Services and a distributed infrastructure pilot for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

Overview:

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is an initiative to build the next generation, ground-based gamma-ray observatories.The expected annual raw data volume of 4 PB (after reduction), and the 4 PB of data products undoubtedly place CTA among big-data projects. The total volume to be managed by the CTA Archive is of the order of 27 PB/year, when all data-set versions and backup replicas are considered.  The CTA data processing is based on several levels of processing: the Monte Carlo simulation pipeline, the low-level data processing pipelines, the high-level science software tools and the Virtual Observatory (VO) data access services. All levels of data (from the raw data to the high-level final products) will be archived in a standardised way, to allow access and reprocessing.  The CTA science gateway will provide access to data, support services, software and data center infrastructures. It is foreseen that individual scientists using the analysis software made available by CTA can conduct the high-level analysis of CTA data.
We present a pilot infrastructure developed at INAF that aims at providing solutions for the CTA science gateway based on the CTA user requirements.  The pilot  leverages open source technologies providing web access to a set of tools widely used by the CTA community. Two different user interaction models, connected to an Authentication and Authorization Infrastructure, have been implemented in this infrastructure: the first one is a workflow management system accessed via a science gateway and the second one is an interactive virtual desktop environment.

Target Audience:

E-infrastructure providers and researchers

Benefits for Audience:

Learn how to build an e-infrastructure based on challenging requirements coming from an ambitious project such as the ESFRI CTA.

Topic 1: Challenges facing users and service providers