查看文章

The emergence of cloud computing and other distributed computing frameworks calls for a novel approach to ensure that the capabilities offered by such platforms are actually exploited by their target groups. In the scope of scientific infrastructures, this primarily involves domain scientists who apply the e-science [1] approach in their research work. As the capabilities of high-performance and high-throughput computing systems increase, we are faced with the need for software solutions which would enable scientists to fully utilize their potential while at the same time avoiding the steep learning curve that has historically hampered wide take-up of Grid computing platforms.

The GridSpace2 Virtual Laboratory is an evolution of the computing and data access platform for viral disease research originally implemented in the ViroLab project [2, 3]. Following extensive discussions with representatives of various fields of e-science we have reengineered our software to better suit the daily work habits of domain scientists. This group includes users who frequently conduct virtual experimentation, relying on applications which can easily be ported to distributed computing environments. We have also drawn upon the experience of to-date scientific computing projects and the issues which have emerged during the course of their implementation (see [4] for an insightful discussion of these issues).