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Grid computing has the design goal of solving problems too big for any single supercomputer, whilst retaining the flexibility to work on multiple smaller problems. Thus grid computing provides a multi-user environment.

This implies the use of secure authorization techniques to allow remote users to control computing resource s.

Grid computing involves sharing heterogenous resources (based on different platforms, hardware/software architectures, and computer languages), located in different places belonging to different administrative domains over a network using open standards. In short, it involves virtualizing computing resources.

Functionally, one can classify grids as:

• Computational Grids (including CPU scavengingCPU-scavenging or cycle-scavenging systems use machines purchased for other purposes to run batch jobs at night, weekends, and other idle times. Cycle-scavenging systems typically gain and lose machines at unpredictable times as interactive users start or grids), or as:
• Data gridA data grid is a grid computing system that deals with data the controlled sharing and management are large amounts of distributed data. These are often, but not always, combined with computational grid computing systems. Many scientific and engineering as.

The Global Grid Forum (GGF) has the purpose of defining specifications for grid computing. The GlobusGlobus is a Swiss department store company, that runs 11 department stores in Switzerland plus the Herren Globus chain of menswear stores, Office World chain of office supplies stores plus management of the cartoon character Globi. The it started in 1907 Toolkit implements its standards, and has become the de factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "in fact" or "in practice", commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning "by law") when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as create standard for grid middlewareIn computing, Middleware describes software agents acting as an intermediary between different application components. It is used most often to support complex, distributed applications. The software agents involved may be one or many. The classic example. As a middleware component, it provides a standard platform for services to build upon, but grid computing needs other components as well, and many other tools operate to support a successful Grid environment. This situation resembles that of TCP/IP: the usefulness of the InternetThis article is about the Internet the extensive, worldwide computer network available to the public. An internet is a more general term for a set of interconnected computer networks that are connected by internetworking''. WWW information network structu emerged both from the success of TCP/IP and the establishment of applications such as newsgroups and webpages.

Globus has implementations of the GGF-defined protocolFor the meaning in computer science, see protocol (computing). In addition to the meaning below, treaties are sometimes called protocols. The word derives from a Greek phrase meaning "first leaf", referring to the first draft of a treaty. Protocol is thes to provide:

1. Resource management: Grid Resource Allocation & Management Protocol ( GRAM )
2. Information Services: Monitoring and Discovery Service ( MDS)
3. Security Services: Grid Security Infrastructure ( GSI)
4. Data Movement and Management: Global Access to Secondary Storage ( GASS ) and GridFTP

A number of tools function along with Globus to make grid computing a more robust platform, useful to high-performance computing communities. They include:

• Grid Portal Software such as GridPort and OGCE
• Grid Packaging Toolkit (GPT)
• MPICH-G2 (Grid Enabled MPI)
• Network Weather Service (NWS) (Quality-of-Service monitoring and statistics)
• Condor (CPU Cycle Scavenging) and Condor-G (Job Submission)

Most of the grids which span research and academic communities in North America and Europe utilise the Globus Toolkit as their core middleware.

Grids offer a way to solve Grand Challenge problems like protein folding, drug discovery, financial modelling, earthquake simulation, climate/ weather modelling etc. Grids offer a way of using the information technology resources optimally in an organisation. They also provide a means for offering information technology as a utility bureau for commercial and non-commercial clients, with those clients paying only for what they use, as with electricity or water.