A Monitoring Architecture for High-Speed Networks in Large Scale Distributed Collaborations

In this paper we present the architecture of a distributed framework that allows real-time accurate monitoring of large scale high-speed networks. An important component of a large-scale distributed collaboration is the complex network infrastructure on which it relies. For monitoring and controlling the networking resources an adequate instrument should offer the possibility to collect and store the relevant monitoring information, presenting significant perspectives and synthetic views of how the large distributed system performs. We therefore developed within the MonALISA monitoring framework a system able to collect, store, process and interpret the large volume of status information related to the US LHCNet research network. The system uses flexible mechanisms for data representation, providing access optimization and decision support, being able to present real-time and long-time history information through global or specific views and to take further automated control actions based on them.