Design and implementation of a web-based data grid management system for enterprise PACS backup and disaster recovery

A cross-continental Data Grid infrastructure has been developed at the Image Processing and Informatics (IPI) research laboratory as a fault-tolerant image data backup and disaster recovery solution for Enterprise PACS. The Data Grid stores multiple copies of the imaging studies as well as the metadata, such as patient and study information, in geographically distributed computers and storage devices involving three different continents: America, Asia and Europe. This effectively prevents loss of image data and accelerates data recovery in the case of disaster. However, the lack of centralized management system makes the administration of the current Data Grid difficult. Three major challenges exist in current Data Grid management: 1. No single user interface to access and administrate each geographically separate component; 2. No graphical user interface available, resulting in command-line-based administration; 3. No single sign-on access to the Data Grid; administrators have to log into every Grid component with different corresponding user names/passwords. In this paper we are presenting a prototype of a unique web-based access interface for both Data Grid administrators and users. The interface has been designed to be user-friendly; it provides necessary instruments to constantly monitor the current status of the Data Grid components and their contents from any locations, contributing to longer system up-time.