November 8 - 10, 2021
Ground-based astronomical surveys like the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) are designed to publish observational data in near real-time as a stream of alerts. Access to these alert streams is facilitated via a limited number of community-developed broker systems. In addition to providing access to published alert data, many brokers offer additional services for filtering and supplementing the published data.
Building a broker system presents a distinct set of technological challenges involving the ingestion, storage, processing, and distribution of live alert data. Different teams may leverage a wide variety of technologies to address these challenges. This workshop provides an opportunity for broker teams to discuss shared technological challenges and their possible solutions. The goal of this discussion is to facilitate the sharing of expertise between broker teams and promote the development of broker-related services that will ultimately benefit the broader scientific community.
This workshop is hosted by the Center for Research Computing at the University of Pittsburgh. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all attendance will be virtual. Connection information will be provided to registered participants via email prior to the start of the first workshop session.
Individuals can register for the workshop by submitting the online registration form. To provide adequate time for organizing workshop logistics, attendees are strongly encouraged to submit their registration on or before October 29th.
Slides, notes, and recorded discussion are made available online as they become available and can be found on the Agenda page.
All workshop attendees are expected to abide by the LSST Meetings Code Of Conduct. This includes, but is not limited to, the following principles:
During sessions and discussions, pay attention to who is contributing. Invite contributions from quieter members of the group, and be conscientious of not dominating the conversation. We understand that it can be exciting to discuss a new idea, but always strive to listen (rather than just wait your turn to speak).
In an environment where participants have different backgrounds and knowledge, it is very important that people feel comfortable saying “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand.” Therefore, please do not act surprised when someone says they don’t know something, whether it is regarding a technical or non-technical subject (e.g. “What?! I can’t believe you don’t know what X is!”). Quoting from Recurse: "Feigning surprise has absolutely no social or educational benefit: When people feign surprise, it's usually to make them feel better about themselves and others feel worse. And even when that's not the intention, it's almost always the effect."
As defined by Recurse, "A 'well-actually' happens when someone says something that's almost (but not entirely) correct, and you say, 'well, actually...' and then give a minor correction.” Well-actually’s interrupt the discussion and fixate on a minor, usually irrelevant point, often solely to make the person delivering the well-actually feel more important. If you feel the need to correct someone, take a moment to consider whether your correction is in the spirit of truth-seeking, and whether it will provide a positive contribution to the discussion.
We explicitly ban racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and other kinds of bias— whether these behaviors are overt or subtle. If someone points out that you have engaged in this behavior, it can be tempting to become defensive— but instead, we ask that you apologize, reflect a moment, and move on.
Violations of the code of conduct should be reported to the workshop organizers.