Objectif
European developments in the area of Research Infrastructures resulted in Pan-EU coverage of a high-speed research network with full administrative and operational support. The existence of the network catering for the European research community has paved the way for the development of the overlaying Grid infrastructure aiming to enable distributed computing power and storage sharing across geographical and administrative domains. This integrated network and processing/storage environment - eInfrastructure - provides a platform for new methods of global collaborative research - eScience. The leading initiatives in the eInfrastructure field are GEANT and EGEE projects.
The objective of the EUMEDGRID project is to, through Specific Support Actions, bring the less-experienced and less-resourced countries of the Mediterranean region to the level of European developments in terms of the eInfrastructures. With the networking infrastructure reaching stability through the EUMEDCONNECT project, the focus of the EUMEDGRID will be on Grid infrastructure and related eScience applications.
The core of the EUMEDGRID approach is to establish a human network in the eScience area, enlarge and train this community, and establish a pilot Grid infrastructure supporting proof of concept regional applications. A broad range of activities will focus on dissemination and outreach, training, hands-on workshops, and close collaboration with the related projects such as EUMEDCONNECT, GEANT, EGEE and SEE-GRID. In parallel, the pilot Grid infrastructure developments will be carried out across the region, including Grid clusters- deployment, and development and enforcement of operational and organizational schemes and policies. Finally, a wide range of regional eScience applications will be encouraged, with candidate applications deployed on the regional infrastructure.