AeroGrid is implemented as a service grid in which the partners collaborate as illustrated below:

Under the distribution of roles shown here, MTU, T-Systems SfR and the DLR Institute for Propulsion Technology will act as resource providers, where the provided resources (data, computers and application software) complement each other. T-Systems SfR and the DLR facility Simulation and Software Technology will function as grid providers and perform most of the integration and implementation tasks. T-Systems SfR acts as the grid service provider and bears overall responsibility towards users regarding adherence to agreed services. Grid service users include the involved universities, MTU, and to a limited extent the DLR Institute for Propulsion Technology.

All service processes are organised according to ITIL (BS 15000) specifications as far as possible. In extending these processes to grid-based environments, synergies with the BEinGRID EU project can be taken advantage of to some extent.

AeroGrid is modelled on the architectures of existing community grids that have already implemented fairly complete solutions for the following grid components based on the services of the DGI integration project:

1. A flexible information service for simulation calculation metadata
   
2. A data management system for managing data on local systems and at grid level (includes co-ordination of data access and data transfer)
   
3. A job management system for co-ordinating user requests according to available resources and
   
4. Identity management for authentication, authorisation and security in order to protect resources and data.

The largest share of the implementation work necessary for this project consists of providing suitable user interfaces and adapting them to the existing architecture. Both a web portal based on the GridSphere server and the integration of the DataFinder data management client are implemented for this purpose. The following illustration shows the layer model of the entire AeroGrid software system:

In the context of collaborative working between universities and industrial companies, resources include not only technical equipment such as hardware, software and data, but also expert knowledge brought to the project by the various partners. Supporting information transfer, i.e. networking not only computers but also people, is therefore a significant component of the AeroGrid project. This requires joint rules to be agreed and meta data to be automatically generated for simulation parameters and results.

For a later AeroGrid release there are plans to add a workflow management service, which is required by other possible application scenarios, to the AeroGrid services.