Large-Scale Computing Techniques for Complex System Simulations

Chapter 6

Building and Running Collaborative Distributed Multiscale Applications

Katarzyna Rycerz

AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland, and ACC Cyfronet AGH, Krakow, Poland

Marian Bubak

AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland, and Institute for Informatics, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

6.1 INTRODUCTION

Multiscale simulations are a dynamically developing area of complex system modeling. Examples include blood flow simulations (e.g., in treatment of in-stent restenosis) as presented by Caiazzo et al. (2009), solid tumor models (Hirsch et al., 2009), or stellar system simulations (Portegies Zwart et al., 2008). Modern technical solutions provided by computer science offer many useful features for such simulations, including support for composability and reuse (component approach) as well as resource sharing (grid concept). In this chapter, we explain how to efficiently exploit some of them. Providing a distributed, easy-to-use e-infrastructures that can be collaboratively and transparently shared by multidisciplinary scientists is one of the main aspects of large-scale computing. As shown in this chapter, some of these solutions can also be successfully applied to the field of multiscale simulations.

Grid technologies can be exploited for the development and execution of multiscale simulations on various levels. The first approach, based on the concept presented by Foster et al. (2001), is to use the grid as a metacomputer with access to ...