Introduction

Grid computing connects computers that are scattered over a wide geographic area, allowing their computing power to be shared. Just as the World Wide Web enables access to information, computer grids enable access to computing resources. These resources include data storage capacity, processing power, sensors, visualization tools and
more. Thus, grids can combine the resources of thousands of different computers to create a massively powerful computing resource, accessible from the comfort of a personal computer and useful for multiple applications, in science, business and beyond.