1. 24-Apr-03UCL HEP Computing Status April 20031 DESKTOPS LAPTOPS BATCH PROCESSING DEDICATED SYSTEMS GRID MAIL WEB WTS SECURITY SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE BACKUP PRINTING NETWORKING MISC.

2. 24-Apr-03UCL HEP Computing Status April 20032 Rough inventory ~50 desktop machines from 166 MHz Pentiums to dual 2.4 GHz Xeons (latest with flat-panel screens) Assorted laptops (spanning spectrum of ownership & management) User file server with ~300 GBs of disk Two 1.2TB IDE RAID arrays for data Separate mail and Web servers Small EDG Grid cluster New 10 x dual 2.4 GHz DELL rackmount cpu farm CDF rackmount eqpt: 8-way IBM, 10 x dual 2.4 GHz DELL farm 3 high capacity printers (2 colour, 1 b&w) Standard o/s is RedHat Linux, Windows via WTS or dual-boot laptops

3. 24-Apr-03UCL HEP Computing Status April 20033 Strategic changes 1.Servers moving back to the Computer Room 2.Desktops getting cheaper in absolute terms 3.Most people have laptops one way or another 4.Grid facilities appearing 5.Security measures need re-appraisal 6.Relative costs of disk and tape equalising 7.Increasing user expectation of remote access 8.WTS proving successful 9.Anticipation of convergence with College facilities (mail,Web,firewall)

4. 24-Apr-03UCL HEP Computing Status April 20034 Issues 1.When to replace old desktops and what with? 2.Various laptop issues (what to buy, who for, how to manage?) 3.Convergence of batch cpu with Grid 4.Control of rackmount systems 5.Management of experiment-specific systems 6.Mail-server long-term strategy - integration with College facilities? 7.Support of project-based Web facilities 8.Backup strategy: RAID (IDE, SCSI?), tape robot 9.Network security: College firewall, vulnerability of authentication info 10.Hardware security: how to secure laptops, flat screens, etc 11.Wireless security 12.How to provide more professional video conferencing

5. 24-Apr-03UCL HEP Computing Status April 20035 Main concern Its the same old complaint, but… none of it is getting easier! The demands of project work dont allow enough time to do a proper system management job with the manpower currently funded.