Get on the supercomputer starting grid

Computing power that can be turned on or off like the National Grid electricity supply, coping with demand surges and down-times, is no pipe dream. But resellers will have to add value for clients if they are to enjoy the benefits. Paul Bray reports

Nobody expects to flip the light switch or turn on the tap to be greeted with a faint flicker or a dirty dribble. We assume that electricity, water, gas and phone calls will be instantly available, brought to us by some unfathomable apparatus and paid for at the point of use.

Now the same is happening to computing power. Grid computing promises to create vast supercomputers which will run applications in the most efficient way for the user. The grid decides on the best place or places to run an application, parcels it up into bite-sized chunks, farms this out to hardware with spare capacity, gathers the results and passes them back to the user.

A bank’s credit-risk analysis could be parceled up and processed by an array of blade servers in Stevenage, some lightly-used graphics work-stations in Swansea and the odd corner of a mainframe in Stirling, with the data stored... Well, why should the bank care where it’s stored, if the results come back twice as fast as from its conventional system and the transaction costs half as much?

“The key test is that the complexity should be hidden,” said Alan Hartwell, vice-president of marketing at Oracle, a leading light in grid software development.

The hardware could be a dedicated system which, if new, is likely to be composed of cheap, multiple microprocessors such as blade servers running Linux. Alternatively, it could be a mixture of existing mainframes, Unix servers and PC LANs, perhaps dedicated to particular systems but offering any spare capacity to the grid. For example, it could utilise a web server which sits idle at night and could help with overnight processing.

By tracking and utilising this spare capacity dynamically, the grid can achieve far more efficient use of processing and storage resources.

“Compared to the old world of mainframes and mid-range Unix servers, where system utilisation would run at 80 per cent, dedicating applications to single servers typically generates utilisation levels of only 15-20 per cent,” said Garry Owen, head of enterprise computing at Fujitsu Siemens, a member of the European Grid Alliance.

“This means users are wasting money on system capacity they never use. Grid computing can maintain utilisation at 80 per cent and more.”

In some ways, grids are a logical progression from virtualised storage, ICT outsourcing and the open systems movement. They are the final link in the chain which allows commodity and legacy hardware to be fused into a single, virtual supercomputer.

Get on the supercomputer starting grid

Computing power that can be turned on or off like the National Grid electricity supply, coping with demand surges and down-times, is no pipe dream. But resellers will have to add value for clients if they are to enjoy the benefits. Paul Bray reports

Grids can take many forms. The scientific world creates grids for single applications, such as the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), which parcels up data from radio telescopes to be processed on home and business computers via the internet.

Companies can create private grids locally, regionally, nationally and even globally. Service providers are becoming interested because grids can offer cheap, on-tap, metered computing power when a customer’s applications require it. This is the nearest grid computing gets to the model of the National Grid power transmission system, and is often referred to as ‘utility computing’.

The complex matching of hardware resources to applications is handled by middleware, which forms the key component of the grid, rendering it largely transparent to both hardware and application software. Several vendors are developing grid management software, from giants such as Oracle and Sun to specialists such as DataSynapse, GridXpert and Platform Computing.

“Many applications require only minor modifications to insert a layer of middleware,” said Al Bunshaft, vice-president of grid sales at IBM, adding that increasing numbers of ISVs, including major ERP vendors, have begun grid-enabling software. By and large, the more modern an application, the easier it is to convert.

Bunshaft believes grid functionality will ultimately become like TCP/IP and be woven into the operating system. However, grid standards are far from fully formed at the moment, and grids from different vendors do not always operate well together.

Hardware vendors are also keen to promote grids, according to Hartwell, because they hope the technology will result in higher volume sales. Several major vendors, including Dell, Hewlett-Packard and IBM, are working closely with Oracle.

But Alan Rodger, a research analyst at Butler Group, warned the extra efficiency of grids could ultimately affect hardware sales, as users will no longer buy capacity they do not use. Hardware vendors may even retain ownership of the kit and become grid-based service providers.

The benefits of grid computing for user firms are clear, say adherents. More efficient use of computing and storage resources can significantly reduce costs.

Willy Ross, EMEA managing director of grid software at developer DataSynapse, cites an American human resources firm that saved $5m when a grid solution saved it having to buy another mainframe.

The model reduces risk because if one machine or datacentre goes down, applications can be reassigned to other resources. It saves money, according to Hartwell, because firms require fewer maintenance staff or maintenance contracts. And it “allows everyone access to all the organisation’s data at all times”.

Those who have studied the user market say grids also bring ‘softer’ benefits, such as increased flexibility and responsiveness to business needs.

Banks were among the earliest commercial adopters of grids, not just for the savings on hardware and datacentres, but for the speed of developing and running applications. Scalable, distributed grids can run huge applications quickly by adding extra resources.

Ross said: “In capital markets, you can do more complex things if you can do things faster, which means you can manage your risk better.”

The grid’s ability to optimise the running of programmes also allows banks to “focus their intellectual effort on the application, not the plumbing”, said Ross.

Other sectors which could benefit include health, life science and pharmaceuticals, aerospace, automotive, government, telcos, utilities, transport and distribution, and ISPs. Most are characterised by heavy processing loads and large data volumes, or by unexpected peaks in demand.

Awareness of grids is steadily increasing and many early adopters are enthusiastic about the benefits. But Hartwell described the market as “relatively untapped”.

“Grids are mostly applied in large-scale infrastructures,” said Bunshaft. “We’re starting to see a move into the lower tier of the largest companies.”

Many proponents believe medium-sized and even small firms will ultimately cotton on to the benefits. But until then, some doubt there will be worthwhile opportunities for resellers.

“There is nothing for resellers to sell, and the [only] value they can add is in the hardware and infrastructure,” said Mark Mitchell, chief architect at data integration vendor Informatica. “Until there are middleware standards and products that manage the grid itself, I don’t see how resellers can get into the pie.”

Get on the supercomputer starting grid

Computing power that can be turned on or off like the National Grid electricity supply, coping with demand surges and down-times, is no pipe dream. But resellers will have to add value for clients if they are to enjoy the benefits. Paul Bray reports

However, others are more positive. “We’re seeing the more proactive resellers jump in,” said Bunshaft. “Pure hardware resellers may not have the skills. But resellers who complement their hardware and middleware offering with application and service skills have the opportunity to add value and margin. If you have the right skills, clients are usually willing to pay.”

Smart resellers will begin with their existing clients or vertical sector, he added. “It’s very much a solution selling approach, because grids are built to solve a particular business need, not bought off the shelf.”

Some specialists are already doing this. Mike Pawezowski, business development manager at Bull, said: “Scientific computing cluster resellers are already benefiting.”

Grids also offer prospects to hardware sellers, although Hartwell warned: “If you currently supply infrastructure there is a big opportunity, but also a threat because your competitors can offer systems using the cost-metrics of the grid.”

Resellers must go into grids with their eyes open, according to John Fleming, EMEA vice-president of PC blade vendor ClearCube. “They must be aware that grids can be complex to set up and require a level of expertise,” he said. “To sell a grid solution successfully requires a reseller to hand-pick the customer, spend time implementing the grid correctly and document the successes carefully.”

Resellers who get it right should be be able to broaden their offering. Martin Vessey, UK manager at Sun distributor Access, said: “Grid and utility computing will enable resellers to put together a package that includes a utility service from a service provider and broader services, such as insurance covering the customer should the service level drop. It’s an opportunity to move away from pure hardware sales and gain a regular income from a service.”

The grid or utility model will also open up the market, according to Vessey, enabling smaller companies to deploy systems such as CRM, which had hitherto been beyond their reach. “Utility providers don’t have the bandwidth to sell to and service all companies, so they will rely on resellers,” he said.

Clive Longbottom, service director at analyst Quocirca, said the real opportunities will be in reselling grid-based services.

“I wouldn’t expect many resellers to sell grids at the mid-range, but they will sell virtualisation, signing up with a company that has a gridded service capability,” he said. “When a customer complains that it has not enough capacity, the reseller can say: ‘We can solve that problem for you in two hours by plugging in X.’”

Longbottom suggested a reseller could begin by selling virtualised storage and computer power, analyse the customer’s business processes to optimise them, and move on to full business process re-engineering (BPR).

“There is high margin in it, because the service providers have a lot of cheap computing power they want to sell,” he said. Margins can approach 30 per cent. Adding professional services such as BPR could raise that to 45-50 per cent.