Developing Resource Usage Service in WLCG

• Published in: IEEE transactions on nuclear science Vol. 58; no. 2; pp. 451 - 460
• Main Authors: Xiaoyu Chen, Khan, Akram, Wills, G B, Gilbert, L H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.04.2011; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Accounting; Aggregate accounting; Aggregates; Authorization; Collaboration; Data models; Design engineering; enabling grids for e-science; grid accounting; Interoperability; Large Hadron Collider; Mathematical models; open grid forum; Resource allocation; resource usage service; Reuse; Runtime; Studies; Transportation; usage record; worldwide LHC computing grid
• ISSN: 0018-9499; 1558-1578
• DOI: 10.1109/TNS.2011.2112775

According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of the World-wide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) project, participating sites are required to provide resource usage or accounting data to the Grid Operational Centre (GOC) to enrich the understanding of how shared resources are used, and to provide information for improving the effectiveness of resource allocation. As a multi-grid environment, the accounting process of WLCG is currently enabled by four accounting systems, each of which was developed independently by constituent grid projects. These accounting systems were designed and implemented based on project-specific local understanding of requirements, and therefore lack interoperability. In order to automate the accounting process in WLCG, three transportation methods are being introduced for streaming accounting data metered by heterogeneous accounting systems into GOC at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in the UK, where accounting data are aggregated and accumulated throughout the year. These transportation methods, however, were introduced on a per accounting-system basis, i.e., targeting at a particular accounting system, making them hard to reuse and customize to new requirements. This paper presents the design of WLCG-RUS system, a standards-compatible solution providing a consistent process for streaming resource usage data across various accounting systems, while ensuring interoperability, portability, and customization.