A tool for complex parameter studies in grid environments: SGM-Lab

This paper presents the design and implementation of the Science Grid Modeling Laboratory (SGM-Lab), an automated parametric modeling system for performing complex dynamically-controlled parameter studies. Nowadays, simulation programs are used not only in research but also during the development of products, often to optimize their quality. Typically, this involves repeated execution of the simulation codes, whereby for each run some of the input data is varied. As a result, many different jobs have to be launched and a huge amount of output data has to be administered. A grid environment can provide, and enable the exploitation of the necessary resources for this computation. However, in order to be able to use a grid environment effectively, tool support is required to automatically generate the parameter sets, issue jobs, control the successful operation and termination of jobs, and collect results. Support is also needed to generate new parameter sets based on previous results in order to obtain a functional optimum, after which the parameter study should terminate. The SGM-Lab software described in this paper offers a unified framework for such large-scale optimization problems.