Workflow Management for Loosely Coupled Simulations

Abstract: In the distributed computing domain, several approaches have been evolved that allow the user not only to execute single programs on single hardware resources but also to support workflow schemes that enable the composition and execution of complex applications on distributed resources. Within the Fraunhofer Resource Grid, we developed a Grid computing architecture for composing and executing loosely coupled simulations by means of an abstract dataflow and control flow description. We use a Petri-net-based workflow model that allows the graphical definition of arbitrary workflows with only few basic graph elements – just by connecting data and software components. The communication between the distributed simulation components is realized via file transfer in the actual implementation, but we plan to include tighter coupling schemes using Web Service technology. We validated our approach with applications from the environmental simulation domain, such as the Environmental Risk analysis and Management System ERAMAS