The LHC Computing Grid will help manage and analyze the huge quantities of data generated by CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, which will be used to create particle collisions that might be used to understand the origins of the universe. It is in the final stages of construction in Geneva.
Palo Alto, California-based HP has announced that it will link its computing resources in California, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Bristol in the UK with LCG. The announcement comes as the grid enters its second stage of deployment, expanding to form a global grid for the analysis of LHC data.
Once it is up and running in 2007, the LHC is expected to create between 12 and 14 petabytes of data a year, so the ability to farm out analysis across a grid of networked resources will be essential. HP and other LCG partners will begin to analyze simulated data this year to ensure that systems and applications are optimized for the expected data.
HP claims to be the first commercial member of the LCG, but it is certainly not the first mainstream IT vendor to get involved in the project. Oracle Corp announced in December 2003 that it was to test its Database 10g product against LCG, while IBM Corp announced in April 2003 that it was building a 1 petabyte data storage grid to support CERN’s LHC efforts.
This article is based on material originally published by ComputerWire
