High-Performance Computing on the Web: Extending UNICORE with RESTful Interfaces

UNICORE (UNiform Interface to COmputing REsources) is a Grid middleware for accessing high-performance computing capabilities and storage resources in a secure and seamless fashion. In its current version (7.0), it offers web services using SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) in conjunction with a security stack based on the Security Assertions Markup Language (SAML) and the WS-Security specification. To accommodate recent integration use cases, the need for more lightweight ways to access resources through UNICORE has arisen. This work describes the architecture, design, and first implementation results of an interface to UNICORE services based on the REST (Representational State Transfer) architectural style. Crucial boundary conditions included a lightweight security layer, and full interoperability with the existing SOAP-based interfaces. This RESTful interface will greatly simplify access to and interaction with the UNICORE services and enable new use cases. It will allow integrating high-performance computing and data management services into web-based and mobile applications