The Apple University Consortium is pleased to announce it is offering 50 Scholarships to the AUC’s Xgrid workshop to be held at the Clifton Training Centre in Sydney & Melbourne. Recipients will be eligible to attend the two-day workshops, commencing on late October.
The workshop is designed to give those who attend an advanced understanding of Xgrid which is Apple’s proprietary technology for solving large computational problems using a number of computers idle/ wasted CPU time. The workshop focuses on Xgrids architecture, protocols and rich tool set and API’s. In addition to this the workshop looks at how a number of Apple technologies such as Podcast producer leverage Xgrid to implement/ optimize workflows in production environments.
A maximum of 25 people can attend each workshop so seats will be allocated on a competitive basis based on the information supplied in the application form.
What is Xgrid?
Xgrid is a distributed computing platform developed by the Advanced Computation Group within Apple Inc, that allows distributed computers to contribute to a single task. The system has is used by many researchers to solve large problems e.g. pattern analysis in large DNA data sets.
Xgrid provides developers/ administrators with a simple a method of creating a computing cluster, which allows them to exploit previously unused computational power for calculations that can be divided easily into smaller operations, such as Mandlebrot images.
The setup of an Xgrid cluster can be achieved at next to no cost, as a Xgrid client is pre-installed on all computers running Mac OS X 10.4 and the server component is freely available.
Xgrid employs its own communication protocols layered on top of a schema to communicate to other nodes and provides a powerful library of command line tools and frameworks to help developers leverage Xgrids power in their own applications.
Xgrid is used extensively in a number of Apple technologies including Xcode and PodCast producer.
Who should attend?
The workshop is aimed specifically at students who study computing science, computer engineering, information technology, mathematics or related disciplines and/or those that have an interest in using computers to solve problems with large computational. The workshop is also aimed at staff of similar background and interests.
It is expected that those who attend will have some computer programming experience using languages such as, but not limited to, Java and C++. It is not expected that students/staff have previous experience programming on the Mac OS X platform but it would be helpful.
What will I learn at the Workshop?
In this workshop attendee’s will learn all about Xgrid, how it can be leveraged from your applications and how other Apple technologies such as Podcast producer use it to help with workflow processing. The workshop will feature hands on activities designed to get you to experience the power of the Xgrid platform.
Key topics covered will include:
- What is Xgrid: Key Technologies and Protocols
- How to get Xgrid Working in your environment
- Using Xgrid from the Command Line (command and scripting).
- Understanding and Using the Xgrid API from your Cocoa Apps
- Real World uses of Xgrid to solve course grained parallel problems e.g. Mandelbrot sets.
- Using Podcast Producer with Xgrid and Understanding Workflows.
Dates & Venue
The AUC Xgrid Workshop will be at the following venues on these dates:
Each session commences at 9:30am and will conclude at 4:30pm.
AUC Subsidy
The AUC will be offering a subsidised place at the closest Xgrid workshop to AUC students/staff at member Universities on a competitive basis. Participants are required to pay a small registration fee ($50 for students/$100 for staff). The AUC will send attendees a Tax Invoice once participants are confirmed in the program.
Accommodation & Travel
The workshops will run over two days in Sydney and Melbourne. Ideally participants from Victoria, South Australian, Western Australian and Tasmanian Universities should participate in the Melbourne workshop, while participants from New South Wales, Queensland, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory institutions should enroll in the Sydney workshop. This is to ensure that there is a even number of participants at each location, that said the AUC is flexible on this.
Participants will need to organise their own flights and accommodation to attend the event. The AUC nor Apple can assist with organising flights or accommodation.
Subsidy Inclusions
The AUC subsidy provides participants with funding for one nights accomodation up to $150 (inc-GST, room and taxes only), two nights (up to $300) if participants are coming in from WA, NT or FNQ.
Return economy airfare (base airfare and mandatory taxes only) if required based on Virgin Blue or Jetstar discounted rates. Please use the cheapest airfare available, use WebJet to compare fares.
Also included is morning and afternoon teas, lunch each day and a copy of the training materials.
Airfare and accommodation costs are claimable AFTER the course from the AUC by filling in the AUC Claims form.
Application Process
To take advantage of the AUC Xgrid Workshop you must complete the application form on the AUC web site by the 5pm (Sydney time) on 2 October 2009. Your application status will be confirmed on 6 October 2009.
Xgrid Workshop Application Form
If you have any questions regarding this program please call +61 2 4221 5230 and speak with Andrew Jeffrey or email ajeffrey@auc.edu.au .
