From August 31 to September 1, TRIUMF played host to a meeting of the Large Hadron Collider Optical Private Network (LHCOPN). The LHCOPN is the private optical network that links CERN (the Tier 0 Centre) and the 11 Tier 1 Data Centres around the world for the four LHC experiments: CMS, ATLAS, LHCb, and ALICE--TRIUMF is one of these Tier 1 centres and it supports the ATLAS collaboration.
The Tier system was developed to handle the incredible volume of data produced by the LHC--projected at 15 petabytes (15 million gigabytes) annually. Together the single Tier 0, 11 Tier 1, over 150 Tier 2, and subsequent Tier 3 Data Centres make up the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG)--the data storage and analysis infrastructure for the entire high energy physics community that will use the LHC.
With the LHC set to start up again in the fall, it is critical for the LHCOPN to function smoothly as data distribution is the means by which physicists world-wide will access the LHC data.
The meeting was attended by 20 network administrators from CERN and the 11 Tier 1 Data Centres that operate the LHCOPN, as well as the regional and national network providers that link the sites internationally. Over the course of the two days, the group gathered to discuss the operation, monitoring, and performance of the 10G network between CERN and the Tier 1 Data Centres. Of particular importance were discussions on how to include or extend the LHCOPN operations model to include Tier 1-to-Tier 1 data flows as well as Tier 1-to-Tier 2 data flows.
Reports were given on the deployment of the perfSONAR monitoring infrastructure-an infrastructure for network performance monitoring, making it easier to solve end-to-end performance problems on paths crossing several networks-at the various Tier 1 Data Centres. Representatives from various sites also reported on their present and proposed network designs for the LHC data centres.
The LHCOPN was also commended for its performance and resilience during the recent Scale Testing for the Experiment Program '09 (STEP'09) in July. STEP'09 was the first production demonstration involving all of the key computing elements of the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG), from data taking through to analysis.
After the meeting had adjourned on the first day, the group was given a guided tour of the TRIUMF site, which included a visit to TRIUMF's ATLAS Tier 1 Data Centre. This is the first time an LHCOPN meeting has taken place at a North American Tier 1 Data Centre and TRIUMF is privileged to have had the opportunity to host the event and showcase its own Tier 1 facilities.
-- Meghan Magee, Communications Assistant