Efficient extension of gLite VOs with BOINC based desktop grids

The paper describes the results of the EU FP7 EDGI project concerning how to extend gLite VOswith public and institutional BOINC desktop grids. Beyond simply showing the integration architecture components and services, the main emphasis is on how this integrated architecture can efficiently support parameter study applications, based on the so-calledmetajob concept created by the EDGI project. The paper explains in detail how to use the metajob concept by gLite users to exploit the BOINC desktop grids connected to the gLite VO, as well as how metajobs are managed internally by the 3G Bridge service. Performance measurements show that the Metajob concept indeed can significantly improve the performance of gLite VOs extended with desktop grids. Finally, the paper describes the practical ways of connecting BOINC desktop grids to gLite VOs and the accounting mechanism in these integrated grid systems. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.