Speaker
Mr
Thomas Hauth
(KIT - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE))
Description
Modern high-energy physics experiments rely on the extensive usage of computing resources,
both for the reconstruction of measured events as well as for Monte Carlo simulation. The
Institut für Experimentelle Kernphysik (EKP) at KIT is participating in both the CMS and Belle
experiments with computing and storage resources. In the upcoming years, these requirements
are expected to increase due to growing amount of recorded data and the rise in complexity
of the simulated events. It is therefore essential to increase the available computing capabilities
by tapping into all resource pools.
At the EKP institute, powerful desktop machines are available to users. Due to the multi-core
nature of modern CPUs, vast amounts of CPU time are not utilized by common desktop usage patterns.
Other important providers of compute capabilities are classical HPC data centers at Universities or
national research centers. Due to the shared nature of these installations, the standardized
software stack required by HEP applications cannot be installed.
A viable way to overcome this constraint and offer a standardized software environment in a transparent manner
is the usage of virtualization technologies. The OpenStack project has become a widely adopted solution
to virtualize hardware and offer additional services like storage and virtual machine management.
This contribution will report on the incorporation of the institute's desktop machines into a private
OpenStack cloud. The additional compute resources provisioned via the virtual machines have been used for
Monte Carlo simulation and data analysis. Furthermore, a concept to integrate shared, remote HPC centers
into regular HEP job workflows will be presented. In this approach, local and remote resources
are be merged to form a unfiorm, virtual compute cluster with a single point-of-entry for the user. Evaluations
of the performance and stability of this setup and operational experiences will be discussed.
Primary authors
Mr
Frank Polgart
(KIT - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE))
Mr
Thomas Hauth
(KIT - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE))
Co-authors
Prof.
Günter Quast
(KIT - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE))
Dr
Manuel Giffels
(KIT - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE))
