ESAC

XMM-Newton Science Analysis Software:
Development and Maintenance... but thinking of the future
Aitor IBARRA – Richard SAXTON - Eduardo OJERO - Carlos GABRIEL
XMM-Newton SOC, European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) / ESA, Madrid, Spain.
ABSTRACT:The XMM-Newton Science Analysis Software (SAS) is a robust software designed to analyse X-ray data. It is coded mainly in C++, F95 and perl. It is distributed in binary format forseveral architectures (Intel, SPARC and PowerPC) and Operating systems: Linux (Red Hat, SuSE), Mac OS X (Tiger, Leopard) and Solaris. SAS is developed and distributed based on
the free software paradigm. Except for the usage of the commercial NAG Fortran 95 compiler, SAS is built on GNU tools, including gcc C/C++, autoconf and make. Although it isalmost fifteen years old, the tool is evolving continuously to be inline with new compilers (gcc-4.X, NAG 5.2), architectures (64-bit) and technologies (Web based interfaces).
Our goal now is to move beyond the paradigm of simply delivering products to providing a complete solution for the non-expert astronomer, SAS is offering a complete suite ofprograms to reduce and analyze XMM-Newton data . The advent of new computer paradigms focusing on low-cost computer resources and maintenance, such as, virtualization andcloud computing, force SAS to move towards a completely new field where data reduction demands will not decrease.
We discuss the origin, present and future of the XMM-Newton scientific data reduction software, with the aim of keeping the analysis capability throughout the next 10-15 years.

Initially: Standalone application

New Requirements: Massive data reduction

Beginning with the Interface Control Document, SAS wasdeveloped in C++ and F95, using gcc-2.X and NAG 4.X on
32-bit platforms.

Increasing quantities of data have been collected by XMMNewton, and more and more users need to analyze large
samples of data.

Software compatible with SPARC and Intel processors.

Calibration, always under development, needs reprocessingof an increasingly large data volume.

Strong constraints to run SAS in ≥ 512 Mb RAMmachines.

Slew processing is available as a SAS task. Useful to crossmatch sources in different catalogues.

Imaging, spectroscopy and timing analyses were the firstrequirements.

Stacking spectra to improve signal to noise ratio.
Mosaicing and source detection using several observations
are highly demanded by users and CPU intensive

Future technologies

Future-proofing: Web interface

SAS is evolving thinking of …

Thanks to the non-stop SAS evolution, new tools have emerged to make
XMM-Newton data reduction evolve with new technologies.

How virtualization and software deployment work in virtual
machines environment.

Upper Limit Server: It is a web application that allows users to get flux
limits of any point in the sky, using XMM-Newton slew and pointing data.

Ways to take advantage of cloud computing.

Virtualization

Cloud Computing

Thanks to virtualizations, we have the Cloud computing represents a newability to dynamically shape atipping point for the value ofhardware infrastructure. Giving us
network computing. It delivers
new management techniques, such us, higher efficiency, massive scalability,
server consolidation and isolation,and faster, easier software
custom execution environment
development.
provisioning

Upper Limit Server

Remote Interface for Science Analysis: A web service system allowing theanalysis of XMM-Newton data making use of all the existing SAS
functionalities. This tool takes advantage of GRID architecture to run SAS,achieving high performance in resource management.
All these new developments are following the VO standards.

Remote Interface toScience Analysis

VO compliant

User’s point of view

Developer’s point of view

Astronomy User Group advice.
Requirements from users.
Calibration improvements.
Hardware scalability to cope with a high number of users.
VO interoperability.
Higher-level products and processing, To easily cross-match results with catalogues indifferent energy ranges.
Provide solutions and products for non X-ray experts.

Migration to 64-bit platforms.
New compiler (gcc and NAG) versions.
New Operating System/flavours distributions.
Virtualization concept to be able to run SAS in frozen systems.
Cloud Computing paradigm to be able to decouple SAS data reduction from new hardware.
Web based SAS tools.
...

References
B. Sotomayor, R. S. Montero, I. M. Llorente and I. Foster; in press, “Virtual InfrastructureManagement in Private and Hybrid Clouds”, IEEE Internet Computing.

C. Gabriel, et al. 2003; “The XMM-Newton SAS – Distributed Development and Maintenance of a Large Science Analysis
System: A Critical Analysis”. Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XIII, vol. 314.

A. Vazquez, I. de la Calle, J. L. Contreras, A. Ibarra and D. Tapiador. 2009; “Migration of Monte
Carlo Simulation of High Energy Atmospheric Showers to GRID Infrastructure”. 17th International
Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics.

C. Gabriel, et al. 2007; “RISA: Remote Interface for Science Analysis”. Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems
XVII, vol. 394.
R. Saxton et al., 2008: “The first X-MM Newton slew survey catalogue: XMMLS1”. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 480, 611
ADASS XIX, October 4-8 2009.
Sapporo, Japan
Aitor.Ibarra@sciops.esa.intRichard.Saxton@sciops.esa.int
Eduardo.Ojero@sciops.esa.int
Carlos.Gabriel@sciops.esa.int