Speaker
S. Bagnasco
(INFN Torino)
Description
AliEn (ALICE Environment) is a GRID middleware developed and used in the context of ALICE, the CERN LHC
heavy-ion experiment. In order to run Data Challenges exploiting both AliEn “native” resources and any
infrastructure based on EDG-derived middleware (such as the LCG and the Italian GRID.IT), an interface
system was designed and implemented; some details of a prototype were already presented at CHEP2003. In
the spring of 2004 an ALICE Data Challenge began with the simulated data production on this multiple
infrastructure, thus qualifying as the first large production carried out transparently making use of very
different middleware system. This system is a practical realisation of the “federated” or “meta-” grid concept,
and it has been successfully tested in a very large production. This talk reports about new developments of
the interface system, the successful DC running experience, the advantages and limitations of this concept,
the plans for the future and some lessons learned.
