LHC@home
Encyclopedia
LHC@home is a distributed computing
project for particle physics
on the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing
(BOINC) platform. LHC@home consists of two applications: SixTrack, which went live in September 2004, is used to upgrade and maintain the particle accelerator Large Hadron Collider
(LHC) of the European Organization for Nuclear Research
(CERN), and LHC@home 2.0 project Test4Theory, which went live in August 2011, is used to simulate high-energy particle collisions to provide a reference to test the measurements performed at the LHC. The applications are run with the help of about fifteen thousand active volunteered computers processing at a combined 7.5 teraFLOPS
on average as of 19 November 2011. LHC@home uses idle computer processing resources from volunteers' computers to perform calculations on individual workunits
, which are sent to a central project server
upon completion. The project is cross-platform
, and runs on a variety of hardware
configurations. Test4Theory uses VirtualBox
, an x86 virtualization
software package.
The project software involves a program called SixTrack, created by Frank Schmidt, downloaded via BOINC onto participant computers running Windows
or Linux
. SixTrack simulates particles accelerating through the 27 km (16.8 mi)-long LHC to find their orbit stability.
Distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
project for particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
on the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing
Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing
The Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing is an open source middleware system for volunteer and grid computing. It was originally developed to support the SETI@home project before it became useful as a platform for other distributed applications in areas as diverse as mathematics,...
(BOINC) platform. LHC@home consists of two applications: SixTrack, which went live in September 2004, is used to upgrade and maintain the particle accelerator Large Hadron Collider
Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is expected to address some of the most fundamental questions of physics, advancing the understanding of the deepest laws of nature....
(LHC) of the European Organization for Nuclear Research
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
(CERN), and LHC@home 2.0 project Test4Theory, which went live in August 2011, is used to simulate high-energy particle collisions to provide a reference to test the measurements performed at the LHC. The applications are run with the help of about fifteen thousand active volunteered computers processing at a combined 7.5 teraFLOPS
FLOPS
In computing, FLOPS is a measure of a computer's performance, especially in fields of scientific calculations that make heavy use of floating-point calculations, similar to the older, simpler, instructions per second...
on average as of 19 November 2011. LHC@home uses idle computer processing resources from volunteers' computers to perform calculations on individual workunits
BOINC client-server technology
BOINC client–server technology refers to the model under which BOINC works. The BOINC framework consists of two layers which operate under the client–server architecture. Once the BOINC software is installed in a machine, the server starts sending tasks to the client...
, which are sent to a central project server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
upon completion. The project is cross-platform
Cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
, and runs on a variety of hardware
Hardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
configurations. Test4Theory uses VirtualBox
VirtualBox
Oracle VM VirtualBox is an x86 virtualization software package, originally created by software company Innotek GmbH, purchased by Sun Microsystems, and now developed by Oracle Corporation as part of its family of virtualization products...
, an x86 virtualization
X86 virtualization
In computing, x86 virtualization is the facility that allows multiple operating systems to simultaneously share x86 processor resources in a safe and efficient manner, a facility generically known as hardware virtualization...
software package.
SixTrack
The project was first introduced as a beta on 1 September 2004 and a record 1000 users signed up within 24 hours. The project went public, with a 5000 user limit, on September 29 to commemorate CERN's 50th anniversary. Currently there is no user limit and qualification. Data from the project is utilized by engineers to improve the operation and efficiency of the accelerator, and to predict possible problems that could arise from adjustment or modification of the LHC's equipment. The project is administered by volunteers, and receives no funding from CERN. There are currently no plans to use the project to do computation on the data that will be collected by the LHC.The project software involves a program called SixTrack, created by Frank Schmidt, downloaded via BOINC onto participant computers running Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
or Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
. SixTrack simulates particles accelerating through the 27 km (16.8 mi)-long LHC to find their orbit stability.
- In one workunit, 60 particles are simulated travelling 100,000 or 1,000,000 loops, which would take about 10 seconds in an actual run. This is sixtrack.
- The orbit stability data is used to detect if a particle in orbit goes off-course and runs into the tube wall—if this happened too often in actual running, this would cause damage to the accelerator which would need repairs.
- A new experimental version called SixTrackbnl started to be sent to computers in early November.
- Garfield is a newer application, although not many workunits have been seen lately.
See also
- Citizen Cyberscience CentreCitizen Cyberscience CentreThe Citizen Cyberscience Centre is an organization for volunteer computing formed as a parterneship between CERN, UNITAR, and the University of Geneva....
- LHC Computing GridLHC Computing GridThe Worldwide LHC Computing Grid is a computer network designed by CERN to handle the massive amounts of data produced by the Large Hadron Collider .-Description:A design report was published in 2005....
- List of distributed computing projects