Integrating End-to-End Exascale SDN into the LHC Data Distribution Cyberinfrastructure

Abstract

The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) distributes its data by leveraging a diverse array of National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), which CMS is forced to treat as an opaque resource. Consequently, CMS sees highly variable performance that already poses a challenge for operators coordinating the movement of petabytes around the globe. This kind of unpredictability, however, threatens CMS with a logistical nightmare as it barrels towards the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) era in 2030, which is expected to produce roughly 0.5 exabytes of data per year. This paper explores one potential solution to this issue: software-defined networking (SDN). In particular, the prototypical interoperation of SENSE, an SDN product developed by the Energy Sciences Network, with Rucio, the data management software used by the LHC, is outlined. In addition, this paper presents the current progress in bringing these technologies together.