]> git.uio.no Git - u/mrichter/AliRoot.git/blobdiff - ANALYSIS/AliAnalysisAlien.cxx
Array of bits introduced to control better the "atomic" operations of the plugin...
[u/mrichter/AliRoot.git] / ANALYSIS / AliAnalysisAlien.cxx
index 987145fd5efd6871bc39e7b04dd9c7576ab9832b..4370fcf087f778c8ff74728b4c5f7df96398a3ca 100644 (file)
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
 //==============================================================================
 
 #include "Riostream.h"
+#include "TEnv.h"
+#include "TError.h"
 #include "TROOT.h"
 #include "TSystem.h"
 #include "TFile.h"
@@ -44,6 +46,7 @@ ClassImp(AliAnalysisAlien)
 AliAnalysisAlien::AliAnalysisAlien()
                  :AliAnalysisGrid(),
                   fGridJDL(NULL),
+                  fMergingJDL(NULL),
                   fPrice(0),
                   fTTL(0),
                   fSplitMaxInputFileNumber(0),
@@ -55,6 +58,9 @@ AliAnalysisAlien::AliAnalysisAlien()
                   fNsubmitted(0),
                   fProductionMode(0),
                   fOutputToRunNo(0),
+                  fMergeViaJDL(0),
+                  fFastReadOption(0),
+                  fOverwriteMode(0),
                   fRunNumbers(),
                   fExecutable(),
                   fExecutableCommand(),
@@ -97,6 +103,7 @@ AliAnalysisAlien::AliAnalysisAlien()
 AliAnalysisAlien::AliAnalysisAlien(const char *name)
                  :AliAnalysisGrid(name),
                   fGridJDL(NULL),
+                  fMergingJDL(NULL),
                   fPrice(0),
                   fTTL(0),
                   fSplitMaxInputFileNumber(0),
@@ -108,6 +115,9 @@ AliAnalysisAlien::AliAnalysisAlien(const char *name)
                   fNsubmitted(0),
                   fProductionMode(0),
                   fOutputToRunNo(0),
+                  fMergeViaJDL(0),
+                  fFastReadOption(0),
+                  fOverwriteMode(0),
                   fRunNumbers(),
                   fExecutable(),
                   fExecutableCommand(),
@@ -150,6 +160,7 @@ AliAnalysisAlien::AliAnalysisAlien(const char *name)
 AliAnalysisAlien::AliAnalysisAlien(const AliAnalysisAlien& other)
                  :AliAnalysisGrid(other),
                   fGridJDL(NULL),
+                  fMergingJDL(NULL),
                   fPrice(other.fPrice),
                   fTTL(other.fTTL),
                   fSplitMaxInputFileNumber(other.fSplitMaxInputFileNumber),
@@ -161,6 +172,9 @@ AliAnalysisAlien::AliAnalysisAlien(const AliAnalysisAlien& other)
                   fNsubmitted(other.fNsubmitted),
                   fProductionMode(other.fProductionMode),
                   fOutputToRunNo(other.fOutputToRunNo),
+                  fMergeViaJDL(other.fMergeViaJDL),
+                  fFastReadOption(other.fFastReadOption),
+                  fOverwriteMode(other.fOverwriteMode),
                   fRunNumbers(other.fRunNumbers),
                   fExecutable(other.fExecutable),
                   fExecutableCommand(other.fExecutableCommand),
@@ -197,6 +211,7 @@ AliAnalysisAlien::AliAnalysisAlien(const AliAnalysisAlien& other)
 {
 // Copy ctor.
    fGridJDL = (TGridJDL*)gROOT->ProcessLine("new TAlienJDL()");
+   fMergingJDL = (TGridJDL*)gROOT->ProcessLine("new TAlienJDL()");
    fRunRange[0] = other.fRunRange[0];
    fRunRange[1] = other.fRunRange[1];
    if (other.fInputFiles) {
@@ -220,6 +235,7 @@ AliAnalysisAlien::~AliAnalysisAlien()
 {
 // Destructor.
    if (fGridJDL) delete fGridJDL;
+   if (fMergingJDL) delete fMergingJDL;
    if (fInputFiles) delete fInputFiles;
    if (fPackages) delete fPackages;
 }   
@@ -231,6 +247,7 @@ AliAnalysisAlien &AliAnalysisAlien::operator=(const AliAnalysisAlien& other)
    if (this != &other) {
       AliAnalysisGrid::operator=(other);
       fGridJDL = (TGridJDL*)gROOT->ProcessLine("new TAlienJDL()");
+      fMergingJDL = (TGridJDL*)gROOT->ProcessLine("new TAlienJDL()");
       fPrice                   = other.fPrice;
       fTTL                     = other.fTTL;
       fSplitMaxInputFileNumber = other.fSplitMaxInputFileNumber;
@@ -242,6 +259,9 @@ AliAnalysisAlien &AliAnalysisAlien::operator=(const AliAnalysisAlien& other)
       fNsubmitted              = other.fNsubmitted;
       fProductionMode          = other.fProductionMode;
       fOutputToRunNo           = other.fOutputToRunNo;
+      fMergeViaJDL             = other.fMergeViaJDL;
+      fFastReadOption          = other.fFastReadOption;
+      fOverwriteMode           = other.fOverwriteMode;
       fRunNumbers              = other.fRunNumbers;
       fExecutable              = other.fExecutable;
       fExecutableCommand       = other.fExecutableCommand;
@@ -338,11 +358,6 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::Connect()
 {
 // Try to connect to AliEn. User needs a valid token and /tmp/gclient_env_$UID sourced.
    if (gGrid && gGrid->IsConnected()) return kTRUE;
-   if (!gSystem->Getenv("alien_API_USER")) {
-      Error("Connect", "Make sure you:\n 1. Have called: alien-token-init <username> today\n 2. Have sourced /tmp/gclient_env_%s",
-            gSystem->Getenv("UID"));
-      return kFALSE;
-   }         
    if (!gGrid) {
       Info("Connect", "Trying to connect to AliEn ...");
       TGrid::Connect("alien://");
@@ -382,6 +397,52 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::CdWork()
    }          
 }
 
+//______________________________________________________________________________
+Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CheckFileCopy(const char *alienpath)
+{
+// Check if file copying is possible.
+   if (!Connect()) {
+      Error("CheckFileCopy", "Not connected to AliEn. File copying cannot be tested.");
+      return kFALSE;
+   }
+   // Check if alien_CLOSE_SE is defined
+   TString closeSE = gSystem->Getenv("alien_CLOSE_SE");
+   if (!closeSE.IsNull()) {
+      Info("CheckFileCopy", "Your current close storage is pointing to: \
+           \n      alien_CLOSE_SE = \"%s\"", closeSE.Data());
+   } else {
+      Warning("CheckFileCopy", "Your current close storage is empty ! Depending on your location, file copying may fail.");
+   }        
+   // Check if grid directory exists.
+   if (!DirectoryExists(alienpath)) {
+      Error("CheckFileCopy", "Alien path %s does not seem to exist", alienpath);
+      return kFALSE;
+   }
+   TFile f("plugin_test_copy.root", "RECREATE");
+   // User may not have write permissions to current directory 
+   if (f.IsZombie()) {
+      Error("CheckFileCopy", "Cannot create local test file. Do you have write access to current directory: <%s> ?",
+            gSystem->WorkingDirectory());
+      return kFALSE;
+   }
+   f.Close();
+   TString s = f.GetUUID().AsString();
+   s.ReplaceAll("-",""); // AliEn copy does not like too many '-'
+   if (!TFile::Cp(f.GetName(), Form("alien://%s/%s",alienpath, s.Data()))) {
+      Error("CheckFileCopy", "Cannot copy files to Alien destination: %s \
+           \n# 1. Make sure you have write permissions there. If this is the case: \
+           \n# 2. Check the storage availability at: http://alimonitor.cern.ch/stats?page=SE/table \
+           \n#    Do:           export alien_CLOSE_SE=\"working_disk_SE\" \
+           \n#    To make this permanent put in in your .bashrc (in .alienshrc is not enough) \
+           \n#    Redo token:   rm /tmp/x509up_u$UID then: alien-token-init <username>", alienpath);
+      gSystem->Unlink(f.GetName());
+      return kFALSE;
+   }   
+   gSystem->Unlink(f.GetName());
+   gGrid->Rm(Form("%s%s",alienpath,s.Data()));
+   return kTRUE;
+}   
+
 //______________________________________________________________________________
 Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CheckInputData()
 {
@@ -574,7 +635,7 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CreateDataset(const char *pattern)
 //      CdWork();
       if (TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kTest)) file = "wn.xml";
       else file = Form("%s.xml", gSystem->BaseName(path));
-      if (gSystem->AccessPathName(file) || TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kTest)) {
+      if (gSystem->AccessPathName(file) || TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kTest) || fOverwriteMode) {
          command = "find ";
          command += options;
          command += path;
@@ -586,9 +647,11 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CreateDataset(const char *pattern)
          if (res) delete res;
          // Write standard output to file
          gROOT->ProcessLine(Form("gGrid->Stdout(); > %s", file.Data()));
-      }   
-      if (!TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kTest) && !FileExists(file)) {
+      }
+      Bool_t fileExists = FileExists(file);
+      if (!TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kTest) && (!fileExists || fOverwriteMode)) {
          // Copy xml file to alien space
+         if (fileExists) gGrid->Rm(file);
          TFile::Cp(Form("file:%s",file.Data()), Form("alien://%s/%s",workdir.Data(), file.Data()));
          if (!FileExists(file)) {
             Error("CreateDataset", "Command %s did NOT succeed", command.Data());
@@ -626,8 +689,11 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CreateDataset(const char *pattern)
          // Check if there is one run per master job.
          if (fNrunsPerMaster<2) {
             if (FileExists(file)) {
-               Info("CreateDataset", "\n#####   Dataset %s exist. Skipping creation...", file.Data());
-               continue;
+               if (fOverwriteMode) gGrid->Rm(file);
+               else {
+                  Info("CreateDataset", "\n#####   Dataset %s exist. Skipping creation...", file.Data());
+                  continue;
+               }   
             }        
             // Copy xml file to alien space
             TFile::Cp(Form("file:%s",file.Data()), Form("alien://%s/%s",workdir.Data(), file.Data()));
@@ -651,9 +717,12 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CreateDataset(const char *pattern)
                continue;
             }   
             schunk += Form("_%s.xml", os->GetString().Data());
-            if (FileExists(schunk)) {
-               Info("CreateDataset", "\n#####   Dataset %s exist. Skipping creation...", schunk.Data());
-               continue;
+            if (FileExists(schunk)) {               
+               if (fOverwriteMode) gGrid->Rm(file);
+               else {
+                  Info("CreateDataset", "\n#####   Dataset %s exist. Skipping creation...", schunk.Data());
+                  continue;
+               }   
             }        
             printf("Exporting merged collection <%s> and copying to AliEn\n", schunk.Data());
             cbase->ExportXML(Form("file://%s", schunk.Data()),kFALSE,kFALSE, schunk, "Merged runs");
@@ -674,13 +743,15 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CreateDataset(const char *pattern)
 //         CdWork();
          if (TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kTest)) file = "wn.xml";
          else file = Form("%s%d.xml", fRunPrefix.Data(), irun);
-         if (FileExists(file) && fNrunsPerMaster<2 && !TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kTest)) {
-            Info("CreateDataset", "\n#####   Dataset %s exist. Skipping creation...", file.Data());
-//            gGrid->Rm(file); 
-            continue;
+         if (FileExists(file) && fNrunsPerMaster<2 && !TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kTest)) {         
+            if (fOverwriteMode) gGrid->Rm(file);
+            else {
+               Info("CreateDataset", "\n#####   Dataset %s exist. Skipping creation...", file.Data());
+               continue;
+            }   
          }
          // If local collection file does not exist, create it via 'find' command.
-         if (gSystem->AccessPathName(file)) {
+         if (gSystem->AccessPathName(file) || fOverwriteMode) {
             command = "find ";
             command += options;
             command += path;
@@ -695,8 +766,11 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CreateDataset(const char *pattern)
          // Check if there is one run per master job.
          if (fNrunsPerMaster<2) {
             if (FileExists(file)) {
-               Info("CreateDataset", "\n#####   Dataset %s exist. Skipping creation...", file.Data());
-               continue;
+               if (fOverwriteMode) gGrid->Rm(file);
+               else {
+                  Info("CreateDataset", "\n#####   Dataset %s exist. Skipping creation...", file.Data());
+                  continue;
+               }   
             }        
             // Copy xml file to alien space
             TFile::Cp(Form("file:%s",file.Data()), Form("alien://%s/%s",workdir.Data(), file.Data()));
@@ -708,7 +782,10 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CreateDataset(const char *pattern)
             nruns++;
             // Check if the collection for the chunk exist locally.
             Int_t nchunk = (nruns-1)/fNrunsPerMaster;
-            if (FileExists(fInputFiles->At(nchunk)->GetName())) continue;
+            if (FileExists(fInputFiles->At(nchunk)->GetName())) {
+               if (fOverwriteMode) gGrid->Rm(fInputFiles->At(nchunk)->GetName());
+               else continue;
+            }   
             printf("   Merging collection <%s> into %d runs chunk...\n",file.Data(),fNrunsPerMaster);
             if (((nruns-1)%fNrunsPerMaster) == 0) {
                schunk = Form("%s%d", fRunPrefix.Data(), irun);
@@ -724,14 +801,20 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CreateDataset(const char *pattern)
             }   
             schunk = schunk2;
             if (FileExists(schunk)) {
-               Info("CreateDataset", "\n#####   Dataset %s exist. Skipping creation...", schunk.Data());
-               continue;
+               if (fOverwriteMode) gGrid->Rm(schunk);
+               else {
+                  Info("CreateDataset", "\n#####   Dataset %s exist. Skipping creation...", schunk.Data());
+                  continue;
+               }   
             }        
             printf("Exporting merged collection <%s> and copying to AliEn.\n", schunk.Data());
             cbase->ExportXML(Form("file://%s", schunk.Data()),kFALSE,kFALSE, schunk, "Merged runs");
             if (FileExists(schunk)) {
-               Info("CreateDataset", "\n#####   Dataset %s exist. Skipping copy...", schunk.Data());
-               continue;
+               if (fOverwriteMode) gGrid->Rm(schunk);
+               else {
+                  Info("CreateDataset", "\n#####   Dataset %s exist. Skipping copy...", schunk.Data());
+                  continue;
+               }   
             }   
             TFile::Cp(Form("file:%s",schunk.Data()), Form("alien://%s/%s",workdir.Data(), schunk.Data()));
             if (!FileExists(schunk)) {
@@ -794,25 +877,48 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CreateJDL()
       // Exit if any error up to now
       if (error) return kFALSE;   
       // Set JDL fields
-      fGridJDL->SetValue("User", Form("\"%s\"", fUser.Data()));
-      fGridJDL->SetExecutable(fExecutable);
+      if (!fUser.IsNull()) {
+         fGridJDL->SetValue("User", Form("\"%s\"", fUser.Data()));
+         fMergingJDL->SetValue("User", Form("\"%s\"", fUser.Data()));
+      }   
+      fGridJDL->SetExecutable(fExecutable, "This is the startup script");
+      TString mergeExec = fExecutable;
+      mergeExec.ReplaceAll(".sh", "_merge.sh");
+      fMergingJDL->SetExecutable(mergeExec, "This is the startup script");
+      mergeExec.ReplaceAll(".sh", ".C");
+      fMergingJDL->AddToInputSandbox(Form("LF:%s/%s", workdir.Data(),mergeExec.Data()), "List of input files to be uploaded to workers");
       if (!fArguments.IsNull())
          fGridJDL->SetArguments(fArguments, "Arguments for the executable command");
-//      fGridJDL->SetTTL((UInt_t)fTTL);
-      fGridJDL->SetValue("TTL", Form("\"%d\"", fTTL));
-      if (fMaxInitFailed > 0) 
+      fMergingJDL->SetArguments("$1"); 
+      fGridJDL->SetValue("TTL", Form("\"%d\"",fTTL));
+      fGridJDL->SetDescription("TTL", Form("Time after which the job is killed (%d min.)", fTTL/60));
+      fMergingJDL->SetValue("TTL", Form("\"%d\"",fTTL));
+      fMergingJDL->SetDescription("TTL", Form("Time after which the job is killed (%d min.)", fTTL/60));
+        
+      if (fMaxInitFailed > 0) {
          fGridJDL->SetValue("MaxInitFailed", Form("\"%d\"",fMaxInitFailed));
-      if (fSplitMaxInputFileNumber > 0) 
+         fGridJDL->SetDescription("MaxInitFailed", "Maximum number of first failing jobs to abort the master job");
+      }   
+      if (fSplitMaxInputFileNumber > 0) {
          fGridJDL->SetValue("SplitMaxInputFileNumber", Form("\"%d\"", fSplitMaxInputFileNumber));
-      if (fSplitMode.Length()) 
+         fGridJDL->SetDescription("SplitMaxInputFileNumber", "Maximum number of input files to be processed per subjob");
+      }   
+      if (fSplitMode.Length()) {
          fGridJDL->SetValue("Split", Form("\"%s\"", fSplitMode.Data()));
-//      fGridJDL->SetSplitMode(fSplitMode, (UInt_t)fSplitMaxInputFileNumber);
-      if (fAliROOTVersion.Length())  
-         fGridJDL->AddToPackages("AliRoot", fAliROOTVersion);
-      if (fROOTVersion.Length()) 
+         fGridJDL->SetDescription("Split", "We split per SE or file");
+      }   
+      if (!fAliROOTVersion.IsNull()) {
+         fGridJDL->AddToPackages("AliRoot", fAliROOTVersion,"VO_ALICE", "List of requested packages");
+         fMergingJDL->AddToPackages("AliRoot", fAliROOTVersion, "VO_ALICE", "List of requested packages");
+      }   
+      if (!fROOTVersion.IsNull()) {
          fGridJDL->AddToPackages("ROOT", fROOTVersion);
-      if (fAPIVersion.Length()) 
+         fMergingJDL->AddToPackages("ROOT", fROOTVersion);
+      }   
+      if (!fAPIVersion.IsNull()) {
          fGridJDL->AddToPackages("APISCONFIG", fAPIVersion);
+         fMergingJDL->AddToPackages("APISCONFIG", fAPIVersion);
+      }   
       if (!fExternalPackages.IsNull()) {
          arr = fExternalPackages.Tokenize(" ");
          TIter next(arr);
@@ -822,15 +928,17 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CreateJDL()
             TString pkgversion = pkgname(index+2, pkgname.Length());
             pkgname.Remove(index);
             fGridJDL->AddToPackages(pkgname, pkgversion);
+            fMergingJDL->AddToPackages(pkgname, pkgversion);
          }   
          delete arr;   
       }   
-      fGridJDL->SetInputDataListFormat(fInputFormat);
-      fGridJDL->SetInputDataList("wn.xml");
-      fGridJDL->AddToInputSandbox(Form("LF:%s/%s", workdir.Data(), fAnalysisMacro.Data()));
+      fGridJDL->SetInputDataListFormat(fInputFormat, "Format of input data");
+      fGridJDL->SetInputDataList("wn.xml", "Collection name to be processed on each worker node");
+      fGridJDL->AddToInputSandbox(Form("LF:%s/%s", workdir.Data(), fAnalysisMacro.Data()), "List of input files to be uploaded to workers");
       TString analysisFile = fExecutable;
       analysisFile.ReplaceAll(".sh", ".root");
       fGridJDL->AddToInputSandbox(Form("LF:%s/%s", workdir.Data(),analysisFile.Data()));
+      fMergingJDL->AddToInputSandbox(Form("LF:%s/%s", workdir.Data(),analysisFile.Data()));
       if (IsUsingTags() && !gSystem->AccessPathName("ConfigureCuts.C"))
          fGridJDL->AddToInputSandbox(Form("LF:%s/ConfigureCuts.C", workdir.Data()));
       if (fAdditionalLibs.Length()) {
@@ -839,44 +947,115 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CreateJDL()
          while ((os=(TObjString*)next())) {
             if (os->GetString().Contains(".so")) continue;
             fGridJDL->AddToInputSandbox(Form("LF:%s/%s", workdir.Data(), os->GetString().Data()));
+            fMergingJDL->AddToInputSandbox(Form("LF:%s/%s", workdir.Data(), os->GetString().Data()));
          }   
          delete arr;   
       }
       if (fPackages) {
          TIter next(fPackages);
          TObject *obj;
-         while ((obj=next()))
+         while ((obj=next())) {
             fGridJDL->AddToInputSandbox(Form("LF:%s/%s", workdir.Data(), obj->GetName()));
+            fMergingJDL->AddToInputSandbox(Form("LF:%s/%s", workdir.Data(), obj->GetName()));
+         }
       }
       if (fOutputArchive.Length()) {
          arr = fOutputArchive.Tokenize(" ");
          TIter next(arr);
-         while ((os=(TObjString*)next()))
-         if (!os->GetString().Contains("@") && fCloseSE.Length())
-            fGridJDL->AddToOutputArchive(Form("%s@%s",os->GetString().Data(), fCloseSE.Data())); 
-         else
-            fGridJDL->AddToOutputArchive(os->GetString());
+         Bool_t first = kTRUE;
+         const char *comment = "Files to be archived";
+         const char *comment1 = comment;
+         while ((os=(TObjString*)next())) {
+            if (!first) comment = NULL;
+            if (!os->GetString().Contains("@") && fCloseSE.Length())
+               fGridJDL->AddToOutputArchive(Form("%s@%s",os->GetString().Data(), fCloseSE.Data()), comment); 
+            else
+               fGridJDL->AddToOutputArchive(os->GetString(), comment);
+            first = kFALSE;   
+         }      
          delete arr;
+         TString outputArchive = fOutputArchive;
+         if (!fMergeExcludes.IsNull()) {
+            arr = fMergeExcludes.Tokenize(" ");
+            TIter next1(arr);
+            while ((os=(TObjString*)next1())) {
+               outputArchive.ReplaceAll(Form("%s,",os->GetString().Data()),"");
+               outputArchive.ReplaceAll(os->GetString(),"");
+            }
+            delete arr;
+         }
+         arr = outputArchive.Tokenize(" ");
+         TIter next2(arr);
+         comment = comment1;
+         first = kTRUE;
+         while ((os=(TObjString*)next2())) {
+            if (!first) comment = NULL;
+            if (!os->GetString().Contains("@") && fCloseSE.Length())
+               fMergingJDL->AddToOutputArchive(Form("%s@%s",os->GetString().Data(), fCloseSE.Data()), comment); 
+            else
+               fMergingJDL->AddToOutputArchive(os->GetString(), comment);
+            first = kFALSE;   
+         }      
+         delete arr;         
       }      
       arr = fOutputFiles.Tokenize(" ");
       TIter next(arr);
+      Bool_t first = kTRUE;
+      const char *comment = "Files to be archived";
+      const char *comment1 = comment;
       while ((os=(TObjString*)next())) {
          // Ignore ouputs in jdl that are also in outputarchive
          TString sout = os->GetString();
          if (sout.Index("@")>0) sout.Remove(sout.Index("@"));
          if (fOutputArchive.Contains(sout)) continue;
+         if (!first) comment = NULL;
          if (!os->GetString().Contains("@") && fCloseSE.Length())
-            fGridJDL->AddToOutputSandbox(Form("%s@%s",os->GetString().Data(), fCloseSE.Data())); 
+            fGridJDL->AddToOutputSandbox(Form("%s@%s",os->GetString().Data(), fCloseSE.Data()), comment); 
          else
-            fGridJDL->AddToOutputSandbox(os->GetString());
+            fGridJDL->AddToOutputSandbox(os->GetString(), comment);
+         first = kFALSE;   
       }   
       delete arr;
-//      fGridJDL->SetPrice((UInt_t)fPrice);
-      fGridJDL->SetValue("Price", Form("\"%d\"", fPrice));
+      if (fOutputFiles.Length()) {
+         TString outputFiles = fOutputFiles;
+         if (!fMergeExcludes.IsNull()) {
+            arr = fMergeExcludes.Tokenize(" ");
+            TIter next1(arr);
+            while ((os=(TObjString*)next1())) {
+               outputFiles.ReplaceAll(Form("%s,",os->GetString().Data()),"");
+               outputFiles.ReplaceAll(os->GetString(),"");
+            }
+            delete arr;
+         }
+         arr = outputFiles.Tokenize(" ");
+         TIter next2(arr);
+         comment = comment1;
+         first = kTRUE;
+         while ((os=(TObjString*)next2())) {
+            // Ignore ouputs in jdl that are also in outputarchive
+            TString sout = os->GetString();
+            if (sout.Index("@")>0) sout.Remove(sout.Index("@"));
+            if (fOutputArchive.Contains(sout)) continue;
+            if (!first) comment = NULL;
+            if (!os->GetString().Contains("@") && fCloseSE.Length())
+               fMergingJDL->AddToOutputSandbox(Form("%s@%s",os->GetString().Data(), fCloseSE.Data()), comment); 
+            else
+               fMergingJDL->AddToOutputSandbox(os->GetString(), comment);
+         }   
+         delete arr;
+      }
+      fGridJDL->SetPrice((UInt_t)fPrice, "AliEn price for this job");
+      fMergingJDL->SetPrice((UInt_t)fPrice, "AliEn price for this job");
       TString validationScript = fExecutable;
       validationScript.ReplaceAll(".sh", "_validation.sh");
-      fGridJDL->SetValidationCommand(Form("%s/%s", workdir.Data(),validationScript.Data()));
-      if (fMasterResubmitThreshold) fGridJDL->SetValue("MasterResubmitThreshold", Form("\"%d%%\"", fMasterResubmitThreshold));
+      fGridJDL->SetValidationCommand(Form("%s/%s", workdir.Data(),validationScript.Data()), "Validation script to be run for each subjob");
+      validationScript = fExecutable;
+      validationScript.ReplaceAll(".sh", "_mergevalidation.sh");
+      fMergingJDL->SetValidationCommand(Form("%s/%s", workdir.Data(),validationScript.Data()), "Validation script to be run for each subjob");
+      if (fMasterResubmitThreshold) {
+         fGridJDL->SetValue("MasterResubmitThreshold", Form("\"%d%%\"", fMasterResubmitThreshold));
+         fGridJDL->SetDescription("MasterResubmitThreshold", "Resubmit failed jobs until DONE rate reaches this percentage");
+      }   
       // Write a jdl with 2 input parameters: collection name and output dir name.
       WriteJDL(copy);
    }
@@ -888,7 +1067,7 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CreateJDL()
          return kFALSE;
       } else {
          if (!fGridOutputDir.Contains("/")) fGridOutputDir = Form("%s/%s", workdir.Data(), fGridOutputDir.Data());
-         if (!DirectoryExists(fGridOutputDir)) {
+         if (!fProductionMode && !DirectoryExists(fGridOutputDir)) {
             if (gGrid->Mkdir(fGridOutputDir)) {
                Info("CreateJDL", "\n#####   Created alien output directory %s", fGridOutputDir.Data());
             } else {
@@ -899,12 +1078,22 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::CreateJDL()
          gGrid->Cd(workdir);
       }   
       if (TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kSubmit)) {
-         Info("CreateJDL", "\n#####   Copying JDL file <%s> to your AliEn output directory", fJDLName.Data());
+         TString mergeJDLName = fExecutable;
+         mergeJDLName.ReplaceAll(".sh", "_merge.jdl");
          TString locjdl = Form("%s/%s", fGridOutputDir.Data(),fJDLName.Data());
-         if (fProductionMode)
+         TString locjdl1 = Form("%s/%s", fGridOutputDir.Data(),mergeJDLName.Data());
+         if (fProductionMode) {
             locjdl = Form("%s/%s", workdir.Data(),fJDLName.Data());
+            locjdl1 = Form("%s/%s", workdir.Data(),mergeJDLName.Data());
+         }   
          if (FileExists(locjdl)) gGrid->Rm(locjdl);
+         if (FileExists(locjdl1)) gGrid->Rm(locjdl1);
+         Info("CreateJDL", "\n#####   Copying JDL file <%s> to your AliEn output directory", fJDLName.Data());
          TFile::Cp(Form("file:%s",fJDLName.Data()), Form("alien://%s", locjdl.Data()));
+         if (fMergeViaJDL) {
+            Info("CreateJDL", "\n#####   Copying merging JDL file <%s> to your AliEn output directory", mergeJDLName.Data());
+            TFile::Cp(Form("file:%s",mergeJDLName.Data()), Form("alien://%s", locjdl1.Data()));
+         }   
       }
       if (fAdditionalLibs.Length()) {
          arr = fAdditionalLibs.Tokenize(" ");
@@ -946,63 +1135,30 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::WriteJDL(Bool_t copy)
       // One jdl with no parameters in case input data is specified by name.
       TIter next(fInputFiles);
       while ((os=(TObjString*)next()))
-         fGridJDL->AddToInputDataCollection(Form("LF:%s,nodownload", os->GetString().Data()));
+         fGridJDL->AddToInputDataCollection(Form("LF:%s,nodownload", os->GetString().Data()), "Input xml collections");
       if (!fOutputSingle.IsNull())
-         fGridJDL->SetOutputDirectory(Form("#alienfulldir#/../%s",fOutputSingle.Data()));
-      else                                    
-         fGridJDL->SetOutputDirectory(Form("%s/#alien_counter_03i#", fGridOutputDir.Data()));
+         fGridJDL->SetOutputDirectory(Form("#alienfulldir#/../%s",fOutputSingle.Data()), "Output directory");
+      else {
+         fGridJDL->SetOutputDirectory(Form("%s/#alien_counter_03i#", fGridOutputDir.Data()), "Output directory");
+         fMergingJDL->SetOutputDirectory(fGridOutputDir);         
+      }   
    } else {
       // One jdl to be submitted with 2 input parameters: data collection name and output dir prefix
-      fGridJDL->AddToInputDataCollection(Form("LF:%s/$1,nodownload", workdir.Data()));
+      fGridJDL->AddToInputDataCollection(Form("LF:%s/$1,nodownload", workdir.Data()), "Input xml collections");
       if (!fOutputSingle.IsNull()) {
-         if (!fOutputToRunNo) fGridJDL->SetOutputDirectory(Form("#alienfulldir#/%s",fOutputSingle.Data()));
-         else fGridJDL->SetOutputDirectory(Form("%s/$2",fGridOutputDir.Data()));
+         if (!fOutputToRunNo) fGridJDL->SetOutputDirectory(Form("#alienfulldir#/%s",fOutputSingle.Data()), "Output directory");
+         else fGridJDL->SetOutputDirectory(Form("%s/$2",fGridOutputDir.Data()), "Output directory");
       } else {   
-         fGridJDL->SetOutputDirectory(Form("%s/$2/#alien_counter_03i#", fGridOutputDir.Data()));
+         fGridJDL->SetOutputDirectory(Form("%s/$2/#alien_counter_03i#", fGridOutputDir.Data()), "Output directory");
+         fMergingJDL->SetOutputDirectory(Form("%s/$1", fGridOutputDir.Data()), "Output directory");
       }   
    }
       
 
    // Generate the JDL as a string
    TString sjdl = fGridJDL->Generate();
+   TString sjdl1 = fMergingJDL->Generate();
    Int_t index;
-   index = sjdl.Index("Executable");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# This is the startup script\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("Split ");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# We split per SE or file\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("SplitMaxInputFileNumber");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# We want each subjob to get maximum this number of input files\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("InputDataCollection");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "# Input xml collections\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("InputFile");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# List of input files to be uploaded to wn's\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("InputDataList ");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# Collection to be processed on wn\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("InputDataListFormat");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# Format of input data\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("Price");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# AliEn price for this job\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("Requirements");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# Additional requirements for the computing element\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("Packages");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# Packages to be used\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("User =");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# AliEn user\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("TTL");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# Time to live for the job\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("OutputFile");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# List of output files to be registered\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("OutputDir");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# Output directory\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("OutputArchive");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# Files to be archived\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("MaxInitFailed");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# Maximum number of first failing jobs to abort the master job\n");
-   index = sjdl.Index("MasterResubmitThreshold");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# Resubmit failed jobs until DONE rate reaches this percentage\n");
-   sjdl.ReplaceAll("ValidationCommand", "Validationcommand");
-   index = sjdl.Index("Validationcommand");
-   if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# Validation script to be run for each subjob\n");
    sjdl.ReplaceAll("\"LF:", "\n   \"LF:");
    sjdl.ReplaceAll("(member", "\n   (member");
    sjdl.ReplaceAll("\",\"VO_", "\",\n   \"VO_");
@@ -1011,10 +1167,22 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::WriteJDL(Bool_t copy)
    sjdl.ReplaceAll("{\n   \n", "{\n");
    sjdl.ReplaceAll("\n\n", "\n");
    sjdl.ReplaceAll("OutputDirectory", "OutputDir");
+   sjdl1.ReplaceAll("\"LF:", "\n   \"LF:");
+   sjdl1.ReplaceAll("(member", "\n   (member");
+   sjdl1.ReplaceAll("\",\"VO_", "\",\n   \"VO_");
+   sjdl1.ReplaceAll("{", "{\n   ");
+   sjdl1.ReplaceAll("};", "\n};");
+   sjdl1.ReplaceAll("{\n   \n", "{\n");
+   sjdl1.ReplaceAll("\n\n", "\n");
+   sjdl1.ReplaceAll("OutputDirectory", "OutputDir");
    sjdl += "JDLVariables = \n{\n   \"Packages\",\n   \"OutputDir\"\n};\n";
    sjdl.Prepend(Form("Jobtag = {\n   \"comment:%s\"\n};\n", fJobTag.Data()));
    index = sjdl.Index("JDLVariables");
    if (index >= 0) sjdl.Insert(index, "\n# JDL variables\n");
+   sjdl1 += "JDLVariables = \n{\n   \"Packages\",\n   \"OutputDir\"\n};\n";
+   sjdl1.Prepend(Form("Jobtag = {\n   \"comment:Merging_%s\"\n};\n", fJobTag.Data()));
+   index = sjdl1.Index("JDLVariables");
+   if (index >= 0) sjdl1.Insert(index, "\n# JDL variables\n");
    // Write jdl to file
    ofstream out;
    out.open(fJDLName.Data(), ios::out);
@@ -1023,17 +1191,36 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::WriteJDL(Bool_t copy)
       return kFALSE;
    }
    out << sjdl << endl;
+   TString mergeJDLName = fExecutable;
+   mergeJDLName.ReplaceAll(".sh", "_merge.jdl");
+   if (fMergeViaJDL) {
+      ofstream out1;
+      out1.open(mergeJDLName.Data(), ios::out);
+      if (out.bad()) {
+         Error("CreateJDL", "Bad file name: %s", mergeJDLName.Data());
+         return kFALSE;
+      }
+      out1 << sjdl1 << endl;
+   }   
 
    // Copy jdl to grid workspace   
    if (!copy) {
       Info("CreateJDL", "\n#####   You may want to review jdl:%s and analysis macro:%s before running in <submit> mode", fJDLName.Data(), fAnalysisMacro.Data());
    } else {
-      Info("CreateJDL", "\n#####   Copying JDL file <%s> to your AliEn output directory", fJDLName.Data());
       TString locjdl = Form("%s/%s", fGridOutputDir.Data(),fJDLName.Data());
-      if (fProductionMode)
+      TString locjdl1 = Form("%s/%s", fGridOutputDir.Data(),mergeJDLName.Data());
+      if (fProductionMode) {
          locjdl = Form("%s/%s", workdir.Data(),fJDLName.Data());
+         locjdl1 = Form("%s/%s", workdir.Data(),mergeJDLName.Data());
+      }   
       if (FileExists(locjdl)) gGrid->Rm(locjdl);
+      if (FileExists(locjdl1)) gGrid->Rm(locjdl1);
+      Info("CreateJDL", "\n#####   Copying JDL file <%s> to your AliEn output directory", fJDLName.Data());
       TFile::Cp(Form("file:%s",fJDLName.Data()), Form("alien://%s", locjdl.Data()));
+      if (fMergeViaJDL) {
+         Info("CreateJDL", "\n#####   Copying merging JDL file <%s> to your AliEn output directory", mergeJDLName.Data());
+         TFile::Cp(Form("file:%s",mergeJDLName.Data()), Form("alien://%s", locjdl1.Data()));
+      }   
    } 
    return kTRUE;
 }
@@ -1156,7 +1343,7 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::CheckDataType(const char *lfn, Bool_t &is_collection, Boo
    }
    use_tags = slfn.Contains(".tag");
    if (slfn.Contains(".root")) msg += " type: root file;";
-   else                        msg += " type: unhnown file;";
+   else                        msg += " type: unknown file;";
    if (use_tags) msg += " using_tags: Yes";
    else          msg += " using_tags: No";
    Info("CheckDataType", msg.Data());
@@ -1170,7 +1357,7 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::EnablePackage(const char *package)
    pkg.ReplaceAll(".par", "");
    pkg += ".par";
    if (gSystem->AccessPathName(pkg)) {
-      Error("EnablePackage", "Package %s not found", pkg.Data());
+      Fatal("EnablePackage", "Package %s not found", pkg.Data());
       return;
    }
    if (!TObject::TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kUsePars))
@@ -1253,6 +1440,8 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::Print(Option_t *) const
 {
 // Print current plugin settings.
    printf("### AliEn analysis plugin current settings ###\n");
+   printf("=   Copy files to grid: __________________________ %s\n", (IsUseCopy())?"YES":"NO");
+   printf("=   Check if files can be copied to grid: ________ %s\n", (IsCheckCopy())?"YES":"NO");
    printf("=   Production mode:______________________________ %d\n", fProductionMode);
    printf("=   Version of API requested: ____________________ %s\n", fAPIVersion.Data());
    printf("=   Version of ROOT requested: ___________________ %s\n", fROOTVersion.Data());
@@ -1325,6 +1514,7 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::SetDefaults()
 // Set default values for everything. What cannot be filled will be left empty.
    if (fGridJDL) delete fGridJDL;
    fGridJDL = (TGridJDL*)gROOT->ProcessLine("new TAlienJDL()");
+   fMergingJDL = (TGridJDL*)gROOT->ProcessLine("new TAlienJDL()");
    fPrice                      = 1;
    fTTL                        = 30000;
    fSplitMaxInputFileNumber    = 100;
@@ -1359,8 +1549,115 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::SetDefaults()
    fJDLName                    = "analysis.jdl";
    fJobTag                     = "Automatically generated analysis JDL";
    fMergeExcludes              = "";
+   fMergeViaJDL                = 0;
+   SetUseCopy(kTRUE);
+   SetCheckCopy(kTRUE);
 }   
 
+//______________________________________________________________________________
+Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::MergeOutput(const char *output, const char *basedir, Int_t nmaxmerge)
+{
+// Merge all registered outputs from basedir.
+   TString output_file = output;
+   TString command;
+   TString output_chunk;
+   TString previous_chunk = "";
+   Int_t count_chunk = 0;
+   Int_t count_zero = nmaxmerge;
+   Bool_t merged = kTRUE;
+   Int_t index = output_file.Index("@");
+   if (index > 0) output_file.Remove(index);
+   command = Form("find %s/ *%s", basedir, output_file.Data());
+   printf("command: %s\n", command.Data());
+   TGridResult *res = gGrid->Command(command);
+   if (!res) {
+      printf("Error: No result for the find command\n");
+      return kFALSE;
+   }     
+
+   TFileMerger *fm = 0;
+   TIter nextmap(res);
+   TMap *map = 0;
+   // Check if there is a merge operation to resume
+   output_chunk = output_file;
+   output_chunk.ReplaceAll(".root", "_*.root");
+   // Check for existent temporary merge files
+   if (!gSystem->Exec(Form("ls %s", output_chunk.Data()))) {
+      while (1) {
+         // Skip as many input files as in a chunk
+         for (Int_t counter=0; counter<nmaxmerge; counter++) map = (TMap*)nextmap();
+         if (!map) {
+            ::Error("MergeOutputs", "Cannot resume merging for <%s>, nentries=%d", output_file.Data(), res->GetSize());
+            delete res;
+            return kFALSE;
+         }
+         output_chunk = output_file;
+         output_chunk.ReplaceAll(".root", Form("_%04d.root", count_chunk));
+         count_chunk++;
+         if (gSystem->AccessPathName(output_chunk)) continue;
+         // Merged file with chunks up to <count_chunk> found
+         printf("Resume merging of <%s> from <%s>\n", output_file.Data(), output_chunk.Data());
+         previous_chunk = output_chunk;
+         break;
+      }
+   }   
+   count_zero = nmaxmerge;
+   
+   while ((map=(TMap*)nextmap())) {
+   // Loop 'find' results and get next LFN
+      if (count_zero == nmaxmerge) {
+         // First file in chunk - create file merger and add previous chunk if any.
+         fm = new TFileMerger(kFALSE);
+         fm->SetFastMethod(kTRUE);
+         if (previous_chunk.Length()) fm->AddFile(previous_chunk.Data());
+         output_chunk = output_file;
+         output_chunk.ReplaceAll(".root", Form("_%04d.root", count_chunk));
+      }
+      // If last file found, put merged results in the output file
+      if (map == res->Last()) output_chunk = output_file;
+      TObjString *objs = dynamic_cast<TObjString*>(map->GetValue("turl"));
+      if (!objs || !objs->GetString().Length()) {
+         // Nothing found - skip this output
+         delete res;
+         delete fm;
+         return kFALSE;
+      } 
+      // Add file to be merged and decrement chunk counter.
+      fm->AddFile(objs->GetString());
+      count_zero--;
+      if (count_zero==0 || map == res->Last()) {            
+         fm->OutputFile(output_chunk);
+         if (!fm->GetMergeList() || !fm->GetMergeList()->GetSize()) {
+         // Nothing found - skip this output
+            ::Warning("MergeOutputs", "No <%s> files found.", output_file.Data());
+            delete res;
+            delete fm;
+            return kFALSE;
+         }
+         // Merge the outputs, then go to next chunk      
+         if (!fm->Merge()) {
+            ::Error("MergeOutputs", "Could not merge all <%s> files", output_file.Data());
+            delete res;
+            delete fm;
+            merged = kFALSE;
+            return kFALSE;
+         } else {
+            ::Info("MergeOutputs", "\n#####   Merged %d output files to <%s>", fm->GetMergeList()->GetSize(), output_chunk.Data());
+            gSystem->Unlink(previous_chunk);
+         }
+         if (map == res->Last()) {
+            delete res;
+            delete fm;
+            break;
+         }      
+         count_chunk++;
+         count_zero = nmaxmerge;
+         previous_chunk = output_chunk;
+      }
+   }
+   return merged;
+} 
+
 //______________________________________________________________________________
 Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::MergeOutputs()
 {
@@ -1370,6 +1667,21 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::MergeOutputs()
    if (!Connect()) {
       Error("MergeOutputs", "Cannot merge outputs without grid connection. Terminate will NOT be executed");
       return kFALSE;
+   }
+   if (fMergeViaJDL) {
+      if (!TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kMerge)) {
+         Info("MergeOutputs", "### Re-run with <MergeViaJDL> option in terminate mode of the plugin to submit merging jobs ###");
+         return kFALSE; 
+      }     
+      if (fProductionMode) {
+         Info("MergeOutputs", "### Merging will be submitted by LPM manager... ###");
+         return kFALSE;
+      }
+      Info("MergeOutputs", "Submitting merging JDL");
+      if (!SubmitMerging()) return kFALSE;
+      Info("MergeOutputs", "### Re-run with <MergeViaJDL> off to collect results after merging jobs are done ###");
+      Info("MergeOutputs", "### The Terminate() method is executed by the merging jobs");
+      return kFALSE;
    }   
    // Get the output path
    if (!fGridOutputDir.Contains("/")) fGridOutputDir = Form("/%s/%s/%s", gGrid->GetHomeDirectory(), fGridWorkingDir.Data(), fGridOutputDir.Data());
@@ -1380,16 +1692,20 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::MergeOutputs()
    if (!fOutputFiles.Length()) {
       Error("MergeOutputs", "No output file names defined. Are you running the right AliAnalysisAlien configuration ?");
       return kFALSE;
+   }
+   // Check if fast read option was requested
+   if (fFastReadOption) {
+      Warning("MergeOutputs", "You requested FastRead option. Using xrootd flags to reduce timeouts. Note that this may skip some files that could be accessed !");
+      gEnv->SetValue("XNet.ConnectTimeout",5);
+      gEnv->SetValue("XNet.RequestTimeout",5);
+      gEnv->SetValue("XNet.MaxRedirectCount",2);
+      gEnv->SetValue("XNet.ReconnectTimeout",5);
+      gEnv->SetValue("XNet.FirstConnectMaxCnt",1);
    }   
    TObjArray *list = fOutputFiles.Tokenize(" ");
    TIter next(list);
    TObjString *str;
-   TString command;
    TString output_file;
-   TString output_chunk;
-   TString previous_chunk;
-   Int_t count_chunk = 0;
-   Int_t count_zero = fMaxMergeFiles;
    Bool_t merged = kTRUE;
    while((str=(TObjString*)next())) {
       output_file = str->GetString();
@@ -1403,95 +1719,13 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::MergeOutputs()
       if (fMergeExcludes.Length() &&
           fMergeExcludes.Contains(output_file.Data())) continue;
       // Perform a 'find' command in the output directory, looking for registered outputs    
-      command = Form("find %s/ *%s", fGridOutputDir.Data(), output_file.Data());
-      printf("command: %s\n", command.Data());
-      TGridResult *res = gGrid->Command(command);
-      if (!res) continue;
-      TFileMerger *fm = 0;
-      TIter nextmap(res);
-      TMap *map = 0;
-      previous_chunk = "";
-      count_chunk = 0;
-      // Check if there is a merge operation to resume
-      output_chunk = output_file;
-      output_chunk.ReplaceAll(".root", "_*.root");
-      if (!gSystem->Exec(Form("ls %s", output_chunk.Data()))) {
-         while (1) {
-            for (Int_t counter=0; counter<fMaxMergeFiles; counter++) map = (TMap*)nextmap();
-            if (!map) {
-               Error("MergeOutputs", "Cannot resume merging for <%s>, nentries=%d", output_file.Data(), res->GetSize());
-               delete res;
-               return kFALSE;
-            }
-            output_chunk = output_file;
-            output_chunk.ReplaceAll(".root", Form("_%04d.root", count_chunk));
-            printf("%s\n", output_chunk.Data());
-            count_chunk++;
-            if (gSystem->AccessPathName(output_chunk)) continue;
-            // Merged file with chunks up to <count_chunk> found
-            printf("Resume merging of <%s> from <%s>\n", output_file.Data(), output_chunk.Data());
-            previous_chunk = output_chunk;
-            break;
-         }
-      }
-      count_zero = fMaxMergeFiles;
-      while ((map=(TMap*)nextmap())) {
-      // Loop 'find' results and get next LFN
-         if (count_zero == fMaxMergeFiles) {
-            // First file in chunk - create file merger and add previous chunk if any.
-            fm = new TFileMerger(kFALSE);
-            fm->SetFastMethod(kTRUE);
-            if (previous_chunk.Length()) fm->AddFile(previous_chunk.Data());
-            output_chunk = output_file;
-            output_chunk.ReplaceAll(".root", Form("_%04d.root", count_chunk));
-         }
-         // If last file found, put merged results in the output file
-         if (map == res->Last()) output_chunk = output_file;
-         TObjString *objs = dynamic_cast<TObjString*>(map->GetValue("turl"));
-         if (!objs || !objs->GetString().Length()) {
-            // Nothing found - skip this output
-            delete res;
-            delete fm;
-            break;
-         } 
-         // Add file to be merged and decrement chunk counter.
-         fm->AddFile(objs->GetString());
-         count_zero--;
-         if (count_zero==0 || map == res->Last()) {            
-            fm->OutputFile(output_chunk);
-            if (!fm->GetMergeList() || !fm->GetMergeList()->GetSize()) {
-            // Nothing found - skip this output
-               Warning("MergeOutputs", "No <%s> files found.", output_file.Data());
-               delete res;
-               delete fm;
-               break;
-            }
-            // Merge the outputs, then go to next chunk      
-            if (!fm->Merge()) {
-               Error("MergeOutputs", "Could not merge all <%s> files", output_file.Data());
-               delete res;
-               delete fm;
-               merged = kFALSE;
-               break;
-            } else {
-               Info("MergeOutputs", "\n#####   Merged %d output files to <%s>", fm->GetMergeList()->GetSize(), output_chunk.Data());
-               gSystem->Unlink(previous_chunk);
-            }
-            if (map == res->Last()) {
-               delete res;
-               delete fm;
-               break;
-            }      
-            count_chunk++;
-            count_zero = fMaxMergeFiles;
-            previous_chunk = output_chunk;
-         }
-      }
+      merged = MergeOutput(output_file, fGridOutputDir, fMaxMergeFiles);
+      if (!merged) {
+         Error("MergeOutputs", "Terminate() will  NOT be executed");
+         return kFALSE;
+      }   
    } 
-   if (!merged) {
-      Error("MergeOutputs", "Terminate() will  NOT be executed");
-   }  
-   return merged;
+   return kTRUE;
 }   
 
 //______________________________________________________________________________
@@ -1549,16 +1783,18 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::StartAnalysis(Long64_t /*nentries*/, Long64_t /*firstEn
       \n                         space and job submitted.");
    } else if (TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kMerge)) {
       Info("StartAnalysis","\n##### MERGE MODE #####   The registered outputs of the analysis will be merged");
+      if (fMergeViaJDL) CheckInputData();
       return kTRUE;
    } else {
       Info("StartAnalysis","\n##### FULL ANALYSIS MODE ##### Producing needed files and submitting your analysis job...");   
    }   
       
+   Print();   
    if (!Connect()) {
       Error("StartAnalysis", "Cannot start grid analysis without grid connection");
       return kFALSE;
    }
-   Print();   
+   if (IsCheckCopy()) CheckFileCopy(gGrid->GetHomeDirectory());
    if (!CheckInputData()) {
       Error("StartAnalysis", "There was an error in preprocessing your requested input data");
       return kFALSE;
@@ -1568,6 +1804,11 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::StartAnalysis(Long64_t /*nentries*/, Long64_t /*firstEn
    WriteAnalysisMacro();
    WriteExecutable();
    WriteValidationScript();
+   if (fMergeViaJDL) {
+      WriteMergingMacro();
+      WriteMergeExecutable();
+      WriteValidationScript(kTRUE);
+   }   
    if (!CreateJDL()) return kFALSE;
    if (TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kOffline)) return kFALSE;
    if (TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kTest)) {
@@ -1612,6 +1853,8 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::StartAnalysis(Long64_t /*nentries*/, Long64_t /*firstEn
       if (res) {
          const char *cjobId = res->GetKey(0,"jobId");
          if (!cjobId) {
+            gGrid->Stdout();
+            gGrid->Stderr();
             Error("StartAnalysis", "Your JDL %s could not be submitted", fJDLName.Data());
             return kFALSE;
          } else {
@@ -1622,10 +1865,13 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::StartAnalysis(Long64_t /*nentries*/, Long64_t /*firstEn
             jobID = cjobId;      
          }          
          delete res;
+      } else {
+         Error("StartAnalysis", "No grid result after submission !!! Bailing out...");
+         return kFALSE;      
       }   
    } else {
       // Submit for a range of enumeration of runs.
-      Submit();
+      if (!Submit()) return kFALSE;
    }   
          
    Info("StartAnalysis", "\n#### STARTING AN ALIEN SHELL FOR YOU. EXIT WHEN YOUR JOB %s HAS FINISHED. #### \
@@ -1636,30 +1882,78 @@ Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::StartAnalysis(Long64_t /*nentries*/, Long64_t /*firstEn
 }
 
 //______________________________________________________________________________
-void AliAnalysisAlien::Submit()
+Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::Submit()
 {
 // Submit all master jobs.
    Int_t nmasterjobs = fInputFiles->GetEntries();
    Long_t tshoot = gSystem->Now();
-   if (!fNsubmitted) SubmitNext();
+   if (!fNsubmitted && !SubmitNext()) return kFALSE;
    while (fNsubmitted < nmasterjobs) {
       Long_t now = gSystem->Now();
       if ((now-tshoot)>30000) {
          tshoot = now;
-         SubmitNext();
+         if (!SubmitNext()) return kFALSE;
       }   
    }
+   return kTRUE;
 }
 
 //______________________________________________________________________________
-void AliAnalysisAlien::SubmitNext()
+Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::SubmitMerging()
+{
+// Submit all merging jobs.
+   if (!fGridOutputDir.Contains("/")) fGridOutputDir = Form("/%s/%s/%s", gGrid->GetHomeDirectory(), fGridWorkingDir.Data(), fGridOutputDir.Data());
+   gGrid->Cd(fGridOutputDir);
+   TString mergeJDLName = fExecutable;
+   mergeJDLName.ReplaceAll(".sh", "_merge.jdl");
+   Int_t ntosubmit = fInputFiles->GetEntries();
+   printf("### Submitting %d merging jobs...\n", ntosubmit);
+   for (Int_t i=0; i<ntosubmit; i++) {
+      TString query;
+      TString runOutDir = gSystem->BaseName(fInputFiles->At(i)->GetName());
+      runOutDir.ReplaceAll(".xml", "");
+      if (fOutputToRunNo)
+         query = Form("submit %s %s", mergeJDLName.Data(), runOutDir.Data());
+      else
+         query = Form("submit %s %03d", mergeJDLName.Data(), i);
+      printf("********* %s\n",query.Data());
+      TGridResult *res = gGrid->Command(query);
+      if (res) {
+         const char *cjobId = res->GetKey(0,"jobId");
+         if (!cjobId) {
+            gGrid->Stdout();
+            gGrid->Stderr();
+            Error("StartAnalysis", "Your JDL %s could not be submitted", mergeJDLName.Data());
+            return kFALSE;
+         } else {
+            Info("StartAnalysis", "\n_______________________________________________________________________ \
+            \n#####   Your JDL %s was successfully submitted. \nTHE JOB ID IS: %s \
+            \n_______________________________________________________________________",
+                   mergeJDLName.Data(), cjobId);
+         }
+         delete res;
+      } else {     
+         Error("SubmitMerging", "No grid result after submission !!! Bailing out...");
+         return kFALSE;
+      }             
+   }
+   if (!ntosubmit) return kTRUE;
+   Info("StartAnalysis", "\n#### STARTING AN ALIEN SHELL FOR YOU. EXIT WHEN YOUR MERGING JOBS HAVE FINISHED. #### \
+   \n You may exit at any time and terminate the job later using the option <terminate> but disabling SetMergeViaJDL\
+   \n ##################################################################################");
+   gSystem->Exec("aliensh");
+   return kTRUE;
+}
+
+//______________________________________________________________________________
+Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::SubmitNext()
 {
 // Submit next bunch of master jobs if the queue is free.
    static Bool_t iscalled = kFALSE;
    static Int_t firstmaster = 0;
    static Int_t lastmaster = 0;
    static Int_t npermaster  = 0;
-   if (iscalled) return;
+   if (iscalled) return kTRUE;
    iscalled = kTRUE;
    Int_t nrunning=0, nwaiting=0, nerror=0, ndone=0;
    Int_t ntosubmit = 0;
@@ -1670,18 +1964,19 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::SubmitNext()
       TString status = GetJobStatus(firstmaster, lastmaster, nrunning, nwaiting, nerror, ndone);
       printf("=== master %d: %s\n", lastmaster, status.Data());
       // If last master not split, just return
-      if (status != "SPLIT") {iscalled = kFALSE; return;}
+      if (status != "SPLIT") {iscalled = kFALSE; return kTRUE;}
       // No more than 100 waiting jobs
-      if (nwaiting>100) {iscalled = kFALSE; return;}
+      if (nwaiting>100) {iscalled = kFALSE; return kTRUE;}
       npermaster = (nrunning+nwaiting+nerror+ndone)/fNsubmitted;      
       if (npermaster) ntosubmit = (100-nwaiting)/npermaster;
+      if (!ntosubmit) ntosubmit = 1;
       printf("=== WAITING(%d) RUNNING(%d) DONE(%d) OTHER(%d) NperMaster=%d => to submit %d jobs\n", 
              nwaiting, nrunning, ndone, nerror, npermaster, ntosubmit);
    }
    Int_t nmasterjobs = fInputFiles->GetEntries();
    for (Int_t i=0; i<ntosubmit; i++) {
       // Submit for a range of enumeration of runs.
-      if (fNsubmitted>=nmasterjobs) {iscalled = kFALSE; return;}
+      if (fNsubmitted>=nmasterjobs) {iscalled = kFALSE; return kTRUE;}
       TString query;
       TString runOutDir = gSystem->BaseName(fInputFiles->At(fNsubmitted)->GetName());
       runOutDir.ReplaceAll(".xml", "");
@@ -1694,9 +1989,11 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::SubmitNext()
       if (res) {
          TString cjobId1 = res->GetKey(0,"jobId");
          if (!cjobId1.Length()) {
-            Error("StartAnalysis", "Your JDL %s could not be submitted", fJDLName.Data());
             iscalled = kFALSE;
-            return;
+            gGrid->Stdout();
+            gGrid->Stderr();
+            Error("StartAnalysis", "Your JDL %s could not be submitted. The message was:", fJDLName.Data());
+            return kFALSE;
          } else {
             Info("StartAnalysis", "\n_______________________________________________________________________ \
             \n#####   Your JDL %s submitted (%d to go). \nTHE JOB ID IS: %s \
@@ -1709,9 +2006,13 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::SubmitNext()
             fNsubmitted++;
          }          
          delete res;
+      } else {
+         Error("StartAnalysis", "No grid result after submission !!! Bailing out...");
+         return kFALSE;
       }   
    }
    iscalled = kFALSE;
+   return kTRUE;
 }
 
 //______________________________________________________________________________
@@ -1772,6 +2073,12 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteAnalysisMacro()
          Error("WriteAnalysisMacro", "could not open file %s for writing", fAnalysisMacro.Data());
          return;
       }
+      Bool_t hasSTEERBase = kFALSE;
+      Bool_t hasESD = kFALSE;
+      Bool_t hasAOD = kFALSE;
+      Bool_t hasANALYSIS = kFALSE;
+      Bool_t hasANALYSISalice = kFALSE;
+      Bool_t hasCORRFW = kFALSE;
       TString func = fAnalysisMacro;
       TString type = "ESD";
       TString comment = "// Analysis using ";
@@ -1801,20 +2108,21 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteAnalysisMacro()
       out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libPhysics\");" << endl << endl;
       out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libMinuit\");" << endl << endl;
       if (fAdditionalRootLibs.Length()) {
-       // in principle libtree /lib geom libvmc etc. can go into this list, too
-       out << "// Add aditional libraries" << endl;
-       TObjArray *list = fAdditionalRootLibs.Tokenize(" ");
-       TIter next(list);
-       TObjString *str;
-       while((str=(TObjString*)next())) {
-         if (str->GetString().Contains(".so"))
-           out << "   gSystem->Load(\"" << str->GetString().Data() << "\");" << endl;
+         // in principle libtree /lib geom libvmc etc. can go into this list, too
+         out << "// Add aditional libraries" << endl;
+         TObjArray *list = fAdditionalRootLibs.Tokenize(" ");
+         TIter next(list);
+         TObjString *str;
+         while((str=(TObjString*)next())) {
+            if (str->GetString().Contains(".so"))
+            out << "   gSystem->Load(\"" << str->GetString().Data() << "\");" << endl;
          }
-       if (list) delete list;
+         if (list) delete list;
       }
+      out << "// include path" << endl;
+      if (fIncludePath.Length()) out << "   gSystem->AddIncludePath(\"" << fIncludePath.Data() << "\");" << endl;
+      out << "   gSystem->AddIncludePath(\"-I$ALICE_ROOT/include\");" << endl << endl;
       out << "// Load analysis framework libraries" << endl;
-
-
       if (!fPackages) {
          out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libSTEERBase\");" << endl;
          out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libESD\");" << endl;
@@ -1826,12 +2134,7 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteAnalysisMacro()
          TIter next(fPackages);
          TObject *obj;
          TString pkgname;
-         Bool_t hasSTEERBase = kFALSE;
-         Bool_t hasESD = kFALSE;
-         Bool_t hasAOD = kFALSE;
-         Bool_t hasANALYSIS = kFALSE;
-         Bool_t hasANALYSISalice = kFALSE;
-         Bool_t hasCORRFW = kFALSE;
+         TString setupPar = "AliAnalysisAlien::SetupPar";
          while ((obj=next())) {
             pkgname = obj->GetName();
             if (pkgname == "STEERBase" ||
@@ -1846,19 +2149,20 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteAnalysisMacro()
                 pkgname == "ANALYSISalice.par") hasANALYSISalice = kTRUE;
             if (pkgname == "CORRFW" ||
                 pkgname == "CORRFW.par")    hasCORRFW = kTRUE;
-         }   
+         }
+         if (hasANALYSISalice) setupPar = "SetupPar";   
          if (!hasSTEERBase) out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libSTEERBase\");" << endl;
-         else out << "   if (!SetupPar(\"STEERBase\")) return;" << endl;
+         else out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"STEERBase\")) return;" << endl;
          if (!hasESD)       out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libESD\");" << endl;
-         else out << "   if (!SetupPar(\"ESD\")) return;" << endl;
+         else out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"ESD\")) return;" << endl;
          if (!hasAOD)       out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libAOD\");" << endl;
-         else out << "   if (!SetupPar(\"AOD\")) return;" << endl;
+         else out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"AOD\")) return;" << endl;
          if (!hasANALYSIS)  out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libANALYSIS\");" << endl;
-         else out << "   if (!SetupPar(\"ANALYSIS\")) return;" << endl;
+         else out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"ANALYSIS\")) return;" << endl;
          if (!hasANALYSISalice)   out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libANALYSISalice\");" << endl;
-         else out << "   if (!SetupPar(\"ANALYSISalice\")) return;" << endl;
+         else out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"ANALYSISalice\")) return;" << endl;
          if (!hasCORRFW)    out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libCORRFW\");" << endl << endl;
-         else out << "   if (!SetupPar(\"CORRFW\")) return;" << endl << endl;
+         else out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"CORRFW\")) return;" << endl << endl;
          out << "// Compile other par packages" << endl;
          next.Reset();
          while ((obj=next())) {
@@ -1875,12 +2179,9 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteAnalysisMacro()
                 pkgname == "ANALYSISalice.par" ||
                 pkgname == "CORRFW" ||
                 pkgname == "CORRFW.par") continue;
-            out << "   if (!SetupPar(\"" << obj->GetName() << "\")) return;" << endl;
+            out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"" << obj->GetName() << "\")) return;" << endl;
          }   
       }   
-      out << "// include path" << endl;
-      if (fIncludePath.Length()) out << "   gSystem->AddIncludePath(\"" << fIncludePath.Data() << "\");" << endl;
-      out << "   gSystem->AddIncludePath(\"-I$ALICE_ROOT/include\");" << endl << endl;
       if (fAdditionalLibs.Length()) {
          out << "// Add aditional AliRoot libraries" << endl;
          TObjArray *list = fAdditionalLibs.Tokenize(" ");
@@ -1904,6 +2205,16 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteAnalysisMacro()
          if (list) delete list;
       }
       out << endl;
+      if (fFastReadOption) {
+         Warning("WriteAnalysisMacro", "!!! You requested FastRead option. Using xrootd flags to reduce timeouts in the grid jobs. Note that this may skip some files that could be accessed !!!");
+         out << "// fast xrootd reading enabled" << endl;
+         out << "   printf(\"!!! You requested FastRead option. Using xrootd flags to reduce timeouts. Note that this may skip some files that could be accessed !!!\");" << endl;
+         out << "   gEnv->SetValue(\"XNet.ConnectTimeout\",5);" << endl;
+         out << "   gEnv->SetValue(\"XNet.RequestTimeout\",5);" << endl;
+         out << "   gEnv->SetValue(\"XNet.MaxRedirectCount\",2);" << endl;
+         out << "   gEnv->SetValue(\"XNet.ReconnectTimeout\",5);" << endl;
+         out << "   gEnv->SetValue(\"XNet.FirstConnectMaxCnt\",1);" << endl << endl;
+      }   
       out << "// connect to AliEn and make the chain" << endl;
       out << "   if (!TGrid::Connect(\"alien://\")) return;" << endl;
       if (IsUsingTags()) {
@@ -1939,8 +2250,10 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteAnalysisMacro()
       out << "   }" << endl << endl;
       out << "   mgr->PrintStatus();" << endl;
       if (AliAnalysisManager::GetAnalysisManager()) {
-         if (AliAnalysisManager::GetAnalysisManager()->GetDebugLevel()>2) {
+         if (AliAnalysisManager::GetAnalysisManager()->GetDebugLevel()>3) {
             out << "   gEnv->SetValue(\"XNet.Debug\", \"1\");" << endl;
+         } else {
+            out << "   AliLog::SetGlobalLogLevel(AliLog::kError);" << endl;
          }
       }   
       out << "   mgr->StartAnalysis(\"localfile\", chain);" << endl;
@@ -2028,7 +2341,7 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteAnalysisMacro()
          out << "   return chain;" << endl;
          out << "}" << endl << endl;
       }   
-      if (fPackages) {
+      if (hasANALYSISalice) {
          out <<"//________________________________________________________________________________" << endl;
          out << "Bool_t SetupPar(const char *package) {" << endl;
          out << "// Compile the package and set it up." << endl;
@@ -2087,6 +2400,303 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteAnalysisMacro()
    }
 }
 
+//______________________________________________________________________________
+void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteMergingMacro()
+{
+// Write a macro to merge the outputs per master job.
+   if (!fMergeViaJDL) return;
+   if (!fOutputFiles.Length()) {
+      Error("WriteMergingMacro", "No output file names defined. Are you running the right AliAnalysisAlien configuration ?");
+      return;
+   }   
+   TString mergingMacro = fExecutable;
+   mergingMacro.ReplaceAll(".sh","_merge.C");
+   if (!fGridOutputDir.Contains("/")) fGridOutputDir = Form("/%s/%s/%s", gGrid->GetHomeDirectory(), fGridWorkingDir.Data(), fGridOutputDir.Data());
+   if (!TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kSubmit)) {  
+      ofstream out;
+      out.open(mergingMacro.Data(), ios::out);
+      if (!out.good()) {
+         Error("WriteMergingMacro", "could not open file %s for writing", fAnalysisMacro.Data());
+         return;
+      }
+      Bool_t hasSTEERBase = kFALSE;
+      Bool_t hasESD = kFALSE;
+      Bool_t hasAOD = kFALSE;
+      Bool_t hasANALYSIS = kFALSE;
+      Bool_t hasANALYSISalice = kFALSE;
+      Bool_t hasCORRFW = kFALSE;
+      TString func = mergingMacro;
+      TString comment;
+      func.ReplaceAll(".C", "");
+      out << "void " << func.Data() << "(const char *dir)" << endl;
+      out << "{" << endl;
+      out << "// Automatically generated merging macro executed in grid subjobs" << endl << endl;
+      out << "   TStopwatch timer;" << endl;
+      out << "   timer.Start();" << endl << endl;
+      out << "// load base root libraries" << endl;
+      out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libTree\");" << endl;
+      out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libGeom\");" << endl;
+      out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libVMC\");" << endl;
+      out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libPhysics\");" << endl << endl;
+      out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libMinuit\");" << endl << endl;
+      if (fAdditionalRootLibs.Length()) {
+         // in principle libtree /lib geom libvmc etc. can go into this list, too
+         out << "// Add aditional libraries" << endl;
+         TObjArray *list = fAdditionalRootLibs.Tokenize(" ");
+         TIter next(list);
+         TObjString *str;
+         while((str=(TObjString*)next())) {
+            if (str->GetString().Contains(".so"))
+            out << "   gSystem->Load(\"" << str->GetString().Data() << "\");" << endl;
+         }
+         if (list) delete list;
+      }
+      out << "// include path" << endl;
+      if (fIncludePath.Length()) out << "   gSystem->AddIncludePath(\"" << fIncludePath.Data() << "\");" << endl;
+      out << "   gSystem->AddIncludePath(\"-I$ALICE_ROOT/include\");" << endl << endl;
+      out << "// Load analysis framework libraries" << endl;
+      if (!fPackages) {
+         out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libSTEERBase\");" << endl;
+         out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libESD\");" << endl;
+         out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libAOD\");" << endl;
+         out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libANALYSIS\");" << endl;
+         out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libANALYSISalice\");" << endl;
+         out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libCORRFW\");" << endl << endl;
+      } else {
+         TIter next(fPackages);
+         TObject *obj;
+         TString pkgname;
+         TString setupPar = "AliAnalysisAlien::SetupPar";
+         while ((obj=next())) {
+            pkgname = obj->GetName();
+            if (pkgname == "STEERBase" ||
+                pkgname == "STEERBase.par") hasSTEERBase = kTRUE;
+            if (pkgname == "ESD" ||
+                pkgname == "ESD.par")       hasESD = kTRUE;
+            if (pkgname == "AOD" ||
+                pkgname == "AOD.par")       hasAOD = kTRUE;
+            if (pkgname == "ANALYSIS" ||
+                pkgname == "ANALYSIS.par")  hasANALYSIS = kTRUE;
+            if (pkgname == "ANALYSISalice" ||
+                pkgname == "ANALYSISalice.par") hasANALYSISalice = kTRUE;
+            if (pkgname == "CORRFW" ||
+                pkgname == "CORRFW.par")    hasCORRFW = kTRUE;
+         }   
+         if (hasANALYSISalice) setupPar = "SetupPar";   
+         if (!hasSTEERBase) out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libSTEERBase\");" << endl;
+         else out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"STEERBase\")) return;" << endl;
+         if (!hasESD)       out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libESD\");" << endl;
+         else out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"ESD\")) return;" << endl;
+         if (!hasAOD)       out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libAOD\");" << endl;
+         else out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"AOD\")) return;" << endl;
+         if (!hasANALYSIS)  out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libANALYSIS\");" << endl;
+         else out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"ANALYSIS\")) return;" << endl;
+         if (!hasANALYSISalice)   out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libANALYSISalice\");" << endl;
+         else out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"ANALYSISalice\")) return;" << endl;
+         if (!hasCORRFW)    out << "   gSystem->Load(\"libCORRFW\");" << endl << endl;
+         else out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"CORRFW\")) return;" << endl << endl;
+         out << "// Compile other par packages" << endl;
+         next.Reset();
+         while ((obj=next())) {
+            pkgname = obj->GetName();
+            if (pkgname == "STEERBase" ||
+                pkgname == "STEERBase.par" ||
+                pkgname == "ESD" ||
+                pkgname == "ESD.par" ||
+                pkgname == "AOD" ||
+                pkgname == "AOD.par" ||
+                pkgname == "ANALYSIS" ||
+                pkgname == "ANALYSIS.par" ||
+                pkgname == "ANALYSISalice" ||
+                pkgname == "ANALYSISalice.par" ||
+                pkgname == "CORRFW" ||
+                pkgname == "CORRFW.par") continue;
+            out << "   if (!" << setupPar << "(\"" << obj->GetName() << "\")) return;" << endl;
+         }   
+      }   
+      if (fAdditionalLibs.Length()) {
+         out << "// Add aditional AliRoot libraries" << endl;
+         TObjArray *list = fAdditionalLibs.Tokenize(" ");
+         TIter next(list);
+         TObjString *str;
+         while((str=(TObjString*)next())) {
+            if (str->GetString().Contains(".so"))
+               out << "   gSystem->Load(\"" << str->GetString().Data() << "\");" << endl;
+         }
+         if (list) delete list;
+      }
+      out << endl;
+      out << "// Analysis source to be compiled at runtime (if any)" << endl;
+      if (fAnalysisSource.Length()) {
+         TObjArray *list = fAnalysisSource.Tokenize(" ");
+         TIter next(list);
+         TObjString *str;
+         while((str=(TObjString*)next())) {
+            out << "   gROOT->ProcessLine(\".L " << str->GetString().Data() << "+g\");" << endl;
+         }   
+         if (list) delete list;
+      }
+      out << endl;
+      if (fFastReadOption) {
+         Warning("WriteMergingMacro", "!!! You requested FastRead option. Using xrootd flags to reduce timeouts in the grid merging jobs. Note that this may skip some files that could be accessed !!!");
+         out << "// fast xrootd reading enabled" << endl;
+         out << "   printf(\"!!! You requested FastRead option. Using xrootd flags to reduce timeouts. Note that this may skip some files that could be accessed !!!\");" << endl;
+         out << "   gEnv->SetValue(\"XNet.ConnectTimeout\",5);" << endl;
+         out << "   gEnv->SetValue(\"XNet.RequestTimeout\",5);" << endl;
+         out << "   gEnv->SetValue(\"XNet.MaxRedirectCount\",2);" << endl;
+         out << "   gEnv->SetValue(\"XNet.ReconnectTimeout\",5);" << endl;
+         out << "   gEnv->SetValue(\"XNet.FirstConnectMaxCnt\",1);" << endl << endl;
+      }   
+      out << "// Connect to AliEn" << endl;
+      out << "   if (!TGrid::Connect(\"alien://\")) return;" << endl;
+      out << "   TString outputDir = \"" << fGridOutputDir << "/\";" << endl;  
+      out << "   outputDir += dir;" << endl;    
+      out << "   TString outputFiles = \"" << fOutputFiles << "\";" << endl;
+      out << "   TString mergeExcludes = \"" << fMergeExcludes << "\";" << endl;
+      out << "   mergeExcludes += \"" << AliAnalysisManager::GetAnalysisManager()->GetExtraFiles() << "\";" << endl;
+      out << "   TObjArray *list = outputFiles.Tokenize(\" \");" << endl;
+      out << "   TIter *iter = new TIter(list);" << endl;
+      out << "   TObjString *str;" << endl;
+      out << "   TString output_file;" << endl;
+      out << "   Bool_t merged = kTRUE;" << endl;
+      out << "   while((str=(TObjString*)iter->Next())) {" << endl;
+      out << "      output_file = str->GetString();" << endl;
+      out << "      Int_t index = output_file.Index(\"@\");" << endl;
+      out << "      if (index > 0) output_file.Remove(index);" << endl;
+      out << "      // Skip already merged outputs" << endl;
+      out << "      if (!gSystem->AccessPathName(output_file)) {" << endl;
+      out << "         printf(\"Output file <%s> found. Not merging again.\",output_file.Data());" << endl;
+      out << "         continue;" << endl;
+      out << "      }" << endl;
+      out << "      if (mergeExcludes.Contains(output_file.Data())) continue;" << endl;
+      out << "      merged = AliAnalysisAlien::MergeOutput(output_file, outputDir, " << fMaxMergeFiles << ");" << endl;
+      out << "      if (!merged) {" << endl;
+      out << "         printf(\"ERROR: Cannot merge %s\\n\", output_file.Data());" << endl;
+      out << "      }" << endl;
+      out << "   }" << endl;
+      out << "// read the analysis manager from file" << endl;
+      TString analysisFile = fExecutable;
+      analysisFile.ReplaceAll(".sh", ".root");
+      out << "   TFile *file = TFile::Open(\"" << analysisFile << "\");" << endl;
+      out << "   if (!file) return;" << endl; 
+      out << "   TIter nextkey(file->GetListOfKeys());" << endl;
+      out << "   AliAnalysisManager *mgr = 0;" << endl;
+      out << "   TKey *key;" << endl;
+      out << "   while ((key=(TKey*)nextkey())) {" << endl;
+      out << "      if (!strcmp(key->GetClassName(), \"AliAnalysisManager\"))" << endl;
+      out << "         mgr = (AliAnalysisManager*)file->Get(key->GetName());" << endl;
+      out << "   };" << endl;
+      out << "   if (!mgr) {" << endl;
+      out << "      ::Error(\"" << func.Data() << "\", \"No analysis manager found in file" << analysisFile <<"\");" << endl;
+      out << "      return;" << endl;
+      out << "   }" << endl << endl;
+      out << "   mgr->SetSkipTerminate(kFALSE);" << endl;
+      out << "   mgr->PrintStatus();" << endl;
+      if (AliAnalysisManager::GetAnalysisManager()) {
+         if (AliAnalysisManager::GetAnalysisManager()->GetDebugLevel()>3) {
+            out << "   gEnv->SetValue(\"XNet.Debug\", \"1\");" << endl;
+         } else {
+            out << "   AliLog::SetGlobalLogLevel(AliLog::kError);" << endl;
+         }
+      }   
+      out << "   mgr->StartAnalysis(\"gridterminate\");" << endl;
+      out << "}" << endl << endl;
+      if (hasANALYSISalice) {
+         out <<"//________________________________________________________________________________" << endl;
+         out << "Bool_t SetupPar(const char *package) {" << endl;
+         out << "// Compile the package and set it up." << endl;
+         out << "   TString pkgdir = package;" << endl;
+         out << "   pkgdir.ReplaceAll(\".par\",\"\");" << endl;
+         out << "   gSystem->Exec(Form(\"tar xvzf %s.par\", pkgdir.Data()));" << endl;
+         out << "   TString cdir = gSystem->WorkingDirectory();" << endl;
+         out << "   gSystem->ChangeDirectory(pkgdir);" << endl;
+         out << "   // Check for BUILD.sh and execute" << endl;
+         out << "   if (!gSystem->AccessPathName(\"PROOF-INF/BUILD.sh\")) {" << endl;
+         out << "      printf(\"*******************************\\n\");" << endl;
+         out << "      printf(\"*** Building PAR archive    ***\\n\");" << endl;
+         out << "      printf(\"*******************************\\n\");" << endl;
+         out << "      if (gSystem->Exec(\"PROOF-INF/BUILD.sh\")) {" << endl;
+         out << "         ::Error(\"SetupPar\", \"Cannot build par archive %s\", pkgdir.Data());" << endl;
+         out << "         gSystem->ChangeDirectory(cdir);" << endl;
+         out << "         return kFALSE;" << endl;
+         out << "      }" << endl;
+         out << "   } else {" << endl;
+         out << "      ::Error(\"SetupPar\",\"Cannot access PROOF-INF/BUILD.sh for package %s\", pkgdir.Data());" << endl;
+         out << "      gSystem->ChangeDirectory(cdir);" << endl;
+         out << "      return kFALSE;" << endl;
+         out << "   }" << endl;
+         out << "   // Check for SETUP.C and execute" << endl;
+         out << "   if (!gSystem->AccessPathName(\"PROOF-INF/SETUP.C\")) {" << endl;
+         out << "      printf(\"*******************************\\n\");" << endl;
+         out << "      printf(\"***    Setup PAR archive    ***\\n\");" << endl;
+         out << "      printf(\"*******************************\\n\");" << endl;
+         out << "      gROOT->Macro(\"PROOF-INF/SETUP.C\");" << endl;
+         out << "   } else {" << endl;
+         out << "      ::Error(\"SetupPar\",\"Cannot access PROOF-INF/SETUP.C for package %s\", pkgdir.Data());" << endl;
+         out << "      gSystem->ChangeDirectory(cdir);" << endl;
+         out << "      return kFALSE;" << endl;
+         out << "   }" << endl;
+         out << "   // Restore original workdir" << endl;
+         out << "   gSystem->ChangeDirectory(cdir);" << endl;
+         out << "   return kTRUE;" << endl;
+         out << "}" << endl;
+      }
+   }   
+   Bool_t copy = kTRUE;
+   if (TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kOffline) || TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kTest)) copy = kFALSE;
+   if (copy) {
+      CdWork();
+      TString workdir = gGrid->GetHomeDirectory();
+      workdir += fGridWorkingDir;
+      if (FileExists(mergingMacro)) gGrid->Rm(mergingMacro);
+      Info("WriteMergingMacro", "\n#####   Copying merging macro: <%s> to your alien workspace", mergingMacro.Data());
+      TFile::Cp(Form("file:%s",mergingMacro.Data()), Form("alien://%s/%s", workdir.Data(), mergingMacro.Data()));
+   }
+}
+
+//______________________________________________________________________________
+Bool_t AliAnalysisAlien::SetupPar(const char *package)
+{
+// Compile the par file archive pointed by <package>. This must be present in the current durectory.
+// Note that for loading the compiled library. The current directory should have precedence in
+// LD_LIBRARY_PATH
+   TString pkgdir = package;
+   pkgdir.ReplaceAll(".par","");
+   gSystem->Exec(Form("tar xvzf %s.par", pkgdir.Data()));
+   TString cdir = gSystem->WorkingDirectory();
+   gSystem->ChangeDirectory(pkgdir);
+   // Check for BUILD.sh and execute
+   if (!gSystem->AccessPathName("PROOF-INF/BUILD.sh")) {
+      printf("**************************************************\n");
+      printf("*** Building PAR archive %s\n", package);
+      printf("**************************************************\n");
+      if (gSystem->Exec("PROOF-INF/BUILD.sh")) {
+         ::Error("SetupPar", "Cannot build par archive %s", pkgdir.Data());
+         gSystem->ChangeDirectory(cdir);
+         return kFALSE;
+      }
+   } else {
+      ::Error("SetupPar","Cannot access PROOF-INF/BUILD.sh for package %s", pkgdir.Data());
+      gSystem->ChangeDirectory(cdir);
+      return kFALSE;
+   }
+   // Check for SETUP.C and execute
+   if (!gSystem->AccessPathName("PROOF-INF/SETUP.C")) {
+      printf("**************************************************\n");
+      printf("*** Setup PAR archive %s\n", package);
+      printf("**************************************************\n");
+      gROOT->Macro("PROOF-INF/SETUP.C");
+      printf("*** Loaded library: %s\n", gSystem->GetLibraries(pkgdir,"",kFALSE));
+   } else {
+      ::Error("SetupPar","Cannot access PROOF-INF/SETUP.C for package %s", pkgdir.Data());
+      gSystem->ChangeDirectory(cdir);
+      return kFALSE;
+   }   
+   // Restore original workdir
+   gSystem->ChangeDirectory(cdir);
+   return kTRUE;
+}
+
 //______________________________________________________________________________
 void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteExecutable()
 {
@@ -2142,6 +2752,66 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteExecutable()
    } 
 }
 
+//______________________________________________________________________________
+void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteMergeExecutable()
+{
+// Generate the alien executable script for the merging job.
+   if (!fMergeViaJDL) return;
+   TString mergeExec = fExecutable;
+   mergeExec.ReplaceAll(".sh", "_merge.sh");
+   if (!TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kSubmit)) {
+      ofstream out;
+      out.open(mergeExec.Data(), ios::out);
+      if (out.bad()) {
+         Error("WriteMergingExecutable", "Bad file name for executable: %s", mergeExec.Data());
+         return;
+      }
+      out << "#!/bin/bash" << endl;
+      out << "echo \"=========================================\"" << endl; 
+      out << "echo \"############## PATH : ##############\"" << endl;
+      out << "echo $PATH" << endl;
+      out << "echo \"############## LD_LIBRARY_PATH : ##############\"" << endl;
+      out << "echo $LD_LIBRARY_PATH" << endl;
+      out << "echo \"############## ROOTSYS : ##############\"" << endl;
+      out << "echo $ROOTSYS" << endl;
+      out << "echo \"############## which root : ##############\"" << endl;
+      out << "which root" << endl;
+      out << "echo \"############## ALICE_ROOT : ##############\"" << endl;
+      out << "echo $ALICE_ROOT" << endl;
+      out << "echo \"############## which aliroot : ##############\"" << endl;
+      out << "which aliroot" << endl;
+      out << "echo \"############## system limits : ##############\"" << endl;
+      out << "ulimit -a" << endl;
+      out << "echo \"############## memory : ##############\"" << endl;
+      out << "free -m" << endl;
+      out << "echo \"=========================================\"" << endl << endl;
+      // Make sure we can properly compile par files
+      if (TObject::TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kUsePars)) out << "export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=.:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH" << endl;
+      TString mergeMacro = fExecutable;
+      mergeMacro.ReplaceAll(".sh", "_merge.C");
+      out << "export ARG=\"" << mergeMacro << "(\\\"$1\\\")\"" << endl;
+      out << fExecutableCommand << " " << "$ARG" << endl; 
+      out << "echo \"======== " << mergeMacro.Data() << " finished with exit code: $? ========\"" << endl;
+      out << "echo \"############## memory after: ##############\"" << endl;
+      out << "free -m" << endl;
+      out << "echo \"############## Last 10 lines from dmesg : ##############\"" << endl;
+      out << "dmesg | tail -n 10" << endl;
+   }   
+   Bool_t copy = kTRUE;
+   if (TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kOffline) || TestBit(AliAnalysisGrid::kTest)) copy = kFALSE;
+   if (copy) {
+      CdWork();
+      TString workdir = gGrid->GetHomeDirectory();
+      TString bindir = Form("%s/bin", workdir.Data());
+      if (!DirectoryExists(bindir)) gGrid->Mkdir(bindir);
+      workdir += fGridWorkingDir;
+      TString executable = Form("%s/bin/%s", gGrid->GetHomeDirectory(), mergeExec.Data());
+      if (FileExists(executable)) gGrid->Rm(executable);
+      Info("CreateJDL", "\n#####   Copying executable file <%s> to your AliEn bin directory", mergeExec.Data());
+      TFile::Cp(Form("file:%s",mergeExec.Data()), Form("alien://%s", executable.Data()));
+   } 
+}
+
 //______________________________________________________________________________
 void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteProductionFile(const char *filename) const
 {
@@ -2162,7 +2832,12 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteProductionFile(const char *filename) const
    out << locjdl << " " << njobspermaster << endl;
    Int_t nmasterjobs = fInputFiles->GetEntries();
    for (Int_t i=0; i<nmasterjobs; i++) {
-      out << Form("%s", fInputFiles->At(i)->GetName()) << " " << Form("%03d", i) << endl;
+      TString runOutDir = gSystem->BaseName(fInputFiles->At(i)->GetName());
+      runOutDir.ReplaceAll(".xml", "");
+      if (fOutputToRunNo)
+         out << Form("%s", fInputFiles->At(i)->GetName()) << " " << runOutDir << endl;
+      else
+         out << Form("%s", fInputFiles->At(i)->GetName()) << " " << Form("%03d", i) << endl;
    }
    Info("WriteProductionFile", "\n#####   Copying production file <%s> to your work directory", filename);
    if (FileExists(filename)) gGrid->Rm(filename);
@@ -2170,13 +2845,14 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteProductionFile(const char *filename) const
 }
 
 //______________________________________________________________________________
-void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteValidationScript()
+void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteValidationScript(Bool_t merge)
 {
 // Generate the alien validation script.
    // Generate the validation script
    TObjString *os;
    TString validationScript = fExecutable;
-   validationScript.ReplaceAll(".sh", "_validation.sh");
+   if (merge) validationScript.ReplaceAll(".sh", "_mergevalidation.sh");
+   else       validationScript.ReplaceAll(".sh", "_validation.sh");
    if (!Connect()) {
       Error("WriteValidationScript", "Alien connection required");
       return;
@@ -2247,10 +2923,14 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteValidationScript()
       TObjArray *arr = fOutputFiles.Tokenize(" ");
       TIter next1(arr);
       TString output_file;
+      AliAnalysisManager *mgr = AliAnalysisManager::GetAnalysisManager();
+      TString extra = mgr->GetExtraFiles();
       while ((os=(TObjString*)next1())) { 
          output_file = os->GetString();
          Int_t index = output_file.Index("@");
          if (index > 0) output_file.Remove(index);
+         if (merge && fMergeExcludes.Contains(output_file)) continue;
+         if (extra.Contains(output_file)) continue;
          out << "if ! [ -f " << output_file.Data() << " ] ; then" << endl;
          out << "   error=1" << endl;
          out << "   echo \"Output file(s) not found. Job FAILED !\""  << out_stream << endl;
@@ -2258,11 +2938,13 @@ void AliAnalysisAlien::WriteValidationScript()
          out << "fi" << endl;
       }   
       delete arr;
-      out << "if ! [ -f outputs_valid ] ; then" << endl;
-      out << "   error=1" << endl;
-      out << "   echo \"Output files were not validated by the analysis manager\" >> stdout" << endl;
-      out << "   echo \"Output files were not validated by the analysis manager\" >> stderr" << endl;
-      out << "fi" << endl;
+      if (!merge) {
+        out << "if ! [ -f outputs_valid ] ; then" << endl;
+        out << "   error=1" << endl;
+        out << "   echo \"Output files were not validated by the analysis manager\" >> stdout" << endl;
+        out << "   echo \"Output files were not validated by the analysis manager\" >> stderr" << endl;
+        out << "fi" << endl;
+      }  
       
       out << "if [ $error = 0 ] ; then" << endl;
       out << "   echo \"* ----------------   Job Validated  ------------------*\""  << out_stream << endl;