Network Capabilities for the HL-LHC Era

TL;DR

This paper discusses how network virtualization and programmable networks can enhance the scalability, robustness, and cost-effectiveness of HEP infrastructure to support the HL-LHC era, ensuring efficient data exploitation.

Contribution

It provides a high-level summary of potential novel network capabilities for HL-LHC based on the HEPiX NFV Working Group report.

Findings

Identification of key network capabilities for HL-LHC

Potential deployment timelines for network innovations

Benefits of virtualization for HEP data management

Abstract

High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments rely on the networks as one of the critical parts of their infrastructure both within the participating laboratories and sites as well as globally to interconnect the sites, data centers and experiments instrumentation. Network virtualisation and programmable networks are two key enablers that facilitate agile, fast and more economical network infrastructures as well as service development, deployment and provisioning.Adoption of these technologies by HEP sites and experiments will allow them to design more scalable and robust networks while decreasing the overall cost and improving the effectiveness of the resource utilization.The primary challenge we currently face is ensuring that WLCG and its constituent collaborations will have the networking capabilities required to most effectively exploit LHC data for the lifetime of the LHC. In this paper we provide a high level summary of the HEPiX NFV Working Group report that explored some of the novel network capabilities that could potentially be deployment in time for HL-LHC.