1. NEXPReS Period 3 Overview WP5 Cloud Correlation Arpad Szomoru, JIVE

2. e-VLBI and NEXPReS  e-VLBI works great!  Stable, robust connectivity  Big telescopes, long baselines at full 1024 Mbps in real time  Enabling new science, increasing demand  But, limitations remain…  Some (important) telescopes will not (ever?) be able to join  No such thing as a perfect system/hardware, failures do occur  Re-correlation with different parameters currently impossible  Higher bandwidth/data rates becoming available, crucial for science  Need to accommodate 2, 4, 10? Gbps per telescope  4 Gbps dBBCs being rolled out in EVN  100 Gbps technology on its way NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 2

3. WP5 - objectives  Extend the benefits of real-time e-VLBI to all EVN observations  Transforming the VLBI operational chain  scheduling  setting up of observations and actual observing  buffering, transferring and correlation of the data  Prepare the EVN for the much higher data rates that are becoming available, both recorded and real-time  Accommodate bandwidth-on-demand techniques (topic of WP6) in a transparent and efficient way  Implement monitoring, authorization and remote control NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 3

4. WP5 - tasks  Task 1: Flexible buffering  JIVE, AALTO  Task 2: Implementation of VDIF standard  JIVE  Task 3: Continuous quality monitoring & station remote control  TUM, MPG, JIVE  Task 4: Automated network-dependent correlation  JIVE NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 4

5. WP5 – final deliverables DescriptionDueStatus D5.09Control systems and scheduling mechanisms for 4-Gbps at correlator 23 4 D5.10Corner-turning platform 24 4 D5.11eRemoteCtrl and NASA Field System Interaction 28 4 D5.12Automated delayed correlation 29 4 D5.13Real-time correlation with simultaneous recording at the correlator 30 4 D5.14Report on tests with Wettzell & Effelsberg stations 36 4 D5.15Streamlined data reduction pipelines & user access 36 4 NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 5

6. D5.09 Control systems and scheduling mechanisms for 4-Gbps at correlator  many modifications and additions to existing databases  Complete overhaul of local network at JIVE  Implementation of buffering at the correlator  control of logistics:  what parts of an experiment stored at what location  retrieval of data at right moment  Most of the work spread out over the first two years of the project  Culminating in the successful correlation of three 4Gbps data streams in real time during the D5.2 demo. NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 6

7. D5.10 Corner turning platform  Many VLBI data formats in use  Traditionally: data from all frequencies into one frame  VDIF format (VLBI Data Interface Format), pack data from single sub-bands into single frames.  Straightforward parallellization of correlation  SFXC software correlator or FPGA-based UniBoard correlator  On the fly conversion (corner turning) needed for older equipment  Essential for 4Gbps real-time correlation  4Gbps data streams partly corner turned into 4 chunks of 1Gbps  streamed to JIVE  fully corner turned into sub-bands for correlation on different SFXC nodes. NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 7

8. D5.11 eRemoteCtrl and NASA Field System Interaction  e-RemoteCtrl was intended from the start to be part of the NASA Field System (FS), used throughout VLBI  Consequently great care was taken to keep this development in synch with the FS  e-RemoteCtrl had been approved as an official add-on  However, the FS version with e-RemoteCtrl included has not been released yet… NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 8

9. D5.12 Automated delayed correlation  Buffering at stations and correlator, recorded data potentially distributed over:  multiple versions  Multiple physical locations  different media (disk packs, FlexBuffs, other hard disk storage)  Need to track what parts of an experiment are stored in what locations.  Warning issued when all data are available (on-line or in- house)  Correlation can be started automatically once all media are mounted NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 9

10. D5.12 Automated delayed correlation (cont.) Media selection options. The user can select the data input to use for the whole experiment or, if required, fine tune this selection per station. NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 10

11. D5.13 Real-time correlation with simultaneous recording at the correlator  Make it possible to do real-time VLBI, and follow it up, if so desired, with another correlation run using all available stations including the stations that cannot do e- VLBI  With the real-time data recorded at the correlator, only disk packs from non-e-VLBI stations will need to be shipped NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 11

12. D5.14 Report on tests with Wettzell & Effelsberg stations  Originally: tests with Wettzell and Effelsberg telescopes  Security regulations at the Effelsberg telescope severely limited testing opportunities  Fortunately, AuScope network (12m Patriot antennas at Hobart in Tasmania, Yarragadee and Kathrine in Australia and the 26m antenna at Hobart, Tasmania) and the Ny-Ålesund observatory already involved in the project early on, available for extensive tests NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 12

13. D5.14 Report on tests with Wettzell & Effelsberg stations (cont.) NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 13

14. D5.15 Streamlined data reduction pipelines & user access  Software tool that allows near-immediate detailed inspection of correlation results, combining  tools that support scientists currently use for e-VLBI sessions  data reduction steps used for disk-based processing.  This automatic post-processing capability will be very important for combined real-time/recorded VLBI NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 14

15. WP5 – Results at JIVE  Many completely new software programs were written from scratch for monitoring and quality control  Great number of scripts and GUIs written or modified  All operational information moved to a new database structure with built-in redundancy  Enormous of amount of functionality added to the Jive5ab control code  code was extended to run on any platform that can be used for recording/transmitting/playback of VLBI data  High-bandwidth (real-time) observations now possible  4Gbps demo for D5.2  mixed 1- and 2Gbps observations using new digital equipment in the EVN and the USA VLBA array NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 15

16. WP5 – Results at TUM  Complete software suite for remote control of radio telescopes developed, tested, de-bugged and deployed  Software is already actively used:  AuScope geodetic VLBI array, Wetzell, TIGO and GARRS telescopes  Demonstrated functionality  IVS CONT11 campaign  14 telescopes continuously for 15 days  with remote control from Wetzell during night shifts  System monitoring in actual use at Wetzell  safeguard access to Laser Ranging equipment  Many aspects will be very useful for astronomical VLBI as well, once incorporated in the FS NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 16

17. SysMon – System Monitoring at Wettzell Slide: 17 NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013

18. Windsensor display Safety-system display SysMon – System Monitoring at Wettzell NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 18

19. WP5 – General  Thanks to NEXPReS, EVN now in an excellent position for the future.  Through NEXPReS, continuation of development and expertise built up during the EXPReS project  100G international connectivity is becoming the norm  real-time VLBI array, 10 times 4Gbps conceivable.  Many improvements and extensions to existing system and infrastructure leading to  improvements in operational efficiency, flexibility and reliability  improvements to scientific product for end users  Important to keep the momentum going, promote the use of the new high-speed equipment  Next: transition to much more frequent, higher-bandwidth, rapid- return e-VLBI NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013 Slide: 19

20. Questions/Comments  Contact Information:  Arpad Szomoru  Head Technical Operations and R&D  JIVE  szomoru@jive.nl  Additional information available via http://www.nexpres.eu/ NEXPReS is an Integrated Infrastructure Initiative (I3), funded under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007- 2013) under grant agreement no RI-261525. Slide: 20 NEXPReS P3 Review – Dwingeloo, NL - 19 September 2013