Kenneth C. Laudon,Jane P. Laudon Management Information System 12th Edition pdf

Grid computing

, involves connecting geographically remote computers into a

single network to create a virtual supercomputer by combining the computa-

tional power of all computers on the grid. Grid computing takes advantage of

the fact that most computers use their central processing units on average only

25 percent of the time for the work they have been assigned, leaving these idle

resources available for other processing tasks. Grid computing was impossible

until high-speed Internet connections enabled firms to connect remote

machines economically and move enormous quantities of data.

Grid computing requires software programs to control and allocate resources

on the grid. Client software communicates with a server software application.

The server software breaks data and application code into chunks that are then

parceled out to the grid’s machines. The client machines perform their

traditional tasks while running grid applications in the background. 

The business case for using grid computing involves cost savings, speed of

computation, and agility, as noted in the chapter-opening case. The chapter-

opening case shows that by running its applications on clustered servers on a

grid, BART eliminated unused computer resources, used existing resources

more efficiently, and reduced costs and power consumption.

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