A Lightweight, Scriptable, Web-based Frontend to the SRB

Abstract

The San Diego Supercomputing Centre’s Storage Resource Broker (SRB) is in wide use in our project. We found that none of the supplied interfaces fulfilled our needs, so we have developed a new interface, which we call TobysSRB. It is a web-based application with a radically simplified user interface, making it easy yet powerful to operate for novices and experts alike. The web interface is easily extensible, and external viewers may be incorporated. In addition, it has been designed such that interactions with TobysSRB are easily automatable, with a stable, well-defined and well-documented HTTP API, conforming to the REST (Representational State Transfer) philosophy. The focus has been on lightweightness, usability and scriptability.