ATLAS High-Level Trigger farm on the move

A major relocation campaign has been launched to dismantle one of the ATLAS experiment’s key computing systems and transport it from LHC Point 1 to its new home at LHC Point 8, the site of the LHCb experiment.

The ATLAS HLT farm is a dense computing installation where hundreds of servers process the vast amounts of data ATLAS produces. Teams coordinated by the CERN IT department are now dismantling these units, securing them to pallets and lifting them by crane through the intricate network of cables and services supporting the experiment.

The move is driven by the extensive infrastructure upgrades required for HiLumi LHC. As Point 1 undergoes major reconfiguration, space and power constraints mean that the HLT computing infrastructure must find a new home. Through a collaboration between ATLAS, LHCb and the CERN IT department, the servers will be installed in a dedicated container at Point 8, extending the lifetime of valuable equipment and reducing electronic waste.

240 of the 416 multi-node server chassis have already been removed, marking the start of an operation to relocate all units by the end of July. The next phase will focus on installation and preparing the system for network commissioning in autumn.