Technical Status of the Project

1. Technical Status of the Project Bob Jones

2. Overview • Testbed status • Application status • Project retreat • Issues and actions for software process, current (EDG 1.2) and future releases • Tutorials • Summary

3. Testbed Status • Application testbed • Running EDG 1.2 on 5 core sites (and a couple of others) • Since first week of August (several months later than initially planned) • Users guide and release notes available (installation guide will come later) • Being used for application tests • Current “show-stopper” issues found: • Long job status problem (can’t retrieve output) • Long file transfers problem (20 mins limit) • Development testbed • Testing urgent updates to EDG 1.2 • More recent beta release of Globus 2 • Various fixes for data management chain

4. Application Status • WP8: High Energy Physics • LHC experiments doing tests now • ATLAS task force • WP9: Earth Observation • Installation of EDG 1.2 at ESA done • Testing to start in September • WP10: Biology • Initial tests made with EDG 1.2 • Overall comments: • General confusion about how best to use data mgmt tools • Software not yet stable enough and insufficient diagnostics information available • Too difficult to configure • Concern that EDG 1.2 in its current configuration will not scale easily to ~40 sites

5. ATLAS Task Force • Task for with ATLAS & EDG people (lead by Oxana Smimova) • http://cern.ch/smirnova/atlas-edg • ATLAS is eager to use Grid tools for the Data Challenges • ATLAS Data Challenges are already on the Grid (NorduGrid, iVDGL) • The DC1/phase2 (to start in October) is expected to be done mostly using the Grid tools • By September 16 (ATLAS SW week) evaluate the usability of EDG for the DC tasks • The task: to process 5 input partitions of the Dataset 2000 at the EDG Testbed + one non-EDG site (Karlsruhe) • Intensive activity has meant they could process some partitions but problems with long running jobs is still an issue • Data Management chain is proving difficult to use and sometime unreliable • Need to clarify policy for distribution/installation of applications software On-going activity with very short-timescale: highest priority task

6. Project Retreat • Project retreat held last week (27 & 28 August) at Chevannes • ~45 participants • work package managers, architecture group, quality group, applications groups, mware experts, representatives from LCG, DataTAG, Globus & Condor • Agenda and material on the web: • http://documents.cern.ch/age?a021130 • Photos by Jeff Templon http://www.nikhef.nl/~templon/chavannes/index.html • 3 sessions addressing most important aspects of projects current work: • Software Release Process • Release 1.2 • Testbed 2

7. Software Process • Over-simplification of the current situation: • Mware groups develop software in isolation • ITeam assembles it as best it can • Site managers are asked to install it • Application groups are asked to test it Problems: No place for the mware groups to integrate software before delivering it to the ITeam Inadequate software testing – leads to installation/configuration/execution faults We are running blind – no way to control or reliably plan software delivery

8. Software Process: Autobuild • A release manager will be nominated with overall responsibility for ensuring the procedure is followed • Make autobuild tools the basis of the daily work of the mware groups and ITeam • Nightly build from CVS repository for all software • Problems must be fixed ASAP – checked by Quality Group reps • Mware groups give ITeam CVS tags instead of RPMs • Tagged software must be documented • Mware group must perform and supply unit tests • Integrated with nightly build • Tagged software that fails the integration, testing or is inadequately documented will be rejected • Mware group is responsible for fixing it

9. Software Process: Quality Group • Recently formed Quality Group, convened by Gabriel Zaquine, is responsible for ensuring quality issues are addressed within the WPs • Ensure unit test plans are complete and followed • Follow-up on problems reported bugzilla & nightly builds • Organise running of code checking tools on all EDG software • Agree on adopted project developer-guidelines etc. • http://eu-datagrid.web.cern.ch/eu-datagrid/QAG/default.htm

10. Software Process: Testing • Strengthen the Testing Group • Identify leader and a small number of full-time testers • Assemble and maintain test suite integrated with autobuild tools • Automate installation and configuration of software releases • To permit auto testing need to be able to auto install & configure a release on a pre-defined small example site • Needs improvements by mware WPs to simplify and complete installation & configuration of their sw • Site managers have good overview about how to do this Need to clarify the work involved during this conference • Set-up certificate testbed • Used for testing activities • Involves several sites

11. Technical Management • Architecture group documenting testbed 2 architecture • draft: http://doc.cern.ch/archive/electronic/other/agenda/a021130/a021130s4t1/TB2Arch_v0_1.doc • Meets once a month (next meeting tomorrow) • Project Tech. Board addresses deliverables and relationships with other projects • Meets once per quarter (next meeting 2nd October @ CERN) • http://documents.cern.ch/AGE/current/displayLevel.php?fid=3l131 • Need more frequent technical management forum • Authority to make technical & architectural decisions affecting sw development in WPs • Include WP managers, chaired by the Technical Coordinator • Can call on mware experts according to needs of the themed agenda • Meets frequently to ensure issues are addressed rapidly • Associate with WP managers weekly meeting • Relationship with Architecture Group and Project Tech. Board needs to be clarified

12. Testbed Support • Strengthen user support group • Ensure people involved have sufficient knowledge of the software • Emphasis on the accurate and usefulness of the responses provided • Tools used for support are a secondary issue • Federate with equivalent groups from other projects • Provides support on the application testbed • Clarify & document procedures • Creating a new CA (CA group) • Need to reduce time involved (currently 3 months) • Site Installation (site managers & ITeam) • Steps for system manager and requirements for a site to join the testbed • Creating & Managing a Virtual Organisation (site managers & ITeam) • Steps involved and tasks of a VO manager

13. Release Development Current “show-stoppers” fixed CVS Autobuild Nightly build Continuous support 1.2 Migrate sites patches branch Application tests satisfied Incremental Improvements Continuous Support 2.0 branch patches Changes foreseen for 1.3 & 1.4 become “incremental improvements” Incremental Improvements from mware WPs 2.x Etc.

14. Fix “show-stoppers” for application groups – mware WPs (continuous) Build EDG1.2.x with autobuild tools - Iteam Integrate testing framework and limited automatic tests with autobuild tools - testing group Automatic installation & configuration procedure for pre-defined site (can’t auto test without it) Start autobuild server for RH 7.2 and attempt build of release 1.2 – Yannick Patois New LCFG - WP4 GridFTP server access to MSS - WP5 Giggle & Reptor – WP2 LCAS with dynamic plug-in modules – WP4 NetworkCost Function – WP7 Integrate mapcentre (nordugrid?) and R-GMA – WP3 GLUE modified info providers/consumers – WP1,4,5 Res. Broker – WP1 LCFG for RH 7.2 – WP4 Integration with Condor as batch system – WP4 Incremental Steps from EDG 1.2 End Sept 2002 Expect this list to be discussed/updated this week What do we do about: Space mgmt, VOMS, slashrgrid?

15. DAY1 Tutorial introduction Introduction to Grid computing and overview of the DataGrid project Security Testbed overview Job Submission lunch hands-on exercises: job submission EDG Tutorial The tutorials are aimed at users wishing to "gridify" their applications using EDG software and are organized over 2 full consecutive days http://hep-proj-grid-tutorials.web.cern.ch/hep-proj-grid-tutorials/dry.asp user:griduser passwd:tutorials123 DAY2 • Data Management • LCFG, fabric mgmt & sw distribution & installation • Applications and Use cases • Future Directions lunch • hands-on exercises: data mgmt

16. Tutorial rehearsal • Rehearsal at CERN, 29 & 30 August • 19 participants (members of project or closely related) to check material & approach • Lessons learnt • Can’t cover as much material as we hoped (goes to fast) • Explain why not just how • Avoid details – can read them from references afterwards • Need as many helpers as possible for hands-on exercises • Participants have difficulties with certificate management • All participants must have a certificate ready for them and be in the same VO • Generated a lot of enthusiasm in the participants and EDG people doing the hands-on • Found genuine bugs during hands-on exercises • Recommend mware WPs send developers to help with hands-on exercises • New project people should follow the tutorial • Thanks to: Mario Reale, Elisabetta Ronchieri, Akos Frohner, Erwin Laure, Peter Kunszt, Antony Wilson, Steve Fisher, Maite Barroso Lopez, Owen Synge, Emanuele Leonardi, Steve Traylen, Frank Bonnassieux, Christophe Jacquet, Sophie Nicoud, Karin Burghauser & CERN training people

17. Tutorial Schedule • CERN school of Computing, Naples, 23-27 September • 80 participants. Hands-on exercises only (presentations by Carl Kesselman & Ian Foster) • ALL EDG people attending should do exercises first and help others at the school • CERN, October 3 & 4 • NeSC, Edinburgh, December • Dates still moving. Maximum 30 participants (more for the presentations) • We could accommodate more sites in December, January etc. • Sites must provide support and handle logistics • Organisers/helpers must attend tutorial at another site first • The tutorial does represent some load on the testbed (own VO & cert. creation) • For the future • Hands-on exercises are a test suite - automate and run with the nightly checks • The material must be kept up to date with each public release of the software • We need to nominate people responsible for the different chapters of the tutorial to be responsible for ensuring the slides and exercises are kept up to date

18. Summary • Addressing the serious bugs found by the application groups on the testbed is the task with the highest priority • Testing activities need more resources • Test-bed support is becoming a more important task • Future releases must continue to address the needs of the application groups • We need to clarify the following points during this conference: • Autobuild status & how automate installation & configuration • Contents of the test-suites • Release plans until the next EU review In short: What we are doing is right, we are just going about it in a sloppy manner Need to go one step at a time and ensure each step works