The project
GRID.IT was one of the main Italian research initiatives on Grid Computing in the early 2000s, funded by FIRB (the Italian Fund for Basic Research Investments) under MIUR and led by Prof. Domenico Laforenza at ISTI-CNR Pisa (Institute of Information Science and Technologies “Alessandro Faedo”). The project helped build the first national computational-grid infrastructure for scientific research, laying the groundwork for what would become large-scale distributed computing in Italy.
noze’s role
Within the context of initiatives on enabling platforms for computational grids, noze acted as operational partner of the project led by Prof. Laforenza on behalf of ISTI-CNR, managing the entire project lifecycle: from design and architectural implementation to the deployment of the institutional grid.it portal. Four key components:
1. Project web portal
Development of the grid.it portal as the entry point to the project’s content, services and community. Architecture based on the rigorous Open Source stack noze was already using at the time: Linux Trustix/RedHat (2.4.x series), Apache (proxy and load-balancing), Zope (multi-platform object-oriented application server), Postfix for secure email. Development languages: Python and Perl.
On top of Zope, noze installed its own product InFlow, a custom CMS developed by noze with: dynamic page generation, approval workflows, full-text search and content management on an object-oriented database (OODBMS).
2. Certification Authority — OpenCA
Implementation and operation of the GRID.IT project CA — the PKI infrastructure issuing the X.509 certificates needed to authenticate nodes and users on the computational grid, indispensable for any Globus-based grid of the time. Built on OpenCA, with authentication, authorization and directory services delegated to OpenLDAP, in full compliance with AIPA security directives.
3. Web Services — scouting, usage, deployment
A component entirely designed and implemented by noze: an advanced system for the scouting, usage and deployment of Web Services, essential to make every grid node an interoperable and dynamic endpoint within the infrastructure. This was one of noze’s most distinctive contributions to the project, enabling the composition of distributed services across heterogeneous grid nodes.
4. grid.it domain concession
Registration and management of the grid.it internet domain for the project.
Accessibility and usability
The user interface and content architecture were designed according to the strict standards of the W3C (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0) and AIPA circulars. The portal adopted the principle of separation of content and presentation via Cascading Style Sheets, with full support for screen readers, text-based browsers and assistive technologies for users with physical or sensory disabilities.
The noze team
The noze team involved in the project covers architecture and integration, project management, client coordination, UI and Zope frontend with accessibility focus, data structures and authentication, systems, security and LDAP.
Technologies
A strictly Open Source stack, end-to-end:
- Operating system: Linux Trustix / RedHat (2.4.x series)
- Web/application server: Apache + Zope
- Languages: Python, Perl
- CMS: InFlow (built by noze on Zope, with OODBMS, workflow, full-text search)
- PKI / Certification Authority: OpenCA
- Directory & auth: OpenLDAP
- Mail server: Postfix
- Web Services: scouting/usage/deployment stack designed by noze
Licences: GNU GPL, GNU LGPL, Python Software Foundation License, zlib/libpng, Apache, ZPL Zope Public License.