Grid Computing- An Emerging Technology that enables large- scale resource sharing

In the last few years there has been a rapid exponential increase in computer processing power, data storage and communication. But still there are many complex and computation intensive problems, which cannot be solved by supercomputers. These problems can only be met with a vast variety of heterogeneous resources. The increased use and popularity of the Internet and the availability of high-speed networks have gradually changed the way we do computing. These technologies have enabled the cooperative use of a wide variety of geographically distributed resources as a single more powerful computer. This new method of pooling resources for solving large-scale problems is called as grid computing. Grid computing is a form of distributed computing in which an organization (business, university, etc.) uses its existing computers (desktop and/or cluster nodes) to handle its own long-running computational tasks. Grid computing combines computers from multiple administrative domains to reach a common goal, to solve a single task, and may then disappear just as quickly. Grid computing is managed by Global Grid Forum (GGF). Grid includes various protocols, topologies, standards and layers for implementing grid related applications. This paper describes the concepts underlying grid computing. Keywords: CPU scavenging, Open Grid Forum (OGF), Object Management Group (OMG), Sensor grid, Supercomputers.