Remote Participation for the LHD Experiment

Abstract

Large Helical Device (LHD) experiments are executed with the collaboration of many universities in Japan. Therefore, remote participation plays an important role. In this paper, the authors introduce the current remote participation facilities for these experiments. National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) remote participation facilities fall into three categories. The first, remote access, allows direct access to the experimental network. This is the most flexible way to use computer resources remotely. For this purpose, virtual private network (VPN) service is available for coresearchers. In addition, several laboratories are connected directly via SINET3. Once researchers connect to the network, they can use the computer as if they are at the NIFS. The next is remote data reference. Users can view experimental data in a Web browser. Also, they can use a browser to retrieve basic information about experiments that is stored in a relational database. The last is video services. Remote researchers can use a videoconference system to communicate with researchers at the NIFS, and they can use Web browsers to watch the main monitor image displayed in the control room. For security reasons, the entire network is protected by a firewall, and one-time password authentication is used to realize secure VPN access.