Project Title
Automation of the operation of a large physics experiment
CERN-PH/AID Institute - Group:
Supervisor: Franco Carena
Qualifications/ experience required:
University Degree or equivalent diploma in computing or in physics with a specialization in computing.
Training value to applicant:
Impact
Industrial involvement
The fellow will be trained to online software and control automation
Starting date
Project Introduction and background
ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is the heavy ion experiment at the Large Hadron
Collider (LHC). The ALICE Collaboration has built a dedicated heavy-ion detector to exploit the unique physics potential of nucleus-nucleus interactions at LHC energies with the aim to study the physics of strongly interacting matter at extreme energy densities, where the formation of a new phase of matter, the quark-gluon plasma, is expected . Complex trigger and data acquisition systems have been installed to select on-line the most interesting events and write them to persistent storage. ALICE has now entered in its operation phase and is observing collisions of particle beams generating large amounts of data. The stable and reliable operation of the control system of such a complex apparatus is critical for the success of the experiments. The load of the shifts for the operation of the experiment on the collaboration personnel is quite heavy because the planned operations of the experiment, according to the LHC schedule, will last for very long periods.
The fellow will be a member of the team in charge of the data-acquisition system of the ALICE.
The project will focus on the study of methods for automating the work of the operators in the
ALICE Control Room with the purpose of reducing their number and the required period of attendance. The fellow will thus acquire in depth knowledge of the management, installation and deployment of the forefront data-acquisition technologies. The fellow will have to get a multilayered comprehension of both hardware and software of all the ALICE online systems (the
Detector Control System, the Trigger, the Data-Acquisition and the High-Level Trigger) and a profound understanding of the Experiment Control System software, responsible for the synchronization of the online systems. In addition the fellow will learn all the tools which are available for the operator to monitor the experiment and the online systems: the InfoLogger reporting information and error messages, the electronics LogBook, and the Lemon system monitoring the hardware of the DAQ computing system.
The broad goal of this control automation system is to combine the information provided by the different systems and to propose solutions on how to bring the whole experiment to a state compatible with physics data taking.
In order to ease the experiment operation as much as possible, by automating some of the tasks, the first part of the project should be focused in the gathering of some experience on typical situations that need to be fixed with well-established recipes. The second part of the project consists in the design, development and deployment of software, eventually based on expert system technology, for the reliable automation of the control system.
This offers an ideal educational environment with cutting-edge technology to exercise the software development skills under realistic conditions and to gradually obtain experience in all aspects of a high-energy physics experiment.

Work package Research and Work Plan
During the first part of the project the fellow will acquire in depth knowledge of data acquisition technologies, improve skills in programming, system design, GUI interfaces, Finite State
Machines, databases, data monitoring methods, optimization techniques and general engineering.
Working in an international and stimulating environment like CERN will develop social and languages skills and acquaintance with the research activities.
The second part of the project will consists in the following phases:

Study how to describe the various sub-systems as decentralized entities, reacting in realtime to changes in the system;

Provide interfaces to all the online systems to get information about their behavior;

Individuate the method to be used to simulate the performance of the experts that would need to be consulted otherwise;

Select the rule-based programming language and method for the implementation;

Choose the formalism for the creation of the knowledge base data base;

Implement the knowledge base, as database of typical patterns reflecting situations leading to deprecated functioning of the experiments;

Study the problem-solving models;

Make a list of recipes on how to handle those situations;

Study the rules of inference;

Develop an interactive program proposing solutions to the operator.
The research part of this job will consist of the following areas:

Establish the scope of the automation.

Identify and evaluate the techniques that could be used to develop a control automation system.

Develop new concepts leading to a unified control of the experiment and to its automation.
The goal of the work plan is first to develop a first prototype that could be tested in production in the experiment and evaluate its effectiveness when used by the ALICE ECS-DAQ shifters, then implement a production version of the system.
Training plan
Year 1
On the job training
General overview of the ALICE experiment Trigger, DAQ and
ECS
Programming courses
Technical software training
Language courses
Formal training
CERN School of Computing
Unix Programming/Distributed applications development held at
CERN
French/English courses held at CERN
Year 2
Year 3
Expert systems technologies
Artificial Intelligence
Communication courses
Academic Training courses at CERN
Communicating effectively
How to make presentations

Project Title
Institute - Group:
Supervisor:
Qualifications/ experience required:
Refactoring of a large online software package
CERN-PH/AID
Sylvain Chapeland
University Degree or equivalent diploma in computing. Good knowledge in C/C++ language is necessary, and willingness to learn others if necessary (Tcl, bash). Communication abilities will also be an important aspect of the work in order to interact with the software experts of the multicultural DAQ team.
Training value to applicant:
The fellow will get training in the area of large data-acquisition systems, and will exercise his skills in software development and quality insurance techniques.
Impact
Industrial involvement
Starting date
The Early Stage Researcher will become an expert in software design processes, code refactoring, and quality insurance techniques.
Project Introduction and background
ALICE is an experiment observing and analyzing the particle collisions produced in the CERN
Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The detector outputs physics data at a sustained rate of up to 2 gigabytes per second. The DATE software (ALICE Data Acquisition and Test Environment) implements the distributed processes and control mechanisms necessary for a high-performance and reliable data taking, and runs on several hundred computers. It has grown from the first test setups in the late 1990s to maturity in production for the LHC. It consists of 300’000 lines of source code (mainly C and Tcl/Tk) spread in 30 packages.
After 15 years of continuous development following updates in requirements, it is now time for a refactoring of this software package. Refactoring is the process of applying behavior-preserving transformations to a program with the objective of improving the program's design. It includes an in-depth code review in order to identify potentially outdated or unused features.
Work package Research and Work Plan
The goal of this position is to:
 first acquire knowledge about the DATE system and its many underlying control and data flows. This step involves understanding the context in which the tool is used in the production environment, infer the associated requirements in features and flexibility, and inspect at a low level the source code to grasp the design and implementation choices. It is a unique opportunity to learn about complex distributed systems.
 then analyze and review the architecture and implementation, and prepare a detailed report of the outcome. This includes discuss with the various packages developers (hence practicing communication skills), and apply the software quality procedures learned in parallel with the technical training to identify and sort by level of importance potential issues.
 finally propose and implement possible changes, for example ways to homogenize interprocess communication, or group in a common library similar features used by different components. A large autonomy is granted in the design choices to be made, such as the use new software methods not available at the time some processes where initially developed. The major challenge of this task is to combine potentially original software solutions, while putting into practice the learned testing procedures necessary for a smooth

evolution in the production environment.
Training plan
Year 1
On the job training Formal training
Exercise and operate the DAQ software in the production environment for a good understanding of its components
CERN Technical Training:

Secure coding in C/C++

Introduction to Databases and
Database Design
Year 2
Year 3
Code analysis and writing detailed report about possible improvements.
CERN Technical Training:
 communicating effectively
 quality management
Implement ad-hoc changes in the
DAQ software.
CERN Technical Training:

ISTQB International Software
Testing Qualifications Board

Project Title
Institute - Group:
Supervisor:
Development of high-speed detector readout
CERN-PH/AID
Filippo Costa
Qualifications/ experience required:
University Degree or equivalent diploma in computing or in physics with a specialization in computing
Training value to applicant:
The fellow will be trained in online software and the hardware/software integration
Impact
Industrial involvement
The fellow will be exposed to several key computing and networking technologies and will increase his knowledge about these technologies and their interaction. He or she will have the opportunity to contribute to a large project by practical developments. This will remarkably enhance the fellow’s potential whether they pursue his/her career in the public or private sector.
Starting date
September 2011
Project Introduction and background
The ALICE DAQ project is based on high-speed computing and networking systems, it is fully functional and it exhibited outstanding performance during the 2009. The data acquisition software developed by the ALICE DAQ group consists of several software packages. The readout software is a specific one that reads the information coming from the front end electronics of the detectors. It interfaces itself with the readout hardware using a software module called equipment; there are different equipments, to read data from several sources, giving to the data acquisition software an extreme flexibility to the whole system.
As part of the ALICE upgrade, faster data links and new protocols will be used to deliver data from the detector electronics to the DAQ system in a high-radiation environment and the readout program will need new equipments to read the data from boards using those new links and high throughput data transfer protocol.
Work package Research and Work Plan
Working in the ALICE DAQ group offers an ideal educational environment for young developers who can get to work in a cutting-edge environment. Moreover, the DAQ prototypes are used during several phases of the detector development including test in the laboratory, test-beam runs, and detector commissioning.
This gives the opportunity to the fellow to participate in all aspects of a high energy physics experiment and to exercise his/her software development skills in a realistic environment. The research part of this EST Fellowship will consist of the following phases:

Understand the connection between the different packages of DATE.

Identify the methods to read out the data provided by the detector readout boards.

Design and implement the algorithm to handle the data acquisition and the flow control.

Provide debugging tools to be used during the acquisition to verify that the system is working properly.

Provide a common software for the slow control that uses the same syntax but it is able to interface itself with the different equipments.
At the end of each phase, the software developed by the fellow will be released and documented.
It will then be made available to the whole ALICE collaboration, as part of the DAQ software

framework.
Training plan
Year 1
On the job training
- Build a DAQ test set-up gaining knowledge of all the connections between the DATE packages.
- Identify the methods to read out the data provided by the front end electronics of the detector.
Formal training
Year 2
Year 3
- Design and implementation of a new algorithm to handle the data taking using the new data transmission protocols.
- Build debugging tools to test the software.
Development of a slow control software using the DATE framework.

Project Title
Online software dynamic monitoring
CERN-PH/AID Institute - Group:
Supervisor: R. Divia
Qualifications/ experience required:
University Degree or equivalent diploma in computing.
Training value to applicant:
The fellow will be trained on the control and monitoring of online distributed software and its interface with human operators and field experts.
Impact
Industrial involvement
ETM
Starting date
Project Introduction and background
The ALICE experiment at CERN acquires data via a data-driven architecture that includes thousands of components: online computers (collectors, concentrators, servers, workers), point-topoint data links, networking elements, data storage elements, data quality checkpoints and control stations. One person, the DAQ (Data AcQuisition) and ECS (Experiment Control System) operator, controls these components via dedicated user interfaces. This Work Package will provide a framework capable to ensure adequate aid to the DAQ/ECS operator, to assist the daily operation procedures, and to guarantee a solid and reliable support for effective fault-finding and error recovering tools. The project covers multidisciplinary domains such as information gathering from multiple, widely distributed sources, merging this information, take unassisted decisions based on heuristic logic, selecting – if possible - candidate remedies, and presenting the results to the
DAQ/ECS operator. Dedicated facilities must also be provided to the DAQ/ECS experts in order to guarantee the necessary support for day-to-day operations, to enhance the functionality of the framework, and to adapt the package to future upgrades of the ALICE DAQ/ECS systems.
Work package Research and Work Plan
This project will follow the following work plan:
 comparative analysis of equivalent systems used within LEP and LHC and by equivalent industrial systems;
 detailed analysis of the current DAQ/ECS system while in operation: how it works, how the operator interacts with it, how problems are detected, analyzed and solved by the operator either in full autonomy or with the assistance from on-call experts;
 definition of the tools to be used for metrics and alarms: sensors, transport services, data collection and monitoring;
 definition of the framework used by the monitoring system logic engine(s): how metrics are analyzed, how alarms are triggered by the sampled data using a flexible and adaptable heuristic engine, how conclusions and recovery procedures are selected;
 interfacing to the operator: how to assist a non-expert in reacting to abnormal operating scenario quickly and efficiently;
 definition of an initial set of metric, alarms, rules and remedies based on input provided by the DAQ/ECS developers;
 support to the ECS/DAQ experts: how rules and remedies can be added, validated and modified in accordance with the natural evolution of the system being monitored, how the framework can be maintained and migrated to newer architectures.

Dedicated training will be provided to properly identify the requirements, to integrate with the existing architecture, and to define a correct interfacing with the human operator. The Work
Package will require special skills and tools in order to identify an efficient framework, capable to evolve together with the ECS and DAQ systems. Easy prototyping, testing and validation of rules and features must be provided. Adequate support must be guaranteed to allow efficient support of the framework and of the set of rules used during the decision-taking process.
The duration of the Work Package allows a complete work cycle, from the definition of the base requirements up to the consolidation procedures, going through design, development and validation of tools and libraries. All the working aspects of such a project will have to be covered and ensured. The fellow will be given the opportunity to follow the project in all its phases and to witness its deployment for operation in real-life environment, all under the direct assistance of skilled DAQ and ECS experts.
Training plan
Year 1
On the job training Formal training
Analysis of existing DAQ and
ECS systems, of software packages currently in use by HEP experiments and by equivalent industry setups, of their operating procedures. Comparative field survey of existing tools and frameworks.
SCADA systems and associated fault detection and recovery frameworks.
ALICE DAQ and ECS operation, maintenance, and development procedures.
Year 2
Year 3
Implementation of the support tools required by the framework: communication libraries, debugging tools, support databases, editors, Human
Interfaces (developers and operators).
As required by the chosen tools and technologies.
Software deployment procedures.
Consolidation, field validation while in use by the DAQ/ECS operator, integration within the existing operating procedures, editing of operating guides, establishment of maintenance and configuration procedures.
Documentation tools.
Software review and consolidation procedures.

Project Title
The design, development and deployment of a Business Intelligence (BI) platform as part of the ALICE Data-Acquisition (DAQ) project
Institute - Group:
Supervisor:
CERN-PH/AID
Vasco Chibante
Qualifications/ experience required:
Training value to applicant:
Impact
University Degree or equivalent diploma in computing. Excellent knowledge in software development is required. Experience and knowledge in database technologies and some familiarity with distributed computing systems are needed. Experience with BI tools and/or Data
Warehouse is a plus. Good communication and presentation skills.
The training part of this fellowship will cover high-performance database technologies, Data Warehouse concepts and systems, and Business
Intelligence concepts and systems
Based on the last years trends, the deployment of open-source Business
Intelligence will continue to grow, with experts forecasting an yearly increase of 100%.
This Fellowship - by providing both theoretical and practical knowledge on open-source Business Intelligence platforms and Data Warehousing - will prepare the Fellow to apply to jobs in industry where the demand for such skills will remain high.
Additionally, it will provide him with experience in working in large and multidisciplinary scientific collaborations, which will also be a plus for his professional career either in academia or in industry.
Industrial involvement
Several open-source BI tools will be evaluated. Given the complexity of these tools, the involvement of leading open-source BI providers such as
Pentaho or JasperSoft would allow the Fellow to access valuable experience and technical expertise. Moreover, it would create an important case study for current and future large scientific collaborations.
Starting date
Project Introduction and background
ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is one of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments, designed to study the Physics of strongly interacting matter at extreme energy densities where the formation of a new phase of matter – the Quark Gluon Plasma – is expected. After 15 years of design and installation, and following a series of dedicated sessions in 2008 and 2009 to commission the different sub-detectors, the online systems and the online-offline interfaces, the ALICE experiment started to detect and record in March 2010 the first collisions produced by the LHC and has been collecting millions of events ever since.
Given the complexity and scale of ALICE, the daily experimental operations involve a large number of people performing heterogeneous tasks: from data-taking operations in the control room to expert on-site and remote interventions, from software releases to hardware upgrades. Therefore, a good
Information System is essential to support the decision-makers and the operational coordinators not only to fulfil the Physics objectives but also to do it in an efficient way, thus reducing costs and optimizing resources.
The design, development and deployment of a Business Intelligence (BI) platform as part of the
ALICE Data-Acquisition (DAQ) project constitute the subject of this Marie Curie Fellowship.

Work package Research and Work Plan
The research part of this fellowship will consist of the following phases:

Identify the needs of the different decision-makers in terms of Information and Knowledge.

Identify the available sources of information already existing in ALICE that could be relevant to the BI platform.

Design, implement and deploy an efficient data warehouse repository.

Evaluate, select, deploy and configure an open-source BI suite.

Following initial usage, validate the system and perform any necessary adjustments.

Evaluate the effectiveness of using BI platforms in large scientific collaborations
At the end of each phase, document the performed research accordingly.
Training plan
Year 1
Year 2
On the job training Formal training
Training in the hardware and software environment used by the
ALICE DAQ system
- Training in the high-performance database technologies.
- Training in Data Warehouse concepts and practices.
- Training in Business Intelligence concepts and practices.
Training in Communication skills by presenting the project in international conferences
- Training in open-source Business
Intelligence suite(s).
Year 3 Training in Communication skills by presenting the project in international conferences
- Training in Management and
Communication skills