Editing Storage Resource Broker

{{Multiple issues|
{{technical|date=September 2011}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2009}}
}}

'''Storage Resource Broker''' ('''SRB''') is [[data grid]] management [[computer software]] used in [[computational science]] research projects. SRB is a logical distributed [[file system]] based on a [[client-server architecture]] which presents users with a single global logical namespace or file hierarchy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=What is the SRB |url=http://www.sdsc.edu/srb/index.php/What_is_the_SRB |work=SRB wiki |date=16 May 2006 |access-date=17 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702055848/http://www.sdsc.edu/srb/index.php/What_is_the_SRB |archive-date=2 July 2013 }}</ref> Essentially, the software enables a user to use a single mechanism to work with multiple data sources.

==Description==
SRB provides a uniform interface to heterogeneous [[computer data storage]] resources over a network.  As part of this, it implements a logical [[namespace]] (distinct from physical file names) and maintains [[metadata]] on data-objects (files), users, groups, resources, collections, and other items in an SRB [[metadata]] catalog (MCAT) stored in a relational [[database management system]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |title= The SDSC storage resource broker |last1= Baru |first1= Chaitanya |first2= Reagan |last2= Moore |first3= Arcot |last3= Rajasekar |first4= Michael |last4= Wan |journal= CASCON First Decade High Impact Papers  |pages= 189–200 |doi= 10.1145/1925805.1925816 |year= 2010 |citeseerx= 10.1.1.203.4142 |s2cid= 15937740 }} (Reprint from November 30 – December 3, 1998)</ref>  System and user-defined metadata can be queried to locate files based on attributes as well as by name. SRB runs on various versions of [[Unix]], [[Linux]], and [[Microsoft Windows]].

The SRB system is [[middleware]] in the sense that it is built on top of other major software packages (various storage systems, real-time data sources, a relational database management system, etc.) and it has callable library functions that can be utilized by higher level software. However, it is more complete than many middleware software systems as it implements a comprehensive distributed data management environment, including various end-user client applications.  It has features to support the management and collaborative (and controlled) sharing, publication, replication, transfer, and preservation of distributed data collections.<ref name=":0" />

SRB is sometimes used in conjunction with computational [[grid computing]] systems, such as Globus Alliance, and can utilize the Globus Alliance Grid Security Infrastructure (GSI) [[authentication]] system.

SRB can store and retrieve data in archival storage systems such as the [[High Performance Storage System]] and SAM-FS, on disk [[file system]]s (Unix, Linux, or Windows), as [[binary large object]]s or tabular data in relational database management systems, and on tape libraries.

SRB was used since 1997. In 2008 the SRB was estimated to be managing over two petabytes of data.

While licensed, SRB source distributions are freely available to academic and non-profit organizations. [[Nirvana (software)|Nirvana]] SRB, a commercial version of SRB, featured capabilities specifically adapted to government and commercial use.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.nirvanastorage.com |title= Nirvana Storage - Home of the Storage Resource Broker (SRB) |work= web site |access-date= 17 July 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080724002757/http://www.nirvanastorage.com/ |archive-date= 2008-07-24 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

==History==
SRB development began in 1995, through the cooperative efforts of [[General Atomics]], the Data Intensive Cyber Environments Group (DICE), and the [[San Diego Supercomputer Center]] (SDSC) at the [[University of California, San Diego]] (UCSD) with the support of the [[National Science Foundation]] (NSF).

SRB builds on the work of Reagan Moore. Moore, a doctorate in plasma physics from UCSD and former computational plasma physicist at General Atomics, joined  the San Diego Supercomputer Center at its inception.<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5247/is_39_24/ai_n29033639/ "San Diego Business Journal", 29 September 2003]{{Dead link |date= July 2013}}</ref>
A project for a distributed object computation testbed was funded by [[DARPA]] and the [[US Patent and Trademark Office]] in 1998 and 1999.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Digging Into Data: Q&A with Reagan Moore |work=SDSC web site |url=http://www.sdsc.edu/profile/rmoore.html |access-date=17 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702051923/http://www.sdsc.edu/profile/rmoore.html |archive-date=2 July 2013 }}</ref>

In 2003, [[General Atomics]] was granted an exclusive license from UCSD to develop SRB for commercial applications.<ref>{{Cite news |title= General Atomics Acquires Exclusive License from UCSD for Commercialization of Unique Data Management Software |date= 22 September 2003 |work= Press release |publisher= General Atomics |url= http://media.ga.com/2003/09/22/general-atomics-acquires-exclusive-license-from-ucsd-for-commercialization-of-unique-data-management-software/ |accessdate= 17 July 2013 }}</ref>
New versions were announced in 2008 and 2012.<ref>{{Cite news |title= General Atomics, Nirvana Division releases SRB 2008 |date= 29 July 2008 |work= Press release |publisher= General Atomics |url= http://media.ga.com/2008/07/29/general-atomics-nirvana-division-releases-srb-2008/ |accessdate= 17 July 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title= Nirvana SRB 2012 R3® Is Enhanced With Significant Caching Performance, Synchronization and Database Migration Improvements |date= 5 November 2012 |work= Press release |publisher= General Atomics |url= http://media.ga.com/2012/11/05/nirvana-srb-2012-r3-is-enhanced-with-significant-caching-performance-synchronization-and-database-migration-improvements/ |accessdate= 17 July 2013 |archive-date= 12 June 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150612180441/http://media.ga.com/2012/11/05/nirvana-srb-2012-r3-is-enhanced-with-significant-caching-performance-synchronization-and-database-migration-improvements/ |url-status= dead }}</ref>

The integrated Rule-Oriented Data management System (iRODS) is a follow-on project of the SDSC SRB team (which became the Data Intensive Cyber Environments group), and largely replaced the use of SRB.  iRODS is based on SRB concepts but was completely re-written, includes a highly-configurable rule engine at its core and is fully open source.
Conferences in 2011 included demonstrations of iRODS.<ref>{{Cite book |first1= Mike |last1= Conway |first2= Reagan |last2=Moore |first3= Arcot |last3= Rajasekar |first4= Jean-Yves |last4= Nief |title= 2011 IEEE International Symposium on Policies for Distributed Systems and Networks |chapter= Demonstration of Policy-Guided Data Preservation Using iRODS |pages= 173–174 |year= 2011 |isbn=978-0-7695-4330-7 |doi= 10.1109/POLICY.2011.17 |s2cid= 8684444 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
;Bibliography
*{{cite journal|last=Moore|first=R.|date=July 2006|title=Building Preservation Environments with Data Grid Technology|journal=American Archivist|volume=69|issue=1|pages=139–158|doi=10.17723/aarc.69.1.176p51l2w5278567|doi-access=free}}
*{{cite journal|last=Moore|first=R.|author2=A. Rajasekar |author3=M. Wan |date=April 2006|title=Storage Resource Broker Global Data Grids|journal=Fourteenth NASA Goddard / Twenty-Third IEEE Conference on Mass Storage Systems and Technologies|publisher=NASA / IEEE MSST2006}}
*{{cite journal|last=Rajasekar|first=A.|author2=M. Wan |author3=R. Moore |author4=W. Schroeder |date=May 2006|title=A Prototype Rule-based Distributed Data Management System|journal=HPDC Workshop on Next Generation Distributed Data Management|location=Paris, France}}
*{{cite journal|last=Rajasekar|first=A.|author2=M. Wan |author3=R. Moore |date=March 2009|title=Event Processing in Policy Oriented Data Grids|journal=Proceedings of Intelligent Event Processing AAAI Spring Symposium|location=Stanford, California|pages=61–66}}

==External links==
*[http://srb.diceresearch.org DICE Storage Resource Broker (SRB)]
*[http://www.irods.org/ iRODS Website]

[[Category:Middleware]]
[[Category:Grid computing products]]