Implementing Secure Grid Services Using Globus Toolkit

Abstract

In Collaborative environment, security is very important. Numbers of threats exists, when communicating over network of computers, through which security can be broken and utilization of resources is done by intruder. Distributed Systems are those in which multiple different components of an application communicate and coordinate their action by passing messages. Numbers of resources, huge computing power and data are available in distributed systems environment. Hackers are looking for such useful systems only. Different techniques are implemented to secure distributed systems. A Network cannot be 100 percent secured, achieving security in distributed system is bit difficult but somewhat achieved with the use of various security techniques. Grid is an example of distributed system. "Grid enables the sharing, selection, and aggregation of geographically distributed resources dynamically at run time depending on their availability, capability, performance, cost, user quality-of -self-service requirement." The heterogeneous nature of resources and their differing security policies are complicated and complex in the security schemes of a Grid Computing environment. The aim of this thesis is to provide awareness about existing security techniques in distributed systems, and how they are not sufficient if there is need to secure Grid environment. This thesis focuses on the basic Grid security problem, its requirements, Grid Security Infrastructure (GSI) and GT3 model for Open Grid Service Architecture (OGSA). Web services are distributed computing technology. They are used for client/server applications. Web Services are platform-independent and language-independent and use HTTP for transmitting messages. But include the overhead of transmitting all data in XML and lack of versatility. Extension of web service is grid service. Grid service fit in grid environment. Grid environment is set up on the Windows Operating System. Number of different software is required to set up the environment. Grid service is developed on the grid environment and then made available to the number of grid users. Users can access the grid service once they have properly installed it in the grid service browser. Grid service Container contains all the services which are deployed by the developers of the grid service and are ready to be used by the users. There are proper steps to implement the grid service. The available services can be used by the users but when we want our service to be secured enough and have limited number of users, then need to create secure grid service. There do exists ways to make grid service secured. The number of statements is included in the files to make it secure and login window is added to check the authority of the person that whether he do have right to access the particular service from the container. This thesis implements the secure grid service.