Moving from ivory tower to business frontline, slowly

Technology providers are touting grid computing as the next major tool for lowering IT costs. Grid computing works by putting the combined processing power of multiple computers into one large virtual computer. Processing tasks are directed to whatever portion of the grid—a specific CPU or storage device—that is best able to accommodate the load at any given time.

The ability to build grids by linking low-cost machines powered by Intel or AMD microprocessors offers tremendous potential cost savings. That factor also has vendors like Oracle and IBM pushing their own grid initiatives. Oracle's support for grid technology started with the release of its Oracle 10g database, which has been configured specifically to work in grid architectures.

The pure efficiency of the grid model is the primary selling point, says George Demarest, a senior director in Oracle's database unit. For instance, a manufacturer facing a sudden spike of orders could dynamically reallocate resources away from the general ledger to the order fulfillment system. "Traditionally, you had to plan capacity to handle your worst nightmare scenario two years from now," Demarest explains. "But with grid, you can be a lot more conservative by adding processing power as you need it."

Demarest also notes that any application that currently works on an Oracle database or application server can run on an Oracle-based grid unchanged.

Grid strategies that are not tied to specific databases rely heavily on middleware. For instance, IBM's grid offerings are centered on Tivoli Orchestration and Provisioning Server, which physically marshals the compute and network resources needed to solve a particular problem. IBM partners with Data Synapse, which provides a solution for deploying software applications to the grid.

Oracle 10g, released in February, is not yet widely used by manufacturers. However, more established grid providers—including Platform Computing, an Oracle partner—are reporting manufacturing successes. Land Rover, a Platform Computing client, has delayed the purchase of additional hardware for at least two years by running its structural analysis applications on grid architecture.

"Engineering design analysis and engineering simulation were the grid sweet spots of the '90s," says Merten Slominsky, general manager of industrial applications for Platform Computing, adding that applications such as supply chain optimization are likely to follow. "We are working with our partners to make grid a core infrastructure component for the Global 2000."