T-REX roars into life

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T-Rex (Taverna Remote Execution Service) is a new component from myGrid which allows Taverna workflows to be uploaded and run on a remote server.

The Taverna workbench is frequently used as a rich client that is installed locally and allows both the design and execution of workflows. The workflows commonly contain distributed services and data sources, but the invocation and co-ordination of these services happens locally on the client machine.

This is not suitable for scientists who need to decouple the process of designing the workflow from its execution, e.g. scientists who design workflows for use by others on myExperiment. It is also not suitable for scientists who work on laptops and need to disconnect from the network before the workflow can finish. myExperiment makes workflows accessible to non-informaticians by allowing them to run workflows that have been designed by others. T-Rex makes this exchange of workflows even easier. Scientists can now set up a T-Rex installation and deploy a set of routine workflows that non-informaticians can use. In this way, groups can build an ‘experiment compendium’, with each experiment being formally described in the workflow model to support a particular project or research community.

The T-REX plugin can be downloaded from the Taverna website.

Katy Wolstencroft

www.myexperiment.org