IBM, WACHOVIA & PAYPAL: GRID COMPUTING MAKES IT EASIER AND
CHEAPER
About Case
IBM researchers and a team of doctors are building a database of digital images
they hope will enable oncologists to diagnose and treat cancer patients faster
and with more success.
Researchers at the Cancer Institute in New Jersey have been using grid
computing technologies to convert a hundreds thousands of images of
cancerous tissues and cells into digital images.
Once the images are digitized, the grid can check the accuracy of the digital
information to ensure that the bits and bytes are translating into real diagnoses.
Grid computing technologies avoid the need for expensive, dedicated hardware
by distributing the processing load among commodity-priced equipment.
• Wachovia has switched from dedicated servers to 10,000 CPU resources pool spread
across cities of US and London.
• Grid computing allows Wachovia to avoid dedicated hardware costs and make better
use of underutilized hardware.
• “dedicated server will cost three times the cost and people to support processes in
absence of grid computing”- Tony Bishop, senior VP
• Wachovia has eight applications running on its grid that used in internal transactions.
• the system provided resources on demand and the performance has improved
fivefold transactions.
• Linux grid: power behind the payment system at PayPal
, • Processed $1571 worth transactions per second in 17 different currencies in 2006, a
total of $37.6 Billion transactions
• Payment system operated on about 4000 servers running Red Hat Linux
• Cheaper and easier to grow the grid as compared to mainframe computing
• Unnecessary features of Linux removed and added as per requirement
• PayPal engineers develop solutions faster as they are working on the target
environment.
What is Grid Computing…?
Grid computing is the collection of computer resources from multiple locations
to reach a common goal. The grid can be thought of as a distributed system
with non-interactive workloads that involve a large number of files.
Grid Computing is one of the most reliable and detail application used by
the organization to get the accurate results in a very easy way with
consideration to cost of the technology. It’s far cheaper than using mainframes
and big servers and at the same time very easy to access and maintain.
Grid computing is a technology used to harness computing powers from various
sources and use them in harmony to achieve a specific goal. The great
advantage of grid computing is the ability to significantly reduce the time that is
taken to accomplish that goal, also increasing efficiency.
Question: 1
Applications for grid computing in this case include medical diagnosis
and financial transaction processing. What other areas do you think
would be suited to the use of grid computing and why? Provide several
examples from organizations other than those included in the case.
CHEAPER
About Case
IBM researchers and a team of doctors are building a database of digital images
they hope will enable oncologists to diagnose and treat cancer patients faster
and with more success.
Researchers at the Cancer Institute in New Jersey have been using grid
computing technologies to convert a hundreds thousands of images of
cancerous tissues and cells into digital images.
Once the images are digitized, the grid can check the accuracy of the digital
information to ensure that the bits and bytes are translating into real diagnoses.
Grid computing technologies avoid the need for expensive, dedicated hardware
by distributing the processing load among commodity-priced equipment.
• Wachovia has switched from dedicated servers to 10,000 CPU resources pool spread
across cities of US and London.
• Grid computing allows Wachovia to avoid dedicated hardware costs and make better
use of underutilized hardware.
• “dedicated server will cost three times the cost and people to support processes in
absence of grid computing”- Tony Bishop, senior VP
• Wachovia has eight applications running on its grid that used in internal transactions.
• the system provided resources on demand and the performance has improved
fivefold transactions.
• Linux grid: power behind the payment system at PayPal
, • Processed $1571 worth transactions per second in 17 different currencies in 2006, a
total of $37.6 Billion transactions
• Payment system operated on about 4000 servers running Red Hat Linux
• Cheaper and easier to grow the grid as compared to mainframe computing
• Unnecessary features of Linux removed and added as per requirement
• PayPal engineers develop solutions faster as they are working on the target
environment.
What is Grid Computing…?
Grid computing is the collection of computer resources from multiple locations
to reach a common goal. The grid can be thought of as a distributed system
with non-interactive workloads that involve a large number of files.
Grid Computing is one of the most reliable and detail application used by
the organization to get the accurate results in a very easy way with
consideration to cost of the technology. It’s far cheaper than using mainframes
and big servers and at the same time very easy to access and maintain.
Grid computing is a technology used to harness computing powers from various
sources and use them in harmony to achieve a specific goal. The great
advantage of grid computing is the ability to significantly reduce the time that is
taken to accomplish that goal, also increasing efficiency.
Question: 1
Applications for grid computing in this case include medical diagnosis
and financial transaction processing. What other areas do you think
would be suited to the use of grid computing and why? Provide several
examples from organizations other than those included in the case.
