While I was cleaning up the other day, I noticed a magazine sticking out of the middle (sadly, closer to the top) of my still-to-be-read list. The cover story of Physics Today (Feb. 2002) is "The Power of Grid Computing". It is a pretty good review article on the subject. If anyone is interested, the URL is http://www.aip.org/pt/vol-55/iss-2/p42.html
The major point seems to be that the grid is simply just a way to share distributed resources. However, utilizing these resources needs an infrastructure in place. It "requires uniform mechanisms for such critical tasks as creating and managing services on remote computers, supporting single sign-on to distributed resources, transferring large datasets at high speeds, forming large distributed virtual communities, and maintaining information about the existence, state, and usage policies of community resources...Providing the infrastructure and tools that make large-scale, secure resource sharing possible and straight-forward is the Grid's raison d'etre." In addition, this means that computing resources can be parcelled out like a utility. If you need extra CPU, buy it and use it from your utility when you need it. You don't need to own the hardware for your peak load. It also becomes easier to share data and applications between colleagues at different locations. I can see how databases are part of this picture, but I am not sure how Oracle will try and place itself at the center of this trend (unless they mangle the concept of Grid in the process). Henry -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net -- Author: Henry Poras INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
