Getting Started

This is a collection of a couple email sent to our students, in preparation of their coming here. We believe they may be a good reference also for other, in order to understand the system.

Where to start to become a productive developer

The learning curve for the students working with us is becoming steeper and steeper, so I though you might be interested in having some hints on what to look at before coming here. Consider this as a recomendation only, as I understand that at the beginning you'll be busy settling down.

- Read a few papers from our web site: http://www-d0.fnal.gov/computing/grid/

http://www-d0.fnal.gov/computing/grid/papers/acat02-it.pdf
on SAM, the data handling system

http://www-d0.fnal.gov/computing/grid/papers/acat02-gg.ps
general overview of the Job and Information Management (JIM) components: SAM + JIM = SAM-Grid

http://www-d0.fnal.gov/computing/grid/papers/acat03-gg.ps
SAM-Grid fabric services: once the grid has shipped you job the site, who takes care of it?

http://www.ppdg.net/docs/Papers/grid-planning.pdf
good paper on the modification introduced to Condor-G driven by SAM-Grid


- Refresh your memory on XML, bourne shell and python. Java and PHP are also used.
For shell, I found useful in the past http://consult2.cern.ch/writeups/bournint/ , but nowadays there maybe more stuff out there
For python, www.python.org has a good tutorial and library reference.


- Globus: study the "Toolkit Components" (see web page), in particular GSI ("security") .


- Condor-G: understand the difference between the Condor batch system and Condor-G (see web page). Study the components and their relationship.


- All of our software is packaged using the Unix Product Support (UPS) system: learn the basics of how you setup product environments (table files):
http://www.fnal.gov/docs/products/ups/


- Read the documentation on the JIM individual products (from the SAM-Grid home page under "JIM - the Software")


- SAM: the web page is at http://d0db.fnal.gov/sam . The overview comes from the papers and the technical documentation is very detailed: nothing in between. Look at the web site to get a feeling for it.


- JIM: give a look at http://www-d0.fnal.gov/computing/grid/SAMGridManualLinks.html
This is very technical: start by understanding how the packages are organized.
You can also look at the overview on the Grid to Fabric thick interface implemented by JIM.
Product documentation is linked from http://www-d0.fnal.gov/computing/grid/


- Other topics include RunJob, the DZero and CDF offline code

What to do on your first day at Fermilab

some information about the bureacracy to start you up

- Remember to bring your passport and visa (...if not US citizens...)

- The security at the gate expects you for September 1. Should need/wish to come before then, you'll need to enter from Kirk Road (West entrance), give my name and get a temporary pass.

- Go to the high rise (the only tall building on the site) and to the user office (1st floor west side i.e. right from the main entrance): they will direct you further

- The first day you'll need to spend 25 mins watching a safety video: you can skip it by watching it before coming, if you want. "User's Safety at Fermilab", http://fnalpubs.fnal.gov/library/audvid.html

- You will need to fill out the request for visitor ID at fermilab. You need to wait for it to be signed before you can get a computer accounts, go in and out of fermilab without a temporary pass, etc. I recommend that you shorten this delay by filling out the document in advance and sending it to me via fax, if you can. The form is at http://www.fnal.gov/pub/forphysicists/users/resources.html , with other general information. My fax number is 630 840 3867

- My office is at the 8th floor of the high rise on the west side (WH8E). Other significant people you can look for should I not be in my office are Igor Terekhov and Eileen Berman (office in the same aisle).