ITL

WebSubmit: 

A Web-based Interface to High-Performance Computing Resources


Overview

WebSubmit is a Web-based utility providing access to applications on a collection of heterogeneous computing resources.  Its goal is to make it easy to use computing resources via the Web without requiring knowledge of the specifics of unfamiliar operating systems and dynamic application environments.  Users can effectively log into distinct computing environments and perform tasks without needing a detailed knowledge of their operating environment.

A collection of machines, referred to as the WebSubmit cluster and determined by the site administrators, can be accessed through WebSubmit.  Strong authentication using the Secure Sockets Layer protocol lets registered users connect to the system, and when validated by a WebSubmit authority, gives them access to a group of application modules.  Each application module is presented as an HTML form; this form is filled out and submitted to the server, which then processes the request and executes the desired tasks on the specified remote system using another secure protocol.  The system is flexible and extensible, and its modularity promotes ease of use, maintainability, and interface development.

Software Features

Current WebSubmit Service Parameters

Seven systems are currently connected with WebSubmit at NIST:
  1. an IBM SP2 parallel supercomputer (danube.nist.gov)
  2. an IBM cluster (sci-apps.nist.gov)
  3. an 8-processor SGI Origin 2000 (arno.nist.gov)
  4. three 32-processor SGI Origin 2000 systems (amur.nist.gov, tay.nist.gov, neva.nist.gov)
  5. a 16-node PC cluster running Linux (rapid.nist.gov)
Collectively these systems use the Loadleveler, Network Queuing System, and Load Sharing Facility as batch queuing systems.

Screen Shots: WebSubmit Application Modules

The following links point to screen shots of several WebSubmit interfaces (not necessarily current).  In all cases, the screen shot only shows a portion of the interface.

Accessing WebSubmit (Last Updated: 05.13.99)

Additional WebSubmit Information

Papers

Presentations

Press Reports

Implementation Details and Documentation

WebSubmit is a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) application written in Ousterhout's Tool Command Language (Tcl).  All WebSubmit forms are generated dynamically using the cgi.tcl library for Tcl written by Don Libes of NIST.  Processing of form data and interaction with remote computer systems is carried out using a collection of Tcl packages written by the WebSubmit development team.  Interface documentation and an Administrator's Reference Guide provide complete details about the operation and implementation of WebSubmit.  The WebSubmit server is a Netscape Enterprise Server (or equivalent), and provides the necessary tools needed to perform SSL authentication and certificate manipulation.


Acknowledgements

WebSubmit is under development by: Past Members of the Development Team: Additional Acknowledgements: