Data Grid

With researchers across Japan involved in Priority Issue 9, it is a major challenge to manage and transfer the large amounts of data obtained through large-scale calculations.
The proprietary JLDG has been maintained and operated under HPCI SPIRE Field 5, but new development issues have arisen as the volume of data has increased over time. We will continue to maintain and operate the JLDG for Priority Issue 9, using it in concert with HPCI shared storage to establish a platform for promoting research.

ILDG/JLDG

As part of the activities in CCS, University of Tsukuba, we have been operating the International Lattice Data Grid (ILDG) and the JLDG in order to share lattice QCD data among domestic and overseas researchers. In lattice QCD, supercomputers are used to perform calculations based on QCD, which is a theory that deals with the strong force acting among the quarks that constitute hadrons such as protons and neutrons. Based on the results, we can determine fundamental parameters in physics, such as the quark mass, thereby making it possible to predict new phenomena.
We have been sharing configuration data obtained from lattice QCD simulations with domestic and overseas researchers via the data grids. The JLDG is a wide-area distributed file system constructed using the Gfarm file system developed at AIST and the University of Tsukuba, and it now connects six research institutes and universities, namely, The University of Tsukuba, KEK, Kyoto University, Kanazawa University, Osaka University, and Hiroshima University. Users can access arbitrary files in the system without regard to geographical location.
The JLDG functions as a regional grid within the ILDG, which is an international data grid for sharing lattice QCD configurations on a global scale. The ILDG interconnects five regional grids, the UKQCD (UK), the LDG (Germany, France, and Italy), the USQCD (US), the CSSM (Australia), and the JLDG. Overseas researchers frequently access the JLDG via the ILDG.