D4Science

Description:

D4Science aimed to continue the path that the GÉANT (a multi-gigabit pan-European data communications network), EGEE (Enabling Grids for E-science in Europe), and DILIGENT (A Digital Library Infrastructure on Grid Enabled Technology) projects have initiated towards establishing networking, grid-based, and data-centric e-Infrastructures. These e-Infrastructures were expected to accelerate multidisciplinary research by overcoming several crucial barriers that stand in the way, primilary those related to heterogeneity, sustainability and scalability. DILIGENT produced a testbed of an e-Infrastructure and its core, gCube. gCube is a generic software that allows the access to heterogeneous, distributed technologies, services and content and guarantees interoperability of these resources. In D4Science the gCube framework was developed. The gCube software and framework enable the building of Virtual Research Environments (VREs). These were based on shared computational, data and service resources offered by many providers like EGEE and large international organizations. VREs can be used for different requests, e.g. the monitoring of processes, the analysis of data and the collaboration of users.