A Cloud-based architecture for the Cherenkov Telescope Array observation simulations. Optimisation, design, and results. (arXiv:1901.00410v1 [astro-ph.IM])

A Cloud-based architecture for the Cherenkov Telescope Array observation simulations. Optimisation, design, and results. (arXiv:1901.00410v1 [astro-ph.IM])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Landoni_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">M. Landoni</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Romano_P/0/1/0/all/0/1">P. Romano</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Vercellone_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">S. Vercellone</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Knodlseder_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">J. Knodlseder</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Bianco_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">A. Bianco</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Tavecchio_F/0/1/0/all/0/1">F. Tavecchio</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Corina_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">A. Corina</a>

Simulating and analysing detailed observations of astrophysical sources for
very high energy (VHE) experiments, like the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA),
can be a demanding task especially in terms of CPU consumption and required
storage. In this context, we propose an innovative cloud computing architecture
based on Amazon Web Services (AWS) aiming to decrease the amount of time
required to simulate and analyse a given field by distributing the workload and
exploiting the large computational power offered by AWS. We detail how the
various services offered by the Amazon online platform are jointly used in our
architecture and we report a comparison of the execution times required for
simulating observations of a test source with the CTA, by a single machine and
the cloud-based approach. We find that, by using AWS, we can run our
simulations more than 2 orders of magnitude faster than by using a general
purpose workstation for the same cost. We suggest to consider this method when
observations need to be simulated, analysed, and concluded within short
timescales.

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