INDUSTRY

A team of researchers from Louisiana State University unveiled a new software package, called Stork Data Scheduler, which makes it easier and more efficient for researchers to access and transfer large data sets. Stork is a collaborative project between researchers at Louisiana State University and University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Stork team announced the first version (Stork 1.0) is now available for download through the Stork project Web page. Stork is open source, and users can download it for free. As researchers today increasingly rely on advances in computer systems, they are encountering unprecedented amounts of data that need to be sorted, stored and analyzed. This means researchers need more effective data scheduling, management and storage tools. Stork, so named because it delivers data, is a batch scheduler program for data that gives researchers greater ease in sharing, storing and accessing data. This allows them to collaborate more easily and effectively with their peers. Using Stork, researchers can transfer very large data sets with only a single command. Multi-protocol support makes Stork one of the most powerful data transfer tools available. Stork also is compatible with advanced high-performance computing toolkits, and researchers can use the software to access the power of these large systems. The Stork project lead is LSU Center for Computation &Technology, or CCT, and LSU Department of Computer Science Assistant Professor Tevfik Kosar, who also is addressing the problem of distributed data storage and transfer through the PetaShare project. In 2006, Kosar received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create advanced data archival, processing and visualization capabilities. Kosar’s work on the PetaShare project is a tie-in with the Stork project. Several National Science Foundation, Department of Energy and Office of Naval Research-funded projects are currently using the Stork Data Scheduler. For more information on the Stork Project, please visit the project Web page at www.storkproject.org.