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No Time for DowNTime

When youre trying to understand the building blocks o matter, the origin o

the universe and everything in between, system downtime is not an option. CERN,

the European Organization or Nuclear Research, explores these complex, epic

issues using the worlds largest and most powerul particle accelerator, the Large

Hadron Collider (LHC).

CERNs goal is to recreate the Big Bang with the LHC, using its thousand

15-meter magnets to re particles into each other. With particles colliding at

the speed o light, the Technical Inrastructure Monitoring (TIM) system tracking

LHC operations must be reliable. Thats why CERN adopted Progress

SonicMQ

,

the industrys most robust and resilient enterprise messaging system, as the

communications inrastructure or TIM.

T h e C h a l l e n g e

Ensure the Technical Infrastructure

Monitoring system is reliable

T h e S o l u T i o n

A high-performing, continuously

available messaging system

T h e R e S u l T

Real-time insight into Large Hadron

Collider operations; zero downtime

for the monitoring infrastructure; over

150 systems monitored with 50,000

measuring points delivering nearly

2.6 million values a day

How CerNmakes progress


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a Complex TeCHNiCal iNfrasTruCTure

Located west o Lake Geneva, CERN is spread out over Swiss and

French territory. The most important systems, such as the Large Hadron

Collider, are underground. The LHC is in a circular tunnel with a circumerence

o 27 km, the latest addition to CERNs existing linear and circular accelerators.

In the LHC tunnel, more than 1,000 super conducting magnets, each

15 meters long, will accelerate elementary particlesprotons or heavy

ionsthrough a vacuum lled tunnel to 99.99% o the speed o light. When

these particles are red into each other in opposing trajectories, their impacts

involve extremely high energy levels. Physical conditions similar to those

immediately ater the Big Bang are created or ractions o a second.

Its no surprise that it takes a highly complex technical inrastructure

to run this huge research laboratory and its scientic systems. These includes

the power supplythe LHC needs as much electricity as all o the households

in the city o Geneva combinedventilation o underground systems,

rerigeration or the super conducting magnets, high-perormance vacuum

pumps, water pumps, air conditioners, re alarms, communication systems

and access control.

Currently, over 100 technical inrastructure systems with about25,000 individual measuring points generate around 1.3 million individual

items o inormation daily. When the LHC becomes ully operational, over 150

systems with 50,000 measuring points will be delivering around 2.6 million

values a day.

This inrastructure is monitored round the clock by the CERN Control

Centre (CCC), built or the LHC on the French CERN site in Prvessin. The data

to be monitored is collected, evaluated, stored and distributed using CERNs

Technical Inrastructure Monitoring system (TIM). Using TIM, the status oany equipmentany vacuum pump, relay or valvecan be checked online

at any time. This inrastructure inormation is kept completely separate rom

physics data and experimental results, which are managed in dedicated IT

systems in a separate control center.


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moNiToriNg wiTH Tim

The inormation provided by the inrastructure systems is merged in

TIM and provided to users via a graphical user interace, ensuring a consistent

look and eel. A logging system integrated in TIM automatically stores selected

data or urther evaluation and subsequent checking. This is useul or post-

mortem analysis o severe equipment malunctions.

Just as important, TIM automatically inorms the central LHC Alarm

Service (LASER) o problems with the technical inrastructure that may be o

interest to the dierent site services. In total, TIM contains about 20,0000

denitions o potential ault situations.

TIM collects data rom a broad range o dierent, widely distributed

systems and also orwards control instructions to those systems, explains

Jan Stowisek, a CERN engineer responsible or the TIM system. We have

thereore implemented a fexible data acquisition mechanism that supports

a large number o protocols and can be expanded by additional protocols

i required.

CERN started implementing TIM in 2003. It used J2EE because a

number o systems at CERN were already based on this technology. Using

similar hardware and sotware platorms or multiple systems signicantlyreduced support costs.

For its communication inrastructure, TIM uses Progress Sotwares

messaging middleware, SonicMQ, based on JMS. As an asynchronous,

messaging-oriented solution, JMS is much better suited or the challenges

TIM aces than a connection-oriented client-server approach such as those

supported by RMI or CORBA. It is the only communication protocol between

the data acquisition, processing and distribution layers.

Also, JMS allows a clear separation o these layers, which means

that the implementation o one layer is independent o the implementation

o the other system components, explains Jan Stowisek. This is very

convenient or maintenance work. For instance, we can perorm maintenance


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on the application server without having to restart any o the client

applications. JMS is also used or communication with the LASER

alarm system.

HigHly available CommuNiCaTioNsiNfrasTruCTure

The initial TIM prototype was based on OpenJMS as a messaging

middleware and JBoss as an application server. However, because a large

volume o data needs to be processed, CERN required a highly available and

high-perormance solution.

Considering the signicant investments made at CERN, ailures o the

control systems could have serious consequences and result in a substantial

nancial burden. Unplanned downtime is unacceptable or such costly

systems, considering that physicists rom all over the world who come to

CERN or only a ew days would be interrupted in their experiments.

We tested SonicMQ and were convinced by its availability eatures,

especially with regard to clustering and load balancing, and its fexible

conguration options, explained CERN Project Manager Anna Suwalska. We

also received excellent support by Progress Sotware sta during our tests

and during our subsequent design work or the solution.

In its operational conguration, TIM currently uses a cluster o

two SonicMQ brokers to ensure optimal availability. A third broker installed

on a separate server manages the cluster. On the hardware side, the TIM

application servers and JMS brokers are hosted on HP Proliant servers. An

additional server is standing by to take over immediately should one o the

primary servers ail.

The scalability o the SonicMQ messaging solution is also critical

or TIM. Currently, only the smaller CERN accelerators are being used or

experiments. However, oncethe LHC is ready or operation, the amount o

data to be processed will be ar greater. For this reason, urther servers can

be added to the TIM inrastructure when necessary. SonicMQ now orms the

W tstd ScMQ d

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Anna Suwalska

CERN Project Manager


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backbone o TIM and, thus, o a large part o the technical inrastructure.

A wide variety o inormation comes together on this bus and is distributed

to various client systems.

The solution is very reliable, explained CCC Technical Inrastructure

Operations Manager Peter Sollander. Our success with TIM and LASER

shows that J2EE technology is not just or eCommerce applications, but that it

is also suitable or industrial process control, summarized Jan Stowisek.

progress sofTware

Progress Sotware Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS) is a global sotware company that enables enterprises to

be operationally responsive to changing conditions and customer interactions as they occur. Our goal is to

enable our customers to capitalize on new opportunities, drive greater eciencies, and reduce risk. Progress

oers a comprehensive portolio o best-in-class inrastructure sotware spanning event-driven visibility

and real-time response, open integration, data access and integration, and application development and

managementall supporting on-premises and SaaS/cloud deployments. Progress maximizes the benets

o operational responsiveness while minimizing IT complexity and total cost o ownership.

worlDwiDe HeaDquarTers

Progress Sotware Corporation, 14 Oak Park, Bedord, MA 01730 USA

Tel: +1 781 280-4000 Fax: +1 781 280-4095 On the Web at: ..c

For international oce locations and contact inormation, please reer to:

..c/dd

2009 Progress Sotware Corporation and/or its subsidiaries or aliates. All rights reser ved. Progress and SonicMQ are trademarks

or registered trademarks o Progress So tware Corporation or one o its aliates or subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. Any

other trademarks contained herein are the property o their respective owners. Specications subject to change without notice.

Rev. 09/09 | 6252-127876

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CerN

CERN (European Organization or Nuclear Research) was ounded in Geneva on 29 September, 1954, and currently

has 20 member states. With more than 3,000 people, CERN is the worlds largest particle physics research acility.In addition, over 6000 guest scientists (called Users) rom around the world are taking part in research in the

elds o particle and high-energy physics at CERN. The results primarily serve basic research and the development

o physical theories. CERN has built the worlds largest particle accelerator, the LHC (Large Hadron Collider), with a

circumerence o 27 km. The LHC became operational in 2007. www.cern.ch

progress soNiCmq

SonicMQ is the most robust and reliable enterprise-class messaging system. In addition to i ts unparalleled

availability and perormance, it eatures unusually powerul management options and a new level o scalability or

large and complex enterprise-class implementations. SonicMQ guarantees continuous availability with its Sonic

Continuous Availability Architecture

, or which patents are pending. Together with advanced cluster technologies,

dynamic routing architecture ensures that SonicMQ installations can be expanded with great fexibility.

The management and implementation inrastructure provided by SonicMQ simplies work related to mission-

critical corporate communication systems signicantly and reduces overall operating costs. Comprehensive support

or authentication, authorization and encryption unctions keeps messages and systems secureboth inside and

outside the rewall.

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