oxford university e-science centre 1 hepccc/focus 16 nov. 2001/ 6 dec. 2001 focus report to the...

1 HEPCCC/FOCUS 16 Nov. 2001/ 6 Dec. 2001

Oxford Universitye-Science Centre

FOCUS report to the HEPCCC/Chairman’s Report

November 2001/December 2001

Paul Jeffreys



FOCUS Presentation• FOCUS comparison with 2000• Membership

• Review of topics in 2001• Overview of themes and review process in FOCUS

• FOCUS - past– Position of FOCUS– Mandate

• Conclusions

• FOCUS – future– Mandate – ToR



FOCUS -- comparison with 2000• LHC Computing Infrastructure established• Chairman and secretary got into their stride!

– Still learning– Still trying to get the right balance

• As with 2000, superb support– Marco and Monique Budel

• As with 2000, very positive relationship with IT

• FOCUS obliged to face changing nature of IT at CERN

• Term of office completed for Chair and Secretary!!



FOCUS Membership• Directors

– Hans Falk Hoffmann– Jurgen May– Roger Cashmore-attendance

• IT Representatives– Jaques Altabar– Pal Anderssen– Manuel Delfino– Frederic Hemmer– David Jacobs– Juergen Knobloch– Miguel Marquina– Harry Renshall– Les Robertson– Jamie Shiers– Alan Silverman (Desk Top Forum)– Wolfgang Von Ruden

• IT Members with Experimental Contact– David Asbury ATLAS– Jean-Phillippe Baud ALICE– Tony Cass LHCb– Andreas Pfeiffer CMS

• Experimental Representatives– Jaques Boucrot ALEPH/OPERA– Marco Cattaneo (sec) LHCb– Maria Kienzle L3– Begigno Gobbo COMPASS– Ryszard Gokieli DELPHI– Alan Grant NOMAD/HARP– Paul Jeffreys (chair)– Vincenzo Innocente CMS– Livio Mapelli ATLAS– Norman McCubbin ATLAS– Helge Meinhard CHORUS– Alan Norton NA48– Stephen O’Neale OPAL– Martti Pimia CMS– Florence Ranjard ALEPH– Karel Safarik ALICE– Andres Sandoval NA49– Pierre Vande Vyvre ALICE

• Other– Michael Ernst (DESY) External – Francois Etienne External– Wolfgang Lerche Theory– Mirco Mazzucato LCB– Enzo Valente External– Ioana Videau EP Div./deputy



Membership Summary• Directors

– 2+1• IT

– 12• IT with experimental contact

– 4• Experimental

Representatives– 18, of which five non-resident

at CERN• Other

– 6 - of which four non-resident at CERN

• Total – 43 (of which ~25 attend any

given meeting)• Non-CERN resident

– 9 (7 in 2000)

• SUMMARY– Good wide coverage– More non-residents– 5 new faces

• NEW MEMBERSHIP REVIEWED IN MARCH!



Review of topics considered in 2001

• Categorise topics:– Policy to be derived or required– Review– Informational

• Also .. Update on IT activities (not included below)

• and:• IT - led• User (FOCUS) led

– Some items not uniquely defined, indeed migrate from one category to another...



FOCUS Topics 2001 – Policy(1)• Impact of LHC Computing Review and FOCUS ToR

Continuing from 2000…Conclusion of LHC Computing Review Bethke MayRe-definition of role of FOCUS Hoffmann JuneProposed new FOCUS ToR Chair et al Nov Confirmation of new ToR Committee Dec

Return to this later..



FOCUS Topics 2001 – Policy(2)• Public Platforms/RISC

DecommissioningContinuing from 2000…RISC UNIX decomm IT DecUser view decomm User DecSupported platforms IT Dec SUNDEV user requ. User DecLEP exptal requ. User MayFuture LEP support IT MayLEP migration LINUX User MayLINUX service defn. IT JunSUNDEV user f.b User NovSUNDEV IT plans IT NovReview compilers IT Dec

• StorageContinuing from 2000…Castor Update IT Apr Castor User Experience User

Nov Castor Migration IT Nov Castor Charging policy IT

Nov

• Windows 2000Status IT Dec Status IT Dec

• Common Login/PasswordCLASP overview/prop. IT May



FOCUS Topics 2001 - Review• Reports from running expts

CHORUS User Jun NA48 User Nov NA49 User Nov HARP User Nov COMPASS User Nov

• SecurityUpdate IT *

• External Network ServicesReview IT Dec

• CVSExpert requirements User May

• File SharingUser Requirements User JunWeb standards IT Jun

• CocotimeAllocations User Dec Allocations User Dec



FOCUS Topics 2001 - Informational

• Data Grid ProjectOverview of WP4 IT JunOverview of WP8 User Jun

• Computing at DESYReview User Dec



Overview of topics in 2001• Approximate split:-

– 60% (60% in 2000) PPolicyolicy• Dominated by determination of platform policy and storage

– 30% (25%) RRevieweview --> Policy• Dominated by storage issues within experimental context

– 10% (15%) IInformationalnformational



Review of main policy themes• Addressing key future ‘Services’

– Main policy themes this year:• Public platforms, RISC decommissioning, LINUX service,

SUNDEV• Storage

– Both were started in 2000– Both needed many iterations

• Real advantages of FOCUS– Very wide user base represented– Forum for services to be discussed by Users and IT

FOCUS plays important role in facilitating iterative evaluation and development, recording steps in the process, and making decisions formal



FOCUS -tricky to make process work well

• Model of operation (taken from last year’s talk)– Ideally:

• Well researched topic, users consulted, groundwork done• Active user participation in process (sometimes through Work

Groups), preferably individual taking ownership of issue, reviewing, working with members of IT

• Then … brought before the FOCUS committee– Users feel correctly represented– Solution presented which they can buy into– IT department - part of the plans– Request being made to IT viable, and costed– Directors can go away

• Understanding and appreciating issue!• Resource implications well defined• Able to convince directorate that correct decision

– Hard to realize in practice, challenge is to ensure rewarding meeting for all attendees

– Often process has to be iterative



Realistic FOCUS life-cycle• Identify issue to be addressed (generally by IT – sometimes by users)

– Present the issue to FOCUS• Often the general future direction is known, but there are too many

uncertainties to make a decision, and furthermore a certain amount of ‘negotiation’ and adjustment is needed

– Commission User review of issue • (The most difficult aspect of the whole exercise is to find a User(s)

who will represent the whole community)– Ask IT to present technical possibilities and recommendations

• May require waiting for new technologies to develop– FOCUS listens to Users and IT proposals and draws conclusions– Iterate!

– FOCUS draws to conclusion, and oversees the implementation – FOCUS monitors progress in implementation, (and finally its termination!)



FOCUS-centric view … pre-LHC

FOCUS

HEPCCC

DesktopForum

Cocotime LCB

EP Forum

Report upwardsReceive advice

Report to Focus

Cross-Cross-secretariessecretaries

Swap agendaitems

ACCU?



FOCUS – Previous MandateFrom last year’s talk…• FOCUS is an acronym for Forum On Computing: Users and Services• Taken from Minutes of 1st FOCUS Meeting (14 Mar. ‘96), which in

turn was quoted from DG’s letter to Manuel Delfino, Feb. 6, 1996:- – “FOCUS will confront the needs of the CERN experiments and

the present and planned evolution of CERN computing services with a time window extending roughly two years into the future.”

• The Minutes added:-– “The mandate will be implemented by enhancing the

communication between ‘consumers’ and ‘service providers’ of CERN computing in order to arrive at clear definitions of needs and of services.

Minutes addition stresses the ‘service’ aspect



Attempts made to improve process

• Intentions, not always practice!

– Always have 4 agendas ahead (differing degrees of detail)– Have at least three weeks notice of full agenda before a

meeting, and as many talks available in advance of the meeting as possible



Conclusions• FOCUS has been a useful forum, good progress made in 2001,

policy established, and recorded– The themes covered in 2001, as summarised here, show the

strong emphasis on overseeing services• FOCUS will need to evolve to fit around the new LHC Structure

– This will lead to reduced scope and reduced membership• The draft new ToR specify the new emphases for FOCUS

– It will concentrate on overseeing generic services, supplied by IT for the experiments

• Wide representation will continue to be important• There is strong and wide support for FOCUS continuing in this

form• Its mandate and ToR will be reviewed at the end of 2002• Greatest urgency now…

– New chair-person and secretary need to be found quickly!



Looking Forward



FOCUS from 2002• The FOCUS Project life-cycle described earlier has been applied to

itself ---to explore and develop a revised FOCUS remit!• Process started last year (as reported to HEPCCC)• 4 bites at the cherry this year• Conclusions

– Important role that FOCUS plays, as borne out through activities in 2001, is “overseeing” services provided by IT for experiments

• Conception of project/service• Establishing User requirements• Agreeing definition of service after suitable investigation • Developing project to point of offering a service• Implementation of service• Operating service• … and finally, concluding the service

• Future FOCUS operation:-– Reduced scope– Reduction in membership– Reconsider role and operation of the committee at the end of 2002



FOCUS Mandate version 2.2• Draft text, as under discussion by Committee…• “Background:

– FOCUS’s mandate is changed following the formation of the LHC Computing Grid Project Structure.

– Working assumptions made to determine the revised mandate:a. FOCUS’s main role is to look at the implementation, defining,

running, and ultimately phasing out of services (h/w and s/w);b. As previously, it is primarily concerned with IT services run on

the CERN site;c. COCOTIME maintains control over resources;d. HEPCCC retains responsibility for providing ‘a forum in which

the Directors responsible for Computing at the major European Institutes … are able to discuss the organisation, co-ordination and optimisation of computing in terms both of money and personnel’.”



FOCUS ToR version 2.2• Draft text, as under discussion by Committee…

“1. FOCUS will normally meet four times a year as a forum for bringing

together CERN IT providers and users to define and oversee:- the commissioning, operation, prioritisation and decommissioning of services; the services concerned are primarily those on the CERN site;

2. it facilitates the agreement of clear definitions of service requirement and provision, and monitors quality of delivery;

3. FOCUS concentrates on generic IT activities which have wider relevance than the LHC experiments alone, relate to non-LHC experiments, or disseminate developments from the LHC experiments to other areas;

4. FOCUS reports to the Research Sector Management, and in particular to the Director for Technology Transfer and Scientific Computing;

5. FOCUS plans and operates across a medium range timescale, typically two years;

6. its mandate and ToR will be reconsidered at the end of 2002.”



What happens next?!1. Continue the discussions under the next item on the agenda

Includes discussion of planning of meetings for next yearAnnouncement of new chairperson…

2. Agree the ToR, in this form, to hand over to the next Chairperson (for further development?)‘Hand over’ of responsibilities

3. Recognise that the membership needs to be streamlined to match the reduced scope of FOCUS (announcements at March meeting)Consider the inclusion of machine physicists/theorists

4. Define the agendas for the four meetings in 2002Some very interesting issues!

5. Plan to review the operation of FOCUS at the end of 2002

Good luck!

oxford university e-science centre 1 hepccc/focus 16 nov. 2001/ 6 dec. 2001 focus report to the...

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