provides a reliable implementation of the fundamental Grid services, such as information services, resource discovery and monitoring, job submission and management, brokering and data management and resource management, using customized and largely proprietary approaches. Most of these services are provided through the security layer of the GSI. The middleware builds upon standard Open Source solutions like the OpenLDAP, OpenSSL, SASL and Globus Toolkit® (GT) libraries. Pre-WS ARC provides solutions essential for creation of a distributed computing infrastructure: the A-REX, the information model and providers (both NorduGrid an GLUE2 schemas), User Interface and broker (a "personal" broker integrated into the comman-line interface), extended Resource Specification Language (xRSL), and the monitoring system.
Pre-WS ARC main components are:
ARC is designed to be a scalable, non-intrusive and portable solution. The development is user- and application-driven, with the main requirements being those of performance, stability, useability and portability. As a result of this approach, the standalone client is available for a dozen of platforms and can be installed in a few minutes. The server installation does not require a full site reconfiguration. The middleware can be built on any platform where the external software packages (like GT libraries) are available. While being deployed on a large production Grid and being used by real users, the middleware is naturally undergoing continous real life tests.
Last, but not least, ARC is designed with international users in mind: the client tools are available in several languages. The Grid Monitor is translated to more than 10 languages, and the User Interface is available not just in English, but also in Russian and Swedish. Volunteers to provide more translations are always welcomed!
.User support and site installation assistance is provided via EGI's GGUS request tracker. In addition, NorduGrid runs several mailing lists among which nordugrid-discuss is a general forum for all kind of issues related to the ARC middleware.
NorduGrid deploys the Bugzilla problem tracking system. Feature and enhancement requests, as well as discovered problems, should be reported there.
Research papers, overview talks, reference manuals, user guides, installation instructions, conference presenations, FAQ and even tutorial materials can be fetched from the documents section.