Open Science Grid (OSG) Overview

The Open Science Grid (OSG) is a nationwide, distributed high-throughput computing (dHTC) platform that empowers researchers with scalable compute and data resources. By pooling resources from multiple institutions, OSG accelerates scientific discovery while reducing the overhead of maintaining local clusters.

Why OSG Matters for Your Research

• Accelerate Discovery: Run thousands of concurrent jobs and process massive datasets efficiently.
• Scale On Demand: Leverage multi-petabyte compute power without the need for in-house infrastructure.
• Cost-Effective: Minimize costs by sharing resources and reducing administrative burdens.
• Foster Collaboration: Connect with a national community of experts and resource providers.

The OSG Ecosystem

Collaborative Consortium

• Resource Providers: Universities, national labs, and research institutions share spare cycles and storage.
• Research Communities: Diverse disciplines—from particle physics to genomics—benefit from high-throughput computing.
• Governance & Support:
  • The OSG Council sets strategic priorities.
  • The Executive Team manages daily operations.
  • Funding comes from NSF initiatives (e.g., NSF PATh #2030508) and other partners.

Distributed High Throughput Computing (dHTC)

OSG’s dHTC model allows you to:

• Run Parallel Tasks: Distribute independent jobs across thousands of nodes.
• Optimize Throughput: Automatically match jobs to available resources.
• Support Varied Workloads: Easily switch between data analysis, simulations, and more.

Key Technologies and Services

• Virtual Clusters: Build your own “virtual cluster” by tapping into shared computing resources.
• Global Research Accounting (GRACC): Monitor your job performance and resource usage with detailed metrics.
• Open Science Pool (OSPool): Access NSF-supported compute capacity through institutional access points or the OSG Portal.
• Standardized Job Tools: Use familiar interfaces and scripts to submit, monitor, and manage jobs seamlessly.

How OSG Benefits R1 Researchers

• Scalable Research Projects: Easily scale experiments from pilot studies to full-scale analyses.
• Rapid Prototyping: Test ideas quickly on a robust computing infrastructure.
• Cost Savings: Leverage shared resources to reduce overall research computing costs.
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Work with experts across fields and institutions to drive innovative research.

Getting Started with OSG

1. Explore the Documentation
   • OSG Documentation
   • OSG Site Admin Documentation
2. Register and Request Access
   • Contact your institutional OSG administrator.
   • Follow online registration instructions on the OSG portal.
3. Launch Your Workload
   • Submit your first job using familiar tools.
   • Monitor performance with GRACC and optimize your usage.

Success Stories

Researchers have used OSG to:

• Process Petabytes of Data: Accelerate analyses without local supercomputers.
• Run Large-Scale Simulations: Reduce simulation times through massive parallelism.
• Enhance Collaboration: Share resources and expertise across disciplines.

Learn More

• Knowledge Base:
  • OSG Documentation
  • OSG Site Admin Documentation
  • Submitting Jobs to OSG
• Visit the Open Science Grid Website for additional details, upcoming events, and contribution opportunities.

For further questions or support, please contact your institutional OSG representative or visit the OSG support portal.