FLUKA: Fluka expiration
Dear FLUKA users,
as you unfortunately know, the current FLUKA version has expired. We came to
this unconfortable situation for reasons that are outside our direct
control, and we regret the incovenience that is caused to many users.
We are now preparing both a temporary solution and a long term one that
needs, however, some time.
The FLUKA development, which has been carried on for many years mostly by
INFN researchers as a part of their INFN activity, became a fully
recognized INFN project since September 2001 (responsible Giuseppe
Battistoni, INFN - Milan). Meanwhile, FLUKA has been downloaded and used
from all over the world, and expecially from CERN. Despite this, the CERN
management has up to now delayed any decision on the official recognition
of and support for the code. A letter from the INFN management asking CERN
to clarify its position towards the use and intellectual property of an
INFN product is waiting for an answer since almost two years.
This ambiguity, and the rising number of users/applications, urges the
INFN-FLUKA collaboration to revise its distribution policy. The www server
is going to be moved on a dedicated INFN server starting from tomorrow:
the present site will be redirected to the new one. The new server,
currently http://pcfluka.mi.infn.it, will become www.fluka.org as soon
as the registration procedure will be completed and should be operational
with renewed versions (see below) within tomorrow.
The download procedure will be better defined and polished. A download
agreement will be prepared, containing a standard disclaimer asking the
users to be aware that the code is provided ``as it is'' and with no
warranty or liability whatsoever for INFN and/or the authors.
A two-way download procedure will be setup. Normal users will continue
to get a version with a 2 years lifetime, while for CERN users a final
clarification from the management is needed before defining the download
procedure. We kindly ask all CERN users to use the code only if they really
need it urgently. At present, its use at CERN is not encouraged by the CERN
management, and it is allowed only courtesy of INFN. We are aware of at
least three sectors which could be badly impacted, the RP group, the Alice
experiment, and targetry and beam dump activities for the CERN
accelerators. All these groups have been active supporters and fans of the
code and our work, and their needs are ``by definition'' urgent ones until
the CERN management will clarify the issue.
While we are (technically) working on this setting, we are aware that
people needs to continue working. Therefore, we will prepare a temporary
version, with two months validity (no difference with the present one),
which will be on the INFN server tomorrow (actually we are moving the files
just now). In a couple of weeks, the new procedure should be in place
allowing all external users to have again an up-to-date, fully functional
version of the code.
Ciao
Alfredo, Paola
P.S. The Linux (RH7.x), HP and Digital Unix versions will be ready in a few
minutes. We have problems in continuing to provide an IBM-AIX version
since we have no longer any access to this architecture. Is this going
to be a problem for any user? The SUN and RH6.x versions will follow
in 1 or 2 days
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| Alfredo Ferrari || Tel.: +41.22.767.6119 |
| CERN-SL || Fax.: +41.22.767.7555 |
| 1211 Geneva 23 || e-mail: Alfredo.Ferrari@cern.ch |
| Switzerland || Alfredo.Ferrari@mi.infn.it |
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