The Grid technology has been formally announced to the world by CERN. So what is the fuss all about? Speak Up asks scientists at TIFR and other city tech buffs

What is the Grid?
When the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) comes on-line at the European Organisation for Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva some time soon, it will allow mankind to see the universe as it was a few moments after the Big Bang. But this would need a computing power and infrastructure that can make sense of the flood of data that will flow every year from the particle detectors during the collisions between protons. When the LHC was still on the drawing board over 10 years ago, it became clear that the only way to handle such volumes of data would be to use Grid technology, which allows transparent computing and storage across continents.

All users would need a digital ‘key’ for security
Every user will have to get a digital certificate which is like a key. The user can then access the system. Security is a difficult proposition because it is like handing over several keys to one house. The key can easily be stolen. As system administrators, our job also means keeping the system secure and ensuring that there is no misuse. The weakest link is the end-user because he/she leaves the digital certificate vulnerable to theft. Currently, we give access to the Grid only to people who are recommended by professors here. The scientific community will be introduced to the Grid; already, most students and researchers are using the Grid. This way, there is trust and the chances of a hacker entering the system are very few. The software doesn’t operate on Windows and is Linux based. So, the security is better.
 â€”Nagraj Panyam. Dept. of High Energy Physics, TIFR

It will allow scientists to connect across the globe
The World Wide Web (www) was invented at CERN and it makes all the data available to the collaborating laboratories. It was around the 1990s that the new research programme on the Grid system began. It basically generates enormous amount of data; millions of bytes of information will be made available through it. It was developed for the LHC because it can include a large amount of computer knowledge and has high disk space as well. The Grid concept is very simple. For instance, from one centre,  around 150 computers will serve various computers all over the world. Conceptually it is very simple: it spreads out of central control and is flexible.

Grid technology basically enables you to sensibly connect the globally spread centres so that calculations can be done at a centralised location. It sets up what is called a ‘middleware’ and wherever this resource is available it can take instructions from the centre. One can also route data within a few days, direct it and send it back. The centralised collaboration will be at Geneva which is the nerve centre of the programme. But one need not go to Geneva to retrieve any data because the middleware will fetch the data and send it. The job will be done automatically.

The middleware exists at all the centres, and it will have all the information required: the  disk space, the new developments and so on. So in layman’s terms the Grid system is basically a PC with high disk storage, high bandwidth and includes a middleware. It also has to do more with the computation processing. It enables close collaboration between scientists and allows them to work together and more closely, and in real time.

Faster connectivity will enable everyone. Its costs will depend on usage. The enhancement of the connectivity will also vary from person to person and will depend on how the link is used. Internet is just a tool; the cost will depend on the type of
usage.

There are many areas of science that need such online connectivity. A common man will take time to get used to such high-speed connectivity. Currently it is required more for scientific modifications.  Scientists would be more than happy if common people could use such technology, but people should find it useful. Www is simple and people use it widely today. The personal use of the Grid technology is still only being thought about by experts. 
 â€”Atul Gurtu. Senior scientist, Department of High Energy Physics, TIFR

It could be a boon for the corporate sector
If I had the power of Grid computing, I would make it a free service and encourage web designers who are resource-hungry to avail of it. This will facilitate greater creativity which might otherwise not be possible for want of computational speed. The computing speed would render their designs on complex programmes and this would benefit them as well as their consumers. I would also introduce Grid computing to the corporates because they are not connected with each other through servers. They are more or less dependent on the speed of their processors. But once security issues are sorted out and the bandwidth increased, Grid computing could be a real boon for the corporate sector.  
—Sunil Kumar

We could even use it to rid the world of terror
The Grid would offer the common man the facility to store and share huge amounts of data. It can connect databases across the globe; this makes information sharing easy. For instance, with terrorism spreading across the world, it would help if nations could share criminal records. This will help in the process of detection by connecting and empowering police departments across cities and countries. Also, people will be able to transfer data within a few seconds from one computer to another, anywhere in the world. This can be very useful for governments and intelligence agencies. For example, airports across the world will be able to store passenger data. This could help the aviation industry.
 â€”Rajeev Kapri

The Grid can even revolutionise gaming
The computing power of the Grid could help the online gaming industry because it could provide more immersive and interactive environments in an online universe. It will help people explore their creativities in terms of creating ‘worlds’ and ‘ environments’ around them. Also it will be able to connect people with each other much faster. Anybody with an idea can harness the power of the Grid to simulate and create pretty much anything. It will not only showcase their creativity but can also power the economy inside the worlds that they create, pretty much like the ‘second life’ but much more complex. It will be essentially a massive multiplayer world where one can also play God!  
—Sukamal Pegu