During your stay in Lyon, we propose you to visit this new computing room for free. We will organise several visits so as you can choose as your convenience. If you are interested, please ask the desk at your arrival on site.
The Computing Centre of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics (CC-IN2P3) is a service and research unit, part of the CNRS. A major French research infrastructure, it is responsible for providing with researchers involved in corpuscular physics experiments computing and data storage resources.
CC-IN2P3 receives its funding mainly through the CNRS Very Large Infrastructure (TGE) scheme and also by an agreement with the Institute of Research into the Fundamental Laws of the Universe (IRFU) run by the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).
The main services offered by CC-IN2P3 are the storage and processing of large volumes of data and the transfer of these data over very high-speed international networks. The center uses the appropriate equipment, expertise and software to deliver a reliable, robust service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. More than 2500 people regularly use CC-IN2P3’s services.
Within the framework of the EGI sustainable European grid infrastructure project, CC-IN2P3 is currently involved in the national grid initiative (NGI France). Being a computing node of this production grid, CC-IN2P3 is in addition forging links with research grids developed by other French initiatives.
CC-IN2P3 operates more than 2,000 multi-core multiprocessor computers running under various UNIX operating systems. Its storage capacity is gradually being expanded, and by 2015 should reach 120 petabytes on disk and over 100 petabytes on magnetic tape cartridges.
The new computing room
The expansion of CC-IN2P3’s activities in the last few years has required the construction of an extension to its computer room, financed by the 2007-2013 contract between the French government and the Rhône-Alpes region.
With support received from the region and the government through CNRS, CC-IN2P3 build a new computer room of approximately 900 m2, which enable it to offer an even more powerful service to its research community, fulfilling particularly ambitious international commitments regarding the LHC project.
The room also benefits to research laboratories in the Rhône-Alpes region, particularly through its data processing and distributed computing (TIDRA) project. The new room has been put into service in the first quarter of 2011.
