CERN OpenStack

CERN OpenStack
Name	CERN OpenStack
Developer	CERN
Initial release	2015
Latest release	2024
Programming language	Python (programming language), YAML
Operating system	Linux
License	MIT License

CERN OpenStack

CERN OpenStack is a large-scale private cloud platform operated by CERN for scientific computing, data analysis, and infrastructure services supporting experiments such as Large Hadron Collider, ATLAS experiment, CMS experiment, ALICE experiment, and LHCb experiment. It provides virtualisation, container orchestration, and storage services to enable research workflows from simulation to analysis across collaborations including Worldwide LHC Computing Grid, Helix Nebula partners, and collaborating laboratories like Fermilab, DESY, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and TRIUMF.

Overview

CERN OpenStack delivers Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for projects spanning High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider, CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso, COMPASS experiment, ISOLDE facility, CERN Open Data Portal, and software stacks such as ROOT (data analysis framework), Geant4, Gaudi (software) and HEPData. The platform integrates compute, block storage, object storage, and networking to support workloads from Monte Carlo method simulations used in Monte Carlo (computer science) to machine learning on frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras (neural network API), and scikit-learn. Collaboration with projects such as OpenStack Foundation, OpenStack Neutron, OpenStack Nova, OpenStack Cinder, and OpenStack Swift informs feature adoption and interoperability with services like Kubernetes, Docker, Ansible, Terraform, and Prometheus.

History and Development

CERN OpenStack was initiated to modernise infrastructure originally driven by efforts such as Grid computing and the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid in the 2000s, transitioning through milestones influenced by platforms like Eucalyptus (software), OpenNebula, and the broader cloud computing movement seen at Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure. Development evolved through partnerships with European Organization for Nuclear Research communities, research projects funded by European Commission, and coordination with institutes including Institut Laue–Langevin, Max Planck Society, CNRS, INFN, CINECA, and EPSRC-funded groups. Key software contributions and operational practices were shaped by collaboration with teams from Red Hat, SUSE, Canonical (company), and academic groups at ETH Zurich, University of Geneva, University of Oxford, Imperial College London, and University of Cambridge.

Architecture and Infrastructure

The architecture utilises core OpenStack components like OpenStack Nova, OpenStack Neutron, OpenStack Keystone, OpenStack Glance, OpenStack Cinder, and OpenStack Swift integrated with orchestration and telemetry tools such as OpenStack Heat, Ceilometer, and OpenStack Telemetry. Storage integrates Ceph (software), GPFS, and object stores interoperable with S3 (computing). Networking leverages software-defined networking from Open vSwitch, FD.io VPP, and standards from IETF and IEEE 802. Compute nodes run KVM, QEMU, and container runtimes interoperable with CRIU and containerd. The control plane uses High-availability clustering and tools like Pacemaker (software), Corosync, and HAProxy. Monitoring and logging stack includes ELK Stack, Grafana, Prometheus, and Zabbix, while CI/CD pipelines connect with Jenkins, GitLab, Travis CI, and GitHub.

Deployment and Operations

Deployment follows practices from Infrastructure as Code with tools like Ansible, Puppet, SaltStack, and Terraform to manage physical clusters in data centres such as CERN Meyrin site and remote facilities, coordinated via Site Reliability Engineering principles. Operations integrate ticketing and incident processes with systems influenced by ITIL best practices and collaboration tools such as Jira (software), Confluence, and Mattermost. Capacity planning and federated resource allocation are informed by metrics from Elastic Stack and workload schedulers including HTCondor, Slurm Workload Manager, and batch systems used by experiments. Interoperability with federated identity providers leverages OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and SAML 2.0 standards used across institutions like CERN Account, national research and education networks such as GÉANT, SURFnet, and JANET (UK). Disaster recovery and backup strategies align with guidelines from European Data Protection Board and standards like ISO/IEC 27001.

Use Cases and Applications

CERN OpenStack supports physics analysis for Higgs boson, top quark, b quark studies, detector simulation for ATLAS Inner Detector, CMS Tracker, and reconstruction software for ALICE Time Projection Chamber. It hosts workflow management systems like PanDA, DIRAC, and CRAB (CMS) and platforms for data preservation such as CERN Open Data. The cloud enables machine learning research applied to particle identification, anomaly detection, jet substructure, and accelerator operation strategies used at CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso and CERN Accelerator School training. It also supports cross-disciplinary projects involving bioinformatics groups at European Molecular Biology Laboratory, astronomy collaborations like LSST, and climate modelling groups using tools from Copernicus Programme.

Security and Compliance

Security posture draws on practices from ISO/IEC 27001, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, and European regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation. Identity and access management integrates Kerberos (protocol), LDAP, and federated solutions employed by eduGAIN and national research infrastructures. Network security utilises segmentation, microsegmentation, and firewalls informed by CISA advisories and threat intelligence sharing with partners like Europol and ENISA. Vulnerability management, patching, and hardening follow guidance from CVE databases and coordination with vendors such as Red Hat, Canonical (company), and SUSE; incident response and forensics practice align with frameworks used by CERT Coordination Center and national Computer Emergency Response Teams including CERT-EU.

Category:Cloud computing