OGCE Workflow Suite
Category Cross-Omics>Workflow Knowledge Bases/Systems/Tools
Abstract OGCE (Open Grid Computing Environments) Workflow Suite offers tools to wrap command-line applications as light weight web services, compose workflows from those web services and, execute and monitor the workflows.
The Workflow Suite consists of the following tools:
1) The Generic Service Toolkit, which allows users to wrap any command-line application as a ‘web service’. The Generic Service Toolkit (GST) (a.k.a. Generic Factory a.k.a. GFac) can “wrap” any command-line application as an ‘application service’.
An application service is a ‘web service interface’ to a command-line application.
When an application service is invoked with a given set of input parameters, it runs the application with those input parameters (possibly on a cluster of resources), monitors the application and returns the results to the user.
This toolkit can be used by ‘application providers’ [a.k.a. application service providers (ASPs) or service providers] to wrap any command- line application as an ‘application service’ without writing any program code or modifying their applications in any way.
The toolkit also provides a generic web service client that allows users to securely access any application service created by the toolkit from the convenience of a ‘Grid Portal’.
When a user accesses an application service, the user is presented with a graphical user interface (GUI) to that service. The GUI contains a list of operations that the user is allowed to invoke on that service.
After choosing an operation, the user is presented with a GUI for that operation, which allows the user to specify all the input parameters to that operation. The user can then invoke the operation on the service and get the output results.
GFAC is part of the Workflow Suite in OGCE, which also includes XRegistry, XBaya, and the GFAC portlet.
2) The XRegistry allows users to store, search, and retrieve documents. XRegistry is the information repository of the ‘workflow suite’ enabling users to register, search and access application service and workflow deployment descriptions.
XRegistry uses the XSUL (see below...) Web service container (included in the release) and does Not require an Apache Tomcat web server.
XSUL --
WS/XSUL version 2 (a.k.a. XSOAP4) is a very modular Java library to construct web services that uses XML with a strong support for XML Schemas and WSDL 1.1 doc/literal bindings.
WS/XSUL 2.0 is designed to be the easiest way to create and access Web Services (regardless of location or protocol as long as they are described in WSDL and use the XML Info-set).
3) The XBaya workflow composer is a Java webstart application. It can be used for composing workflows from web services created by the Generic Service Toolkit, and running and monitoring those workflows.
XBaya is a graphical client program for workflow composition, monitoring, and more. It provides an easy-to-use GUI for users to compose workflows from Web Services described in Web Service Description Language (WSDL).
The ‘composed workflow’ can be exported to various workflow languages.
Currently, Business Process Execution Language (BPEL), which is one of the most promising ‘workflow languages’ for Web Services composition, and ‘Jython scripts’, which is convenient for short-lived workflows and debugging, are supported.
XBaya Documentation --
1) The Xbaya manufacturer provides a tutorial on Composing Workflows consisting of:
- a) An introduction;
- b) An overview;
- c) Creating a simple math workflow;
- d) Adding an Adder component;
- e) Adding input parameters;
- f) Adding an output parameter;
- g) Saving the workflow;
- h) Exporting the workflow as a Jython script; and
- i) Creating a complicated math workflow.
2) The Xbaya manufacturer also provides a ‘technical tutorial’ on Interpreting Workflow Scripts consisting of:
- a) An introduction;
- b) Imports;
- c) Initializing properties;
- d) Printing the usage;
- e) Processing command-line arguments;
- f) Initializing a notification sender;
- g) Initializing a notification consumer;
- h) Invoking the first set of services;
- i) Invoking the second set of services;
- j) Waiting for the output;
- k) Waiting for all running services to finish;
- l) Finishing the workflow; and
- m) Exception handling.
Note: The OGCE Workflow Suite manufacturer also supplies complete comprehensive documentation on all components of the Workflow Suite.
System Requirements
Before you install any component in the OGCE Workflow Suite, make sure you install the following:
- 1. MyProxy credentials generated and stored in a MyProxy server
- 2. MySQL (version 5 or later). This is used by the XRegistry service, which has detailed instructions on MySQL configuration.
- 3. JDK 1.5 or higher on every Service Host i.e every host (resource) on which you may run an application service
- 4. Maven 2.0.7. This is included in the OGCE Portal download.
Note that the XRegistry, GFAC, and OGCE portal all run on separate Web servers and can be configured to run on separate host machines if desired.
Manufacturer
- Indiana University: Community Grids Laboratory, Pervasive Technology Institute, School of Informatics and Computing;
- San Diego Supercomputer Center;
- Texas Advanced Computing Center;
- San Diego State University, Advanced Computing Environments Lab;
- Renaissance Computing Institute
Manufacturer Web Site
Price Contact manufacturer.
G6G Abstract Number 20540
G6G Manufacturer Number 104155