Stephen Booth [e-mail]

1
GridSafe Overview

• Stephen Booth s.booth_at_ed.ac.uk

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Grid-SAFE

• JISC funded project to build general purpose
  accounting/monitoring solution.
• http//gridsafe.forge.nesc.ac.uk/
• Builds on accounting subsystem from SAFE user
  administration system used by UK national
  facilities HPCx/HECToR

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Challenges

• Need to work with different HPC technologies
• Different batch systems
• Different middleware
• Need to work with wide variety of different local
  policies.
• Need to work with both grids and local HPC
  resources.
• One solution wont fit all potential users
• Build kit of parts
• Pre-built solutions for common deployment
  scenarios.
• Key aims
• Modular design, individual functions can be
  deployed independently
• Behaviour can be customised using plug-ins to
  implement different service policies.

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Overview
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Data Formats

• System can consume accounting data in a variety
  of formats.
• Each format has a plug-in parser module
• New formats can be supported by writing
  additional parser plug-ins.
• Data is stored in an SQL database.
• Additional policy plug-ins can augment the parser
  to customise behaviour.

Raw Data
DB
Policy
Policy
Policy
Parser
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Parser

• System can support multiple input formats at the
  same time.
• Current supported parsers
• OGF-UR XML
• SGE accounting logfile
• PBS accounting logfile
• EGEE JobManager logfile
• Etc.
• New parsers easy to generate

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OGF-UR support

• OGF-UR XML is supported as an interchange format
• Parser plug-in to parse OGF-UR
• Export module to format internal data as OGF-UR
• Grids may only want to use only this Format for
  central accounting.
• Local instances could use raw data and generate
  UR for central processing.
• Various grid communities seem to interpret OGF-UR
  differently and/or make additional requirements
  beyond that in the schema
• Required fields
• Different charging models
• Different global username models
• OGF-UR spec allows extensions.
• Specification will also evolve over time.
• Parser/exporter highly configurable to support
  variations/extensions.

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Use in the grid
Grid accounting
XML
XML
Site accounting
Independent UR Generator
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Report generation module

• Reports can be generated on demand from web
  interface
• Grid-safe uses XML templates to define reports
• Can generate unified reports over multiple data
  tables containing different types of data
• Tables/charts
• Parameterised reports (e.g. to select user or
  project).
• Support reports in multiple output formats
• PDF HTML CSV XML

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Report generation speed

• Performance of report generation a particular
  issue
• Number of database records key to this.
• Need to utilise database effectively. Not
  acceptable to read all records into memory.
• 1,000,000 record database table not a problem.
• Current National HPC systems within this range.
• Throughput clusters often have significantly
  larger record counts due to large numbers of
  small short jobs.
• Old data can be moved to separate tables.
• Support for Daily aggregates via policy plug-in
• Builds secondary accounting table combining
  similar records.
• For ECDF 51 million records -gt 35 thousand
  aggregates

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Policy plug-ins

• Allow behaviour to be customised to local
  requirements
• Generate new properties
• E.G. Charge values
• Trigger additional processing
• Decrement charging allocations
• Generate aggregate records
• Etc.
• New policies can be written for specific
  requirements

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Aggregation Policy

• Generates Aggregated records
• Each time a new record is loaded
• Corresponding aggregate is located/created
• Aggregate values updated
• The raw data is also kept and can be used in
  reports if required.
• Aggregate data can be regenerated if required.

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ClassificationPolicy

• Converts selected fields from raw accounting data
  into references to separate database table.
• Reduces data footprint.
• Augmenting information can be added to these
  tables.
• Example

User
Institution
URRecord
UnixGroup
Site
DailyAggregate
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DerivedPolicy

• Defines new properties as expressions over
  existing properties
• E.g. (EndTime-StartTime)CPUs
• These expressions can then be used in reports.

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LinkPolicy

• Merge data from different sources
• E.g. Batch system logs and middleware logs.
• Each data source is parsed to its own table.
• Primary table parsed first.
• LinkPolicy added to secondary data source.
• Locates corresponding primary record,
• Adds cross reference or copies additional
  properties to primary

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Web Services

• RUPI
• Current proposal from OGF RUS-WG
• Web service for the upload of XML usage record.
• Grid-SAFE has an implementation of the current
  upload service (RUPI).
• RUQI
• Currently working on a proposal for a Query
  specification
• Aims
• Easy to implement in different code bases.
• Provide sufficient functionality for efficient
  report generation.
• Long term aim to provide reporting portal that
  can query any system that implements this
  interface.