1.1. Preface¶

FutureGrid is a project led by Indiana University and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop a high-performance grid test bed that will allow scientists to collaboratively develop and test innovative approaches to parallel, grid and cloud computing. FutureGrid will provide the infrastructure to researchers to allow them to perform their own computational experiments using distributed systems. The goal is to make it easier for scientists to conduct such experiments in a transparent manner.

FutureGrid users will be able to deploy their own hardware and software configurations on a public/private cloud, and run their experiments. They will be able to save their configurations and execute their experiments using the provided tools. The FutureGrid test bed is composed of a high-speed network, connecting distributed clusters of high performance computers. FutureGrid will employ virtualization technology that will allow the test bed to support a wide range of operating systems.

The NSF awarded $10.1 million to enable joint development of FutureGrid through a partnership of Indiana University, Purdue University, University of California - San Diego, University of Chicago/Argonne National Labs, University of Florida, University of Southern California, University of Texas, and the Center for Information Services and High Performance Computing at Technische Universität Dresden. The principal investigator is Dr. Geoffrey C. Fox, Director of the Digital Science Center at the IU Pervasive Technology Institute.

1.1.3. Sponsors¶

The current sponsors of FutureGrid include:

Logo	Sponsor
	National Science Foundation
	Lilly Endowment
	Indiana University Pervasive Technology Institute