Information services are an integral part of the grid architecture. It is the foundation of how resources are defined and their state known. More importantly, the user of the Grid gets a perspective of what a grid looks like, how it performs and what capabilities it has from information services. The Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) has designed and deployed a set of grid services within the context of the ASCI program. We deploy information services by augmenting the Globus toolkit in order to meet the unique aspects of the ASCI grid. We describe the decisions made and processes developed to run a grid information service in the ASCI grid.

Porting a complex secure application from one security infrastructure to another is often difficult or impractical. Grid security associated with the Globus toolkit is supported by a Grid Security Infrastructure (GSI) based on a Public Key Infrastructure where users authenticate to the grid using X509 certificates. Kerberos security is based on a trusted third party, secret key infrastructure where users authenticate using encrypted tickets. However, both GSI and Kerberos provide a Generic Security Services Application Program Interface (GSSAPI) for source code portability. We describe the porting of our Globus system from GSI security to Kerberos V5 security, and the Kerberos modifications necessary to achieve that portability. Our case study provides details and insights that will be of value to developers and designers interested in GSSAPI portability. We conclude, based on our results, that designers of network security software should strive to accommodate the GSSAPI.

The Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) computational grid is being constructed to interconnect the high performance computing resources of the nuclear weapons complex. The grid will simplify access to the diverse computing, storage, network, and visualization resources, and will enable the coordinated use of shared resources regardless of location. To match existing hardware platforms, required security services, and current simulation practices, the Globus MetaComputing Toolkit was selected to provide core grid services. The ASCI grid extends Globus functionality by operating as an independent grid, incorporating Kerberos-based security, interfacing to Sandia's Cplant/sup TM/, and extending job monitoring services. To fully meet ASCI's needs, the architecture layers distributed work management and criteria-driven resource selection services on top of Globus. These services simplify the grid interface by allowing users to simply request "run code X anywhere". This paper describes the initial design and prototype of the ASCI grid.