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Project: Storage Resource Broker (SRB)
Description: SRB is a client-server middleware that provides a uniform interface for connecting to heterogeneous data resources over a network and accessing replicated data sets. SRB, in conjunction with the Metadata Catalog (MCAT), provides a way to access data sets and resources based on their attributes rather than their names or physical locations. As the name implies the Storage Resource Broker, brokers storage resources (sorry, couldn't resist). It provides access, via a uniform API, to various types of data storage across local and wide-area networks, and maintains meta-data (data about the data) about each stored object (files). SRB, in conjunction with MCAT, provides a means for accessing data sets and resources through querying their attributes instead of knowing their physical names and/or locations. SRB provides the abstraction mechanisms needed to implement data grids, digital libraries, and persistent archives for data sharing, data publication, and data preservation. Many people, using only a subset of the features, find that using the SRB as global file system is its most compelling function. Users of multiple distributed computing systems find it to be an essential tool to easily and quickly access files from various locations. With the SRB's parallel I/O capabilities, the SRB will transfer files at least as quickly as any other mechanism, and usually faster.
Participants: San Diego Supercomputer Center
Sponsors: National Science Foundation
Countries Involved: US
Tools: GT2, GridFTP. SRB supports the Globus Grid Security Infrastructure (GSI). Its developers are working on a Web Service Definition Language (WSDL) interface to SRB, targeted for 2.1 release. An OGSA-compliant SRB is planned.
Contact: srb@sdsc.edu
