Access Grid

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Access Grid

• The Future of Advanced Collaboration?

Michael Daw 18 May 2004 Cross Research Council
ICT Conference
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Content Summary

• What is Access Grid?
• Extent of Access Grid
• History of Access Grid
• SC Global
• Access Grid 2
• Future developments
• Current UK situation

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Typical Views of Access Grid
ETF Management Meeting
Seminar
Seminar
SC Global Workshop
Performance Art
e-Social Science
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What is Access Grid? (1)

• Large-scale display typically a whole wall
• Multiple video streams from each site
• Natural, full-duplex audio with echo cancellation
  
• An Advanced Collaboration Environment
• Uses IP multicast for video/audio
• Open Source software commodity equipment

Usually!
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What is Access Grid? (2)

• Virtual collaborative spaces Virtual Venues
• Places to share
• Video
• Audio
• Data
• Applications
• Virtual Organisations have their own Virtual
  Venues

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Number of Access Grid Nodes

• 2003 5 out of 7 continents 17 countries 39 US
  states

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Access Grid History

• November 1998 Access Grid born at Argonne
  National Lab
• First event Chautauqua 99
• August 2001 UK gets first AG node _at_ Manchester
• November 2001 SC Global 2001 (Denver)
• May 2003 AG2
• November 2003 SC Global 2003 (Phoenix)
• November 2004 SC Global 2004 (Pittsburgh)

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SC Global

• SC Global 2001 (Denver) Worlds First Truly
  Distributed Conference
• 6 out of 7 continents
• Up to around 50 sites simultaneously
• SC Global 2003 Phoenix
• 2004 Pittsburgh 2005 - Seattle

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AG2 Client
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Nice Ideas for Future Developments

• Improved video
• Improved audio
• Easier operation
• Easier sharing of data
• Automated failover for multicast
• Support of different bandwidth capabilities
• Better interoperation with H.323/H.320, VRVS

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Current UK Situation

• Oct 2002 publication of Multi-Site
  Videoconferencing for the UK e-Science
  Programmehttp//www.nesc.ac.uk/technical_papers/
  UKeS-2002-04.html
• Comparison between Access Grid, H.323/H.320,
  VRVS, Non-Studio Based Videoconferencing

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Access Grid Support Centre

• Based at Manchester
• Support for users, operators, procurement advice
• Quality Assurance tests
• Multicast-unicast bridge
• Virtual Venue Server
• IG Pix
• IG Recorder

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Reports for Specific Funding Recommendations

• Subjects
• Collaborative technologies RD effort
• Mbone tools
• Booking system for Access Grid and related
  research
• VRVS Access Grid interoperability
• H.323 Access Grid interoperability
• Improvements to local networking for
  videoconferencing
• To be submitted to JCSR for funding

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SVE _at_ Manchester Computing
Contact Details http//www.sve.man.ac.uk/General/
Staff/daw michael.daw_at_man.ac.uk