How to create a Tier-1 project
Beware that using the Cenaero-hosted Tier-1 cluster is subject to specific conditions. If you agree to these conditions, and hold a permanent position (e.g. Professor, etc.) within a member university, then you can submit a project though this web page, where a form must be filled. The form contains three sections, that are detailed here-after. The project creation request is then reviewed by the CÉCI and the project is created. An overview of the process can be seen here.
1. Identify the project
Name and Acronym
Please name your project and give it an acronym that will uniquely identify it through the process. You'll need to communicate that acronym to your colleagues whom you want to register to that project.
Project category
As explained on the dedicated Cenaero Tier-1 webpage Lucia access/Project categories, the supercomputer resources are allocated, in accordance with the applicable agreement established with the Walloon Region, to projects classified in two main categories, and in most of the cases the CECI users projects belong to the default "CAT 1 - non-economic activity with free access".
2. Provide a description
The description should include
- a short abstract whose content will help building summaries and reports;
- elements of justification of the Category you chose;
- any additional requirements you might have; optionaly with
- a justification for those additional requirements (see below.)
3. Setup the details
Requested CPU hours
Please provide an estimation of how much CPU hours your project will need. You will get regular reports of the CPU hours consumed by your project.
Requested disk space (permanent and temporary)
Each user automatically gets a permanent home directory with a non-negociable 50 GB quota.
Beside that space, by default, the project will be offered a 50GB permanent shared home directory on /projects. You can request more than 50GB, and if you ask for less than 300GB, it will automatically be granted. If you ask for more, please justify your request in the project description.
Besides that space, your project will have access to a temporary IO-performant scratch space (100GB by default on /SCRATCH). Please note that jobs that generate a log of disk IO must use that space. If you need more, you can request up to 1TB. If you need more than 1TB, you'll justify what you need it.
Each research unit furthermore gets a 100GB shared scratch space independently from any project.
Expiration date
You can optionally supply with another expiration date after which the project will be considered finished. By default, the expiration date is set to 3 years after project creation.
Users
You can directly add CÉCI users to your project if you know their login, but the users also can register by themselves afterwards using the account manangement interface (third item 'join an existing project'), in which case you are notified of their registration.
The field has auto-completion so you just need to type first few letters and then choose from the list. Your login is automatically added for you. You then need to tick the box stating that you accept the terms and conditions pertaining to the use of the Tier-1 facility.
4. Submit your request
Hit the Send button. Your request will be reviewed by a system administrator and forwarded to the team who operates the Tier-1 cluster Zenobe. You will then receive an email once the project is ready.
Projects FAQ
How do I request more resources?
To update the resources your project need simply go the the project create page and choose option 'update a project'. The process is identical to the creation process.
How do I add users to my project?
You can use the above-mentioned link to add users to the projects, but the easied option is to ask the user to register to the project by himself using the CÉCI account management web interface. Make sure to tell the user to choose the 'Join existing project' option and give him/her the acronym of your project.
Is it possible to make a reservation for special needs ?
Reservations can be requested for specific reasons, and with specific rules. See here.