Endorsing grid computing as a means to better utilise IT resources, IBM plans to add grid computing technologies to its operating systems and WebSphere application server beginning later this year.
The company will add technologies from the Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA), a Web services-based grid computing platform being developed by the Globus Project. Grid purports to pool multiple, distributed IT resources into a single utility, or grid, for processing of data regardless of where the consumer of the data resides.
"It's really distributed computing over a network of heterogeneous resources, obviously enabled by open standards," IBM vice-president of grid computing strategy and technology, Daniel Powers, said.
Platforms to receive OGSA technologies included the Linux and AIX operating environments as well as IBM eSeries mainframes, Powers said.
The company already has fitted AIX and Linux with grid-compliant protocols. Additionally, IBM plans to add OGSA capabilities to its DB2 database platform as well.
IBM expects other players in the industries to incorporate OGSA capabilities into their products as well.
OGSA technologies woulf run on WebSphere later in 2004 and be more completely integrated into the platform afterward, Powers said.
He touted grid as part of IBM's "On Demand" computing strategy intended to allow enterprises to have integrated IT processes and quick responses to customer demand, market opportunities, or external threats.
Oracle also plans to build new functionality and support new hardware to make it easier for customers to deploy grids.
Oracle's principal product manager for server technologies, Brajesh Goyal, said he could not yet be specific about the new functionality.
Goyal emphasised that Oracle already supports grid deployments in its Oracle9i database and application server.
"The grid is going to revitalise how computation and management of information is going to be done," Goyal said.
