Computational grids

The authors discuss computational and information grids. Peer-to-peer networks are built on the analogy of providing services in a community of peers. Grids, on the other hand, are built on the analogy of users tapping into ubiquitous computing and information resources, similar to plugging into an electrical grid. Together, these two powerful analogies cover much of the research and indeed commercial deployment of Web based distributed systems. Underlying both concepts are two inevitable trends: using Internet hardware and software infrastructure to build the communication and control (middleware) of distributed systems, and using a Web browser as the user interface or portal to an application.