Grid object description: characterizing grids

We present a new data model approach to describe the various objects that either represent Grid infrastructure or make use of it. The data model is based on our experiences and experiments conducted in heterogeneous grid environments. While very sophisticated data models exist to describe and characterize, e.g. compute capacities or Web services, we will show that a general description, which combines all of these aspects, is needed to give an adequate representation of objects on a Grid. The Grid Object Description Language (GODsL) is a generic and extensible approach to unify the various aspects that an object on a Grid can have. GODsL provides the content for the XML based communication in Grid migration scenarios, carried out in the GridLab project. We describe the data model architecture on a general level and focus on the Grid application scenarios.