CO-OP 3D Project
The NSF/ARPA/NASA CO-OP 3D Project:

Distributed Supercomputing via Satellite

"This is the first time the MM5 has been coupled to both a lake model and a wave model. It's also the first time the MM5 has been run over a satellite."
--Project scientist Jordan Powers

CO-OP 3D is a distributed-computing research project funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). The project uses NASAs Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) to set up high-speed data communication links between NCAR and the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC). The broad purposes of the project are:

To create a coupled environmental modeling system encompassing weather, lake, and wave forecasting; and


To advance the technology of distributed computing and high-speed networking.

The project uses the nonhydrostatic, primitive-equation Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5) to simulate the atmosphere. The MM5 runs over four domains of different horizontal grid sizes that exchange information via Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) software. The coarser 54-, 18-, and 6-km domains run on a CRAY J916 supercomputer at NCAR, while the fine 2-km domain is coupled to, and communicates with, the 6-km domain. The MM5 is coupled via PVM to a lake circulation model (the Princeton Numerical Ocean Model) and a wave model (the GLERL-Donelan Wave Model) running simultaneously on the OSC CRAY Y-MP.

The models continually exchange information via ACTS, while data manager software on each side transfers the models output via ACTS to local and remote visualization workstations. This allows scientists at both NCAR and OSU to analyze model data in real time and to evaluate and modify simulations during their execution. Video teleconferencing between the sites, also supported by ACTS, further facilitates the collaboration.

Opportunities for Scientific Collaboration,
Improved Forecasting

A unique aspect of the CO-OP 3D project is that it promotes real-time collaboration of scientists in widespread locations. Ultimately, the products of CO-OP 3D will contribute to the public benefit through improved atmospheric and marine forecasting.

Revolutionizing Network Technology

CO-OP 3D advances networking technology in a number of ways:
It facilitates the transfer of very large amounts of data between high-performance supercomputers via a high-bandwidth, high-latency data communications channel.

It adds to Geo-Synchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite technology by demonstrating its utility for Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) applications.

It demonstrates the feasibility of high-data-rate, optical-fiber-quality data communications anywhere in the world at any time.

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