Distributed Analysis using ASAP

ASAP is a system for enabling distributed analysis for CMS physicists. It was created with the aim of simplifying the transition from a locally running application to one that is distributed across the Grid. The experience gained in operating the system for the past two years has been used to redevelop a more robust, performant and scalable version. ASAP consists of a client for job creation, control and monitoring and an optional server side component. Once jobs are delegated to the server it will submit, update, fetch or resubmit the job on behalf of the user. ASAP is able to make decisions on the success of the users job and will resubmit if either a grid or application failure is detected. An advanced mode allows running jobs to communicate directly with the server in order to request additional jobs and to set the status of the job directly. These features reduce the turnaround time experienced by the user and increase the likelihood of success.