Event distribution - Fibre Channel Network

One of the most critical parts of the system is the event builder and thus the event distribution from the Event Collectors to the processor farm which performs the task of combining event fragments into complete events.

The event distribution for Euroball will be performed using a switching network to the Fibre Channel Standard (FCS). A 16*16 node switch will be used with individual interface ports at 255 Mbits/sec. Switched networks such as FCS and ATM have total throughputs measured currently at several Gbits/sec (the data rate on the switch backplane). This is a significant advantage over broadcast networks such as ethernet and fddi in which the total throughput is limited by the individual port data rates (100 Mbits/sec in the case of fddi).