Expanded Software Repository Includes TeraGrid and CIP Views

By Herbert Morgan, NCSA

TeraGrid and Cyberinfrastucture Partnership (CIP) users can now easily find information about third-party software that is available to them via a Web-based software repository. This expanded repository is modeled on NCSA's Software Repository, which contains third-party software information installed on NCSA's high-end computer systems.

Users may view a list of software organized by the science it supports, by the software package name, by the platform on which the package is installed, and by the organization at which it is installed. Users may view a general description of the software package as well as specific information about an installed copy of the software. In addition, they may search for software installed within a specific timeframe (e.g., within the past seven days).

Prior to the development of NCSA's Software Repository, third-party software information was available on a static Web page that was difficult to keep up-to-date. Now, information is stored in a database with the information about installed software entered and modified through the repository's administration interface.

"This capability eliminates the bottleneck of having someone else update the static Web page," says Sandie Kappes, NCSA Training and Documentation Lead and the repository's developer, "enabling software coordinators to update information as new versions are installed on the systems."

The expanded software repository manages information about third-party applications software that is available to users of high-end computer systems at NCSA, and other TeraGrid institutions. A view is also provided that shows software supported at NCSA and the San Diego Supercomputing Center (SDSC) under their Cyberinfrastructure Partnership. (An additional view of SDSC-only software will be available soon.) In addition, any institution that enters data into the repository could have a view that only shows the software at their site.

For more information on the Software Repository, contact NCSA consulting at consult@ncsa.uiuc.edu.