Topic: More Open Source Packages & Need for Unified DoD Open Source Repository
Date Received: July 3, 2008

The Baseline Configuration Team has done a great service. The open source collection is impressive. The packages are nearly all library routines. A few packages I would like to see added the list are OpenFOAM, Salome MECA, Dakota, Cantera. wxMacsyma, and scilab/scicos. Good job.

Also, there is a need for a unified DoD open source repository. This could help greatly with keeping the government up to date on software. The problem is a consistent process for evaluating the security of open source software needs to be in place somewhere to aid in obtaining approval for installation on networked government systems. Since the HPC environment already maintains open source software, it would be a service that could be provided without much additional effort. DISA has some related projects that could help including LONDON (Linux on Disanet), Linux CAC and DoDBastille under the OSSG. Aaron Lippold (Aaron.Lippold@disa.mil) is the person to contact to find out more on the open source security discussions in DoD. Most of the code would be scientific and engineering but other code including Internet services and desktop applications could be included.

BC Team Feedback
Reply Date: August 12, 2008

Thank you kindly for your recent input to the BC team, and for your kind words on BC team's contributions to the DoD user community.

Your input to the BC team comprises two distinct parts. These are:

a) Request to add the following packages:

  • OpenFOAM
  • Salome MECA
  • Dakota
  • Cantera
  • wxMacsyma
  • Scilab/Scicos

to the BC open source math libraries list.

b) Creation of a unified DoD open source repository.

We will address these two parts separately.

a) The six packages referenced in your input are highly specialized packages for the numerical solution of continuum mechanics problems including computational fluid dynamics (openFOAM), computer-aided design modeling (Salome & Salome-MECA), solution of problems involving chemically-reacting flows (Cantera), computing wide range of mathematical operations from relatively simple operations such as done in MATLAB (Scilab/Scicos), and large-scale engineering optimization and uncertainty analysis (Dakota). As for wxMacsyma, we are assuming that wxMacsyma is related to Macsyma, a symbolic computer algebra system developed from 1968 to 1982 at MIT.

As stated in the BC policy Common Set of Open Source Math Libraries, all packages listed in the BC policy are installed and maintained as part of a consistent computational environment managed by the User Productivity Enhancement and Technology Transfer (PET) Computational Environments (CE) team. The PET CE supported packages are codes that have a broad base of DoD users who make frequent use of these packages in their high performance computing related works. Since the packages listed in our BC policy Common Set of Open Source Math Libraries are PET CE supported packages, we strongly encourage you to contact Mr. Guy Hammer, PET Program Manager, and provide him the needed incentives to expand their software base by the packages referenced in your input.

b) The BC team is eager to find out more about DoD open source activities outside the HPCMP. We would greatly appreciate any assistance you can provide us in connecting with DoD open source projects that you view as meaningful and important within the HPCMP.

Thank you again for your valued input.