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DOCUMENTATION AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
Includes information management; information storage and retrieval technology; technical writing; graphic arts; and micrography. For
computer program documentation see 61 Computer Programming and Software.
20030020867 Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA
US Astronomers Access to SIMBAD in Strasbourg, France
Eichhorn, G.; Oliverson, Ronald J., Technical Monitor; March 2003; 2 pp.; In English
Contract(s)/Grant(s): NAG5-8413; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A01, Hardcopy
During the last year the US SIMBAD Gateway Project continued to provide services like user registration to the US users
of the SIMBAD database in France. Currently there are over 4300 US users registered. We also provided user support by
answering questions from users and handling requests for lost passwords when still necessary. Even though almost all users
now access SIMBAD without a password, based on hostnames/IP addresses, there are still some users that need individual
passwords. We continued to maintain the mirror copy of the SIMBAD database on a server at SAO. This allows much faster
access for the US users. During the past year we moved this mirror to a faster server to improve access for the US users. We
again supported a demonstration of the SIMBAD database at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society in January.
We provided support for the demonstration activities at the SIMBAD booth. We paid part of the fee for the SIMBAD
demonstration. We continued to improve the cross-linking between the SIMBAD project and the Astrophysics Data System.
This cross-linking between these systems is very much appreciated by the users of both the SIMBAD database and the ADS
Abstract Service. The mirror of the SIMBAD database at SAO makes this connection faster for the US astronomers. We
exchange information between the ADS and SIMBAD on a daily basis. The close cooperation between the CDS in Strasbourg
and SAO, facilitated by this project, is an important part of the astronomy-wide digital library initiative. It has proven to be
a model in how different data centers can collaborate and enhance the value of their products by linking with other data centers.
We continue this collaboration in order to provide better services to both the US and European astronomical community. This
collaboration is even more important in light of the developments for the Virtual Observatory projects in the different
countries.
Author
Astronomy; International Cooperation; Data Bases; Internet Resources
Includes cost effectiveness studies.
83
ECONOMICS AND COST ANALYSIS
20030020952 NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA Computer Sciences Corp., USA
Applicability of Markets to Global Scheduling in Grids: Critical Examination of General Equilibrium Theory and
Market Folklore
Nakai, Junko; VanDerWijngaart, Rob F.; January 09, 2003; 38 pp.; In English; IPG Workshop, Feb. 2002, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Contract(s)/Grant(s): RTOP 704-40-24; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A03, Hardcopy
Markets are often considered superior to other global scheduling mechanisms for distributed computing systems. This
claim is supported by: a casual observation from our every-day life that markets successfully equilibrate supply and demand,
and the features of markets which originate in the general equilibrium theory, e.g., efficiency and the lack of necessity of 2
central controller. This paper describes why such beliefs in markets are not warranted. It does so by examining the general
equilibrium theory, in terms of scope, abstraction, and interpretation. Not only does the general equilibrium theory fail to
provide a satisfactory explanation of actual economies, including a computing-resource economy, it also falls short of
supplying theoretical foundations for commonly held views of market desirability. This paper also points out that the argument
for the desirability of markets involves circular reasoning and that the desirability can be established only vis-a-vis a
scheduling goal. Finally, recasting the conclusion of Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem as that for global scheduling, we conclude
that there exists no market-based scheduler that is rational (in the sense defined in microeconomic theory), takes into account
utility of more than one user, and yet yields a Pareto-optimal outcome for arbitrary user utility functions.
Author
Market Research; Economic Analysis; Distributed Processing; Programming (Scheduling); Computer Networks;
Optimization
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