steven goldfarb chep mumbai, india - 16 feb 2006 lcg rtag 12: collaborative tools for the lhc

Steven GoldfarbCHEP

Mumbai, India - 16 Feb 2006

LCG RTAG 12:Collaborative Tools for the

LHC

Mumbai, India - 16 Feb 2006 S. Goldfarb - University of Michigan RTAG 12 - Slide 2

LCG RTAG 12

WARNINGThe talk you are about to witness is a Policy Talk. There are no pictures of shiny new equipment, no class diagrams of OO software, no flow charts of data access, and certainly no mass spectra of the Higgs or any of its Super Symmetric brother and sister particles.Rather, there are a lot of bullets. But, I do hope to make some of them fly!


What is an LCG RTAG? LHC Computing Grid “Requirements and Technical Assessment Group

• Proposed by the LCG PEB (Project Execution Board)• Seek Common Ground, Solutions to Problems Shared by the LHC Collaborations

What is RTAG 12? Focus on Collaborative Tools

• Video Conferencing, Phone Conferencing, Document Sharing, Application Sharing, Lecture Archiving, Webcasting, Conference Management, etc.

Assembled Spring 2004• Final Report Spring 2005

LCG RTAG 12

Mandate

• Assess the needs for collaborative tools of all collaboration members, located at CERN, major labs or smaller institutes, including isolated (“laptop”) users.

• Survey the existing technologies and consider costs, performance, hardware and bandwidth requirements, interconnectivity.

• Make concrete proposals about how CERN videoconferencing facilities and support organization might be consolidated, improved and better supported in the immediate future, with strong emphasis on the performance as perceived by remote users.


RTAG 12 Composition

Participant Institute Representing

Peter Hristov CERN-PH/AIP Alice

Steven Goldfarb (chair) University of Michigan Atlas

Roger Jones Lancaster University Atlas

Bolek Wyslouch MIT CMS

Ian McArthur University of Oxford LHCb

Gerhard Raven NIKHEF LHCb

Alberto Pace CERN-IT/IS Internet Services

David Foster CERN-IT/CS Communication Services

Mick Storr CERN-HR/PMD Training

Mick Draper CERN-IT/UDS User and Document Services

Tony Doyle University of Glasgow GridPP

Philippe Galvez CalTech VRVS

Christian Helft LAL - IN2P3 (Orsay) HTASC-CSMM Chair

Les Robertson (ex-officio) CERN-IT/DI LCG-PEB Chair

LHC CollaborationRepresentative

CERNRepresentative

Collaborative ToolExpert

Recipient ofFinal Report


RTAG 12 Activities

Investigation weekly, in-depth discussions between representatives of the LHC

collaborations and experts in the field (RTAG participants, invited guests);

discussions with the CERN video and phone conferencing staffs;

analysis of formal and informal surveys of LHC collaboration members;

basic tests of equipment and video conferencing systems using the facilities installed in various CERN conference rooms.

Documentation

Report to PEB (1 Jun 2004)

http://cern.ch/muondoc/rtag12/Presentations/PEB/20040601/InterimReport.ppt

Report to PEB (30 Nov 2004)

http://cern.ch/muondoc/rtag12/Presentations/PEB/20041130/ProgressReport.ppt

Final Report (CERN-LCG-PEB-2005-07, 27 Apr 2005)

http://cern.ch/muondoc/rtag12/Report/RTAG12-Report.doc


RTAG 12 Findings

From the Executive Summary

The RTAG has found a large and growing gap between the requirements of the LHC Collaborations for high quality, robust collaborative tools, and the availability of these tools at CERN and at the participating institutes. This gap is the result of increasing need for and growing popularity of the tools, as the experiments enter the critical stage of commissioning, assembly, and software development, and a lack of dedicated resources on the part of CERN and the collaborations to address this demand.

The RTAG has found a large and growing gap between the requirements of the LHC Collaborations for high quality, robust collaborative tools, and the availability of these tools at CERN and at the participating institutes. This gap is the result of increasing need for and growing popularity of the tools, as the experiments enter the critical stage of commissioning, assembly, and software development, and a lack of dedicated resources on the part of CERN and the collaborations to address this demand.

Let Me Put It Bluntly No Single, Central Organization within CERN No Real Coordination or Dialogue Between CERN, Collaborations Existing CERN Facilities In Minimal Maintenance Mode for 5 Years Nowhere Nearly Enough Facilities at CERN No Common Guidelines for External Labs, Institutes Existing Services Lacking Support, Clear LHC Requirements No Decision On Which Services To Use Or How To Integrate Them Nevertheless, Some Bright Points (InDiCo, VRVS, WLAP) & Good Ideas

RTAG 12 Final Report


LHC Demand for Collaborative Tools

Meetings

Video Conferences

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Mar'03 Apr'03 May'03 Jun'03 Jul'03Aug'03 Sep'03 Oct'03 Nov'03 Dec'03 Jan'04 Feb'04 Mar'04 Apr'04 May'04 Jun'04 Jul'04

Aug'04 Sep'04 Oct'04 Nov'04 Dec'04 Jan'05 Feb'05 Mar'05

LHCb

CMS

Atlas

Alice

VRVS/ECS Monthly Hours Ports/Connections

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

Nov-03Dec-03Jan-04Feb-04Mar-04Apr-04May-04Jun-04Jul-04Aug-04Sep-04Oct-04Nov-04Dec-04Jan-05Feb-05Mar-05

ECSVRVS


Primary Recommendations of RTAG 12

1. We recommend that CERN establish and maintain a Collaborative Tool Service to support the needs of the LHC collaborations.

2. We recommend that the CTS maintain and support VRVS as a standard video conferencing service for the LHC collaborations.

3. We recommend that the CTS establish, maintain and support an industry standard H.323 MCU-based video conferencing service for the LHC collaborations, complementary to and interoperable with VRVS.

4. We recommend that the CTS provide user support for desktop/laptop phone and video conferencing for LHC collaborators situated at CERN, at their home institutes or elsewhere, as appropriate.

5. We recommend that the CTS install, maintain and support a 24/7 operator-free phone conferencing system at CERN.

6. We recommend that the CTS equip and maintain all auditoria and meeting rooms in building 40, as well as those located elsewhere at CERN, commonly used by the LHC collaborations, for integrated phone and video conferencing.

7. We recommend that the CTS extend current web casting and web archiving services to include all auditoria and meeting rooms in building 40, as well as those located elsewhere at CERN, commonly used by the LHC collaborations.

8. We recommend that the CTS take on the leading role in the development of a global Computer Supported Collaborative Work Environment for the LHC community.

9. We recommend that the CTS support development to equip IP-based tools used by the LHC collaborations, such as VRVS, with a Grid certificate authentication and authorization mechanism.

1. We recommend that CERN establish and maintain a Collaborative Tool Service to support the needs of the LHC collaborations.

2. We recommend that the CTS maintain and support VRVS as a standard video conferencing service for the LHC collaborations.

3. We recommend that the CTS establish, maintain and support an industry standard H.323 MCU-based video conferencing service for the LHC collaborations, complementary to and interoperable with VRVS.

4. We recommend that the CTS provide user support for desktop/laptop phone and video conferencing for LHC collaborators situated at CERN, at their home institutes or elsewhere, as appropriate.

5. We recommend that the CTS install, maintain and support a 24/7 operator-free phone conferencing system at CERN.

6. We recommend that the CTS equip and maintain all auditoria and meeting rooms in building 40, as well as those located elsewhere at CERN, commonly used by the LHC collaborations, for integrated phone and video conferencing.

7. We recommend that the CTS extend current web casting and web archiving services to include all auditoria and meeting rooms in building 40, as well as those located elsewhere at CERN, commonly used by the LHC collaborations.

8. We recommend that the CTS take on the leading role in the development of a global Computer Supported Collaborative Work Environment for the LHC community.

9. We recommend that the CTS support development to equip IP-based tools used by the LHC collaborations, such as VRVS, with a Grid certificate authentication and authorization mechanism.

RTAG 12 Final Report


A Few Notes On The Recommendations

Aren’t They CERN-centric?

Absolutely! Most Events Occur At CERN

• Typical Meeting Scenario CERN Meeting Room or Auditorium + Remote Participants

• Many Pure Remote Meetings, As Well CERN Phone System, VRVS

• Most Lecture Recordings Made At CERN CERN Auditorium, Meeting Room

CERN is the Host Laboratory• Much of What is Needed is Infrastructure• Expect CERN to Take the Lead in Coordination

What About the East? RTAG Missed Representation from Japan, Other Eastern Nations

• My Apologies - Hard to be Completely Inclusive• Their Concerns Were Recognized and Discussed

Time-Zones are a difficult -- but not unsolvable -- problem


CERN Follow-Up

Immediate (CERN Staff On the RTAG, After All) Some Action Taken Before Final Report

Activities Audio Conferencing System (24/7 - No Operator) Under Beta Test Lecture Archiving System

• New Infrastructure in Main Auditorium• SMAC: Non-Proprietary Storage Format (Coming Soon)

HERMES Collaboration• MCU Operated in Partnership: IN2P3, CNRS, INSERM and CERN

CERN Organizational Restructuring• Collaborative Tool Activity Under One Roof (IT)

WARNINGWe are now entering the “Steve’s Personal Opinion” part of this talk. All ranting and raving is his and his alone. But somehow, deep inside, he knows there are others out there thinking the same thoughts. So, cut him some slack, O.K.? Thanks. We will now continue with the talk.


Too Little, Too Late!

The Follow-Up Falls Short. Way Short… CTS (Collaborative Tool Service) Not Yet Formed

• CERN, LHC Collaboration Dialogue Essential

Scale Of Activity Nowhere Near Level Demanded In RTAG Report Resources Not Identified

• Neither for CERN nor Support Services

Resources Needed Very Very Rough Estimates

• 1-2 MCHF for Equipment Installations (Phased In Over Several Years)• 3-4 New Full-Time Hires

Cost to Experiments of We Ignore Problem Report Also Makes Very Very Rough Estimates of Losses

• Poor Tools Causing Lost Time In Meetings (Few Percent of Meeting Time)• Extra Travel for Experts Providing Live Tutorials (Rather than Recording)• Communication Failure for Key Items of Coordination (Not Really Quantifiable)

Integrating Over LHC: Losses of ~2 MCHF / Year!


Funding Scenarios

Where the Resources Could Come From CERN

• Networking and Long-Term Infrastructure, Support Not Just LHC Benefits

• Part of the Responsibility of the Host Lab Like a Phone

LHC Collaborations• Have the Most to Gain (or Not Lose)• Already Displayed Willingness

Previous R&D Projects (VRVS, WLAP) ATLAS, CMS Budgets for 2006 Include Collaborative Tools

Individual Users• Specialized Services

Operator for Important Video Conferences Lecture Recording for Student Mentoring Etc.

• Simply Require a Budget Code

~400 kCHF/year

~400 kCHF/year

Probably small

~ 400 kCHF to manpower~ 400 kCHF to material

Steve’s Guesses Only !!!


Going Forward

Steve’s Recipe for Action

1. Establish the CTS Coordinator

Nothing works without this.

2. Have the CTS Coordinator put together the CTS

Representatives with ability to define requirements, commit resources

3. Establish the requirements of the collaborations

Not necessarily the exact implementation.

4. Prepare budgets and write up service agreements

Focus on common needs, then specific.

Compromises will be required on all sides.

5. Identify resources and reporting lines in the CERN management

IT coordination great, but not sufficient.

Collaborative Tools must be included in the CERN budget.

6. Start the R&D and pilot implementations now

In parallel with the negotiations.

The ramp-up for usage is already upon us!

steven goldfarb chep mumbai, india - 16 feb 2006 lcg rtag 12: collaborative tools for the lhc

Documents