Sciam - cover

From the April 2003 Scientific American Magazine | 0 comments

The Grid: Computing without Bounds ( Preview )

By linking digital processors, storage systems and software on a global scale, grid technology is poised to transform computing from an individual and corporate activity into a general utility

By Ian Foster   

 
e-mail print comment

More from the Magazine

Early humans ate only the food they caught and used only the tools they made. Millennia of effort to overcome the coupling of production and consumption eventually led to agriculture, mass manufacturing and electric power distribution. The resulting specialization of work, economies of scale and novel technologies define our modern world--and allow me to sit in a caf¿ sipping an espresso and writing this article on a laptop computer, with no thought to the ultimate sources of the water, coffee, electricity and wireless-network bandwidth that I consume.

The ready availability of these resources exemplifies the concept of virtualization, which (to computer scientists) refers to hiding useful functions behind an interface that conceals the details of how they are implemented. When the caf¿'s barista, for example, turns on a water spigot, it is as if he taps a bottomless barrel. The same phenomenon occurs when I plug my laptop into a wall socket. Given the huge unseen electric grid beyond the plug, who knows how and where that power was generated?

Graphic - Get the Rest of the Article
Graphic - Subscribe     Graphic - Buy this Issue
Already a Digital subscriber? Sign-in Now
If your institution has site license access, enter here.

Read Comments (0) | Post a comment


Share
Propeller    Digg!  Reddit delicious  Fark 
Slashdot    RT @sciam The Grid: Computing without BoundsTwitter Review it on NewsTrust 
sharebar end

You Might Also Like


Discuss This Article


Click here to submit your comment.

VIEW:

2,573 characters remaining
 
  Email me when someone responds to this discussion.
 

risk free issuefree gift

Sciam - cover Email:
Name:
Address:
Address 2:
City:
State:  
spacer




Editor's Pick

  • Adapting to the Freshwater CrisisForward-thinking experts are getting a better handle on the growing global water shortage and coming up with innovative approaches to ensuring the security, safety and sustainability of this resource

Newsletter

Technology Newsletter

Get weekly coverage delivered to your inbox


 Podcasts

  • 60-Second Earth     RSS  · iTunes The Jellyfish Menace
    click to enable

    Download

  • 60-Second Science     RSS  · iTunes Plants Share Light If Neighbor Is Related
    click to enable

    Download





ADVERTISEMENT
 
 


Also on Scientific American


© 1996-2009 Scientific American Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
ADVERTISEMENT