I think the issue at my site is one of broken trust. We support biomed because we believe that the
research they do is valuable to the world and therefore support them at a low fair share value, so that they can take advantage of quiet times on our cluster. We overlook the fact that they do not provide many resources and so we are unlikely to ever be able to run jobs for our Particle Physics VOs on their clusters, in the normal quid pro quo assumption that the grid works on. We also overlook the fact that our systems consume considerably more electricity when they are running cpu intensive jobs than running idle.
The problem here is that the jobs were nothing to do with the stated goals of the VO which we chose to support and hence are a violation of the rules.
Other problems with these jobs are down to the pilot scheme used as highlighted by Graeme which means they stay on your systems longer than expected.
I agree that a separate VO should be setup for this kind of work, which is academically valid, but sites could then choose whether they wish to be involved.
I will not ban the biomed VO at this stage as I believe the work was not sanctioned by them.
I also lament the fact that the GGUS ticket system has not really been effective. Even though my ticket did get a brief response. https://gus.fzk.de/ws/ticket_info.php?ticket=28494
Pete
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Peter Gronbech Unix Systems Manager and Tel No. : 01865 273389
SouthGrid Technical Co-ordinator Fax No. : 01865 273418
Department of Particle Physics,
University of Oxford,
Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK E-mail : [log in to unmask]
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-----Original Message-----
From: Testbed Support for GridPP member institutes [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David O'Callaghan
Sent: 01 November 2007 11:53
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Heinz' Challenge
Hi Linda,
Ar 01.11.07 11:30, Scríobh Cornwall, LA (Linda):
> Maybe should add to one of the policy documents (not sure which one)
> something on the lines that users must not use resources to crack
> certificates or for any other research into circumventing security
> unless this is specifically allowed by the VO operations Policy.
> Possibly add to VO operations policy that members must not do this
> unless it is specifically allowed in the policy.
I don't think this is a good idea. As I see it, the issue isn't that
security/cryptography research is "dangerous" (any more than particle
physics or biomedical research!) but that it was, it seems,
inappropriate use of VO resources.
I notice that the Grid AUP already has a clause "2. You shall [...] not
(attempt to) breach or circumvent any GRID administrative or security
controls." but it's probably a bit of a stretch to apply that in this case.
Of course it also says "1. You shall only use the GRID to perform work,
or transmit or store data consistent with the stated goals and policies
of the VO of which you are a member and in compliance with these
conditions of use."
Kind regards,
David
--
Dr David O'Callaghan
Research Fellow - Grid-Ireland - WebComG - Computer Architecture Group
Department of Computer Science, Telephone: +353 1 896 1720
Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland Email: [log in to unmask]
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