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SINGAPORE
SHIFTS TO OVERDRIVE WITH PHASE 2 OF THE NATIONAL GRID
SINGAPORE
PUSHES AHEAD with grid computing with the launch of phase
2 of the National Grid. Announcing the new initiative earlier
this month, Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry
said that the second phase will see a further expansion
of the existing national grid infrastructure. More importantly,
he added, the aim was to expand the use of grid computing
from the research community into the industry.
"The
National Grid Office will actively engage the private sector
to encourage the innovative use of grid technology. We
will start by targeting sectors where grid computing offers
the most potential, beginning with digital media and manufacturing
sectors," said Mr Lim.
These
two areas have already seen some active participation between
the government agencies and the industry. For example,
the Media Development Authority and the National Grid Office
have already embarked on joint efforts to help local digital
media SMEs make use of grid computing. Under IDA's Digital
Exchange initiative, a utility-based remote rendering concept
prototype has been successfully implemented. Under this
"Virtual Remote Rendering" concept prototype, local and
international users are able to submit 3D animation jobs
for rendering from remote locations. Moving forward, trials
will be conducted using grid technologies to develop new
ways of managing a larger pool of shared computing resources
for virtual remote rendering.
In
the area of construction of manufacturing, IDA has been
working the National University of Singapore, SES Systems
Pte Ltd and Sun Microsystems on the Collaborative Engineering
Programme (CEP). The programme aims to develop grid-based
engineering tools that will facilitate timely sharing of
information and knowledge among contruction and manufacturing
companies.
Phase
1 of the National Grid initiative was started in 2002.
Over the last 2 years, there has been significant progress
made. The number of computing resources connected to the
national grid has doubled from 250 then to over 500 today.
"We
expect this number to reach 1,000 within the year", said
Mr Lim.
[Source:
Singapore Wave, Infocomm News from IDA May 2005]
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