CERN

Public Batch and Interactive

Services on Linux

FOCUS — July 1st 1999

Tony Cass — Tony.Cass@cern.ch

CERN

2Tony Cass

Linux Services: Background The Linux environment (SUE, HEPiX, ASIS, …)

is now at the same level as for other Unix flavours.

Therefore, adding a central service (PLUS, WGS, SHIFT) is simple---if we have the boxes we can provide a service– we provide services for ALICE, ATLAS, NA49 and

NOMAD– and we will start a service for LHCb at the end of

July.

CERN

3Tony Cass

A Public Linux Service DELPHI (and some others) asked for a basic

interactive Linux service as a “reference platform”. The need is for a platform running the approved Linux installation which can be used to develop and test code---but with general interactive work remaining on, e.g., DXPLUS.

LHCb also need an initial front end to their future Linux batch facility.

A basic service has been available since early June.

CERN

4Tony Cass

LXPLUS: Current Status Three dual Processor PCs (PII@350MHz)

provide two different services– 2 run the current standard Linux environment

based on RedHat 5.1. These machines are accessible using the lxplus ISS alias.

– 1 machine (lxp03) has the forthcoming environment based on RedHat 6.0

– We intend to move the service to the RedHat 6 environment in late July or early August. (But we will keep one machine running RedHat 5.1 for some time.)

CERN

5Tony Cass

LXPLUS: A Sizing Comparison LXPLUS - 2 dual processor PC nodes HPPLUS - 5 dual processor HP nodes DXPLUS - 5 dual processor DEC PWS nodes RSPLUS - 15 dual processor RS6000 nodes Reasonably, LXPLUS can support 20-40

active users compared to the 50-100 of HPPLUS and DXPLUS (which have, respectively, some 850 and 350 different users each week).

CERN

6Tony Cass

The Future For Linux

– We propose to » significantly increase LXPLUS capacity

But general interactive work (mail/web related) should move to a local desktop where possible.

» Provide general purpose Linux batch capacity

– The size for these services has to be determined, but should be such that these platforms are attractive and encourage people to move from RISC capacity.

For other platforms– We suggest that other public services (HPPLUS,

DXPLUS, RSPLUS and RSBATCH) should be phased out by the end of 2001 at the latest.