The LHC Computing Grid is a distribution network that was built to store, analyse, and distribute massive amounts of data provided by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire [European Council for Nuclear Research])near Geneva. This data includes velocities, images of microscopic size in videos that capture each nanosecond, and other statistical data to study the molecule reactions in the LHC. The LHC itself will produce roughly 15 Petabytes of data annually, which thousands of scientists around the world will access. In order to distribute this information over the Internet, which has never been accomplished at this scale, the computing grid will utilize private fiver optic cable links and already existing high-speed portions of public Internet.
The data that is streamed into the Net at approximately 300 GB/s, which is then later filtered for "interesting events", which result into a "raw data" stream of about 300 MB/s. This data will be distributed around the world, according to a four-tiered model. The CERN computer center, considered "Tier 0" which has a 10GB/s connection to the counting room is used as a primary backup of the data. After the initial processing has been finished, the data will be distributed to a series of Tier-1 centers, which constitute of large computer centers with sufficient storage capacity and round-the-clock support for the Grid.
The data from Tier-1 centers will be able to Tier-2 centers, that consist of one or many collaborating computing facilities, which can store sufficient data and provide adequate computing power for suficient compute analysis tasks. Finally, individual scientists will access the data from these Tier-2 centers through Tier-3 computing resources. These consist of local clusters in a University Department or even individual PCs.
The LHC Computer Grid allows the internet to distribute data at new levels for users.This new system allows computer users to access Petabytes of data from the comfort of their own computer.
Diagram of LHC Computer Grid: http://www.sciam.com/media/inline/5B5F475B-ECAF-2FA0-ACACF46F8491EB2D_2.jpg
Friday, September 19, 2008
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3 comments:
Wow its amazing that we now have a computing grid that serves for the entire world. I also want to add in that this is considered the largest scientific instrument on the planet. The way that this LHC computing grid works is based on a method called the four-tiered method which dan has a link of on the bottom of his post. This was made mostly to help scientists around the globe and not just the average user. This is going to have a huge impact on technology and is going to make the lives of scientists all over the world much more efficient.
I am also astonished about how technology has increased throughout the years. I have read that Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is not only the world's largest but also highest-energy particle accelerator complex. It can collide opposing beams of protons or lead, at up to 99.99 percent the speed of light. This is a big accomplishment for scientists because now 7000 scientists from 80 countries have access to the LHC
15 Petabtyes annually? That's an incredible amount of raw data, I read that its expected to produce 27 Terabytes per day! Its a shame that the LHC itself encountered an equipment failure on September 19th, adding to an already scheduled winter shut down, means it won't be operational again until Spring 2009.
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