The first step for experimentation is the GILDA Grid Demonstrator - https://grid-demo.ct.infn.it/. This is a customized version of the full GENIUS web portal from where everybody can submit a pre-defined set of applications to the GILDA Testbed, and get familiar with how the Grid works. A video on the use of the Grid Demonstrator can be found here.

In order to access the Grid through the whole set of the GENIUS functionality, please follow the instructions here

Using GENIUS, you can experiment with the Grid, submit experimental jobs, monitor their status and receive the job results. There are a number of applications available within the GILDA testbed, supporting the existing VOs of EGEE, and some generic applications. The demonstration certificate that you receive through the initial registration has an expiration time of 2 weeks. After that, if you would like to further explore the GILDA grid environment, you can request a new certificate. Since these certificates are only valid on the GILDA testbed, this process will not affect any other certificates you have got or will acquire in the future.

A step from experimenting to developing your applications is a natural one. GENIUS is also the default portal for generic applications in EGEE and can be used for the development and initial testing of new applications. Initially, this can be done on the existing GILDA testbed, even without dedicating your own computing resources if your application is not very much CPU and/or storage demanding.

The best option is for your community to dedicate their own clusters for these development purposes, and make them part of the GILDA testbed. The SEE ROC and the GILDA team will provide basic user and developer support. In order to join your site and use GENIUS as a development platform follow the instructions described here.

After your cluster has joined GILDA, you may install your "under development" applications in the local host machines, and test their ability to execute and interact within a Grid environment, by specifying explicitly the usage of your own resources (cluster) to run these test jobs.

As an alternative solution, the SEE federation will strive to provide a development environment through a small cluster to be dedicated soon for this purpose to GILDA.

However, GILDA is not a replacement of the whole EGEE Infrastructure so testing times should not be very long (a couple of months at the latest) and, at the end, users should follow all the instructions to ask for real certificates and join the "real" European Grid.