Volunteer clouds and citizen cyberscience for LHC physics

Carlos Aguado Sanchez, Jakob Blomer, Predrag Buncic, John Ellis, Francois Grey, Daniel Lombrana Gonzalez, Miguel Marquina, Holger Schulz, Ben Segal, Peter Skands, David Weir

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articleResearchpeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Computing for the LHC, and for HEP more generally, is traditionally viewed as requiring specialized infrastructure and software environments, and therefore not compatible with the recent trend in "volunteer computing", where volunteers supply free processing time on ordinary PCs and laptops via standard Internet connections. In this paper, we demonstrate that with the use of virtual machine technology, at least some standard LHC computing tasks can be tackled with volunteer computing resources. Specifically, by presenting volunteer computing resources to HEP scientists as a "volunteer cloud", essentially identical to a Grid or dedicated cluster from a job submission perspective, LHC simulations can be processed effectively. This article outlines both the technical steps required for such a solution and the implications for LHC computing as well as for LHC public outreach and for participation by scientists from developing regions in LHC research.

Original languageEnglish
Article number62022
JournalJournal of Physics: Conference Series
Volume331
Issue numberPART 6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes

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