A taxonomy of grid monitoring systems

Monitoring is the act of collecting information concerning the characteristics and status of resources of interest. Monitoring grid resources is a lively research area given the challenges and manifold applications. The aim of this paper is to advance the understanding of grid monitoring by introducing the involved concepts, requirements, phases, and related standardisation activities, including Global Grid Forum's Grid Monitoring Architecture. Based on a refinement of the latter, the paper proposes a taxonomy of grid monitoring systems, which is employed to classify a wide range of projects and frameworks. The value of the offered taxonomy lies in that it captures a given system's scope, scalability, generality and flexibility. The paper concludes with, among others, a discussion of the considered systems, as well as directions for future research.