We have set up a grid (distributed network) to integrate a computing environment with new and somewhat older machines running different operating systems that link the Montclair Electronic Text Archive (META) and the Classics Department at Rutgers in order to create a coherent computing landscape to facilitate work on texts useful for teaching and research. It also functions as a facility to preserve digital objects because files can be easily copied between numerous remote and local machines which provides redundancy and thus a many-headed, or Hydran, repository which confounds even a Hercules.
Grid computing is a method of using multiple computers in an extended network to solve problems involving collaboration at a distance using large amounts of text. The computers in a grid are integrated and resilient as never before, which allows improvement in productivity and collaboration, the sharing of resources, and the optimal use of computing capabilities between computing entities wherever they may be.
This kind of system also allows the gathering and distribution of text or data anywhere and will support multi-disciplinary collaboration. Unlike the web which mainly enables communication, grid computing enables full interactive collaboration towards common goals as if the users were working on a single large virtual computer. The bandwidth and performance of Montclair State and Rutgers will enable the grid connecting the units and META to be transparent to the users, truly giving the impression of a single computer while in fact making use of multiple machines on a fast network.
At META we have already experimented with a grid using the Plan 9 operating system developed at Bell labs. A Plan 9 grid utilizes the distributed features of the operating system to create a tightly-coupled grid environment which can run applications across the boundaries of the local cluster or even the institution. We have created a virtual machine using two Plan 9 servers and a laptop. However, the 9grid does not support easily the applications we will need for this project such as text analysis tools and concordance software which are readily available on Linux.
In order to have access to these tools we are using Inferno which is based on Plan 9. The signer server currently runs on grid.montclair.edu, a Plan 9 machine, and the client/servers run on Plan 9, and Linux. We also run Inferno on Plan 9, Apple OSX, Linux, and even Windows XP laptops and so can access the grid from anywhere a fast internet connection is available.
Screenshot of the grid browser on Windows.
Screenshot of the grid browser on Linux.
Screenshot of the grid browser on Plan 9.
Screenshot of the grid browser on FreeBSD.
Screenshot of the grid browser on OSX.
Screenshot of Aristotle in Greek and English in DjVu format. Users are able to move from one text to the other thanks to work done by a graduate student using the grid.
The grid has been running for over two years now. The texts, including: Aristotle, Galen, Plato, Marcus Aurelius, and Commentaries are available on the META server and can be viewed with a browser with the DjVu plugin. The grid itself is only available to authorized users. Please contact us if you wish more information.
More Information
Presentation
There was a presentation on the Humanities Grid at Montclair State University at the Educause Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference in Baltimore on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 from 2:15 to 3:00pm.
Article
A Brief Introduction to a Humanities Data Grid. Library Hi Tech News. 21.8. (October 2004): 32-33.
Contact
Brian Hancock
Systems Librarian
hancockh {at} mail {dot} montclair {dot} edu
2006-05-21
