Status of NICE/NT at INFN

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Status of NICE/NT at INFN
Gian Piero Siroli, Physics Dept. Univ. of Bologna
and INFN HEPiX-HEPNT, SLAC, Oct.99
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What is NICE at CERN

• Network Integrated Computing Environment single
  desktop environment from which users can access
  all the facilities of the laboratory
• Based on Windows NT and Windows 95 all
  applications are centrally supported, installed
  and managed (4 Application Servers)
• Currently more than 7000 registered users (3000
  simultaneous users), gt 5500 PCs, hundreds of
  printers, gt 100 commercial s/w packages
  installed, gt 300GB of users files (5 Home
  Servers)

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Porting of NICE

• Physics Department at University of Bologna and
  local INFN branch
• More than 200PCs installed and individually
  managed
• More heterogeneous environment than CERN,
  different services, O.S. language and
  applications extension
• Phase I (LAN) porting, local installation and
  configuration on a 5 nodes dedicated domain NTFS
  file system
• Phase II (WAN) NICE Working Group to study
  feasibility of extending the infrastructure
  coordinate W/NT world within INFN and limit total
  management efforts (remote PC management,
  integration of computing tools within
  collaborations) TCP/IP protocol

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INFN NICE test domain

• December 98
• 18 nodes domain over WAN (lt2Mb lines) 1
  resynchronization node on a dedicated domain
• 4 sites (BO, PD,PI, BA), 3 BDCs, 3 Application
  Servers, 2 Home Servers
• September 99
• 58 registered nodes over lt8Mb lines 1 resync.
  node
• 7 sites (BO, PD, BA, LE, PG, LNL, NA), 7 BDCs, 7
  Application Servers, 6 Home Servers
• Appl. Serv. distributed through the net PDC
  replacement

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INFN NICE domain
9
14
18
4
1
2
10
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Phase II

• Single Domain Architecture
• Centralized management for high level functions
  (services, accounting, synchronization,
  security), minimization of overall management
  load
• Personal desktops follow users on any INFN site
• Stretching of original CERN NICE architecture
  (from LAN to WAN, single to multi-site) no
  problem for remote authentication or if PDC
  temporarily unavailable
• Periodic resynchronization of Application Servers

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Architecture
Appl. Server
Site A
User
Reference Server
Home Server
Appl. Server 1
User
Home Server
Site B
Administrator
User
Appl. Server 2
INFN Synch. Server
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Trying to work on...

• Automatic PC installation over the net
• Application Server synchronization procedure
• Improving centralized user management
• Security issues
• Accounting

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Summary

• Overall very positive experience
• Relatively easy porting and configuration
• Very flexible original NICE architecture
• Robustness
• Single Domain helps in troubleshooting activities
  (problem sharing/solving)
• Development system in production with
  satisfactory results (in spite of lack of
  manpower)
• ...work continues...

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References

• Report on Phase I, CERN-IT/97/10
  http//wwwinfo.cern.ch/doc/ITReports/1997/10
• CHEP98 Proceedings http//www.hep.net/chep98/PDF/
  90.pdf

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W/NT within INFN

• INFN 26 sites, 4 laboratories
• Installed machines (mid 99) 550 (70 servers)
  in 18 sites, many dual boot, device
  control/acquisition, AFS
• Management tools
• none (user self management)
• ZAK ...
• SMS tests
• MS Terminal Server
• Winframe
• WinVNC for remote control
• NICE
• Support level no/full support