Grid computing is a computing infrastructure that combines computer resources distributed in different geographical locations to achieve a common goal. All unused resources on multiple computers are pooled together and made available for a single task. Organizations use grid computing to perform large tasks or solve complex problems that are difficult to perform on a single computer.
For example, meteorologists use grid computing to model the weather. Weather modeling is a computationally intensive problem that requires complex data management and analysis. Processing huge amounts of weather data on a single computer is slow and time-consuming. That’s why meteorologists analyze geographically distributed networked computing infrastructure and combine the results.
Why is grid computing important?
Organizations use grid computing for several reasons.
Efficiency
With grid computing, you can break down a huge, complex task into multiple subtasks. Multiple computers can work on the subtasks simultaneously, making grid computing an efficient computing solution.
Cost
Grid computing works with your existing hardware, which means you can reuse your existing computers. You can save money by having access to redundant computing resources. You can also economically access resources from the cloud.
Flexibility
Grid computing is not limited to a specific building or location. You can set up a grid computing network that spans multiple regions. This allows researchers in different countries to work together with the same supercomputing power.
What are the uses of grid computing?
Below are some common applications of grid computing.
Financial services
Financial institutions use grid computing mainly to solve problems related to risk management. By leveraging the combined computing power of the network, they can reduce the time it takes to predict portfolio changes in volatile markets.
Gaming
The gaming industry uses grid computing to provide additional computing resources to game developers. The grid computing system divides large tasks, such as game design, and distributes them among several machines. This results in a faster turnaround for game developers.
Entertainment
Some movies have complex special effects that require a powerful computer to create. Special effects developers use grid computing to speed up their work schedule. They have network-enabled software that shares computing resources to render special effects graphics.
Engineering
Engineers use grid computing to model, create simulations, and analyze projects. They run specialized programs on multiple machines simultaneously to process huge amounts of data. For example, engineers use grid computing to reduce the time required for Monte Carlo simulations, a software process that uses past data to predict the future.