Types of grid users and the Customer-Service Provider relationship: a future picture of grid use

Who will be the grid users of tomorrow? We propose a categorisation of ‘future grid’ users into the following categories: Service End-User, Power User (with three distinct sub-types), Service Provider and Infrastructure Sysadmin. A further basic type could be argued as Third Party Beneficiary. This paper outlines the possible characteristics of these ‘types’ of users. For users that have layers of applications or, for example, a portal between them and the grid resource, it is almost certain that heavyweight security solutions, as we have with client digital certificates, are too onerous and unnecessary. It is likely that some users will, however, need client digital certificates, due to the level of control that they may exert on individual grid resources. We also outline a Customer-Service Provider model of grid use. It may be that authentication and authorisation for the SEU 'customers' should be the responsibility of the Service Providers (SPs). This would hint at a more legal framework for delegating authority to enable grid use, but one which could be more secure and easier to administer. Such a model could also simplify the challenges of accounting on grids, leaving much of this onerous task to the Service Providers.