Linux Cluster
Governance
The use of the cluster is guided by the Cluster Policy Committee. The members of this committee are:
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Jeffrey Chuang (Biology)
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Patricia Doherty (Institute for Scientific Research)
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Evan Kantrowitz, Chair (Chemistry)
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David Martin (Computer Science)
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Shannon Seitz (Economics)
If you have comments on cluster policy, please contact Barry Schaudt or one of the committee members.
Active Research Projects
We ask each research group for a short abstract of work being done on the Linux Cluster. These abstracts are published at:
www. bc.edu/offices/researchservices/cluster/research.html.
Hardware
The Linux Cluster (scorpio.bc.edu) has 70 nodes available for use. There are three types of nodes:
- Dual-core nodes (from Rackable, Inc). 26 Nodes. Each has two dual-core AMD processors (2.6 GHz). 25 of these nodes have 8 GB of memory, one has 32 GB.
- Quad-core nodes (from Rackable, Inc). 33 Nodes. Each has two quad-core AMD Processors (2.0 GHz) with 16 GB of memory.
- Dual-core nodes (from ThinkMate. Courtesy of the Chemistry Department). 11 Nodes. 9 have two dual-core AMD Processors (2.2 GHz) with 4 GB of memory. One node has two 1.8 GHz AMD dual core processors with 4 GB of memory. One node has 8 cores and 2.2 GHz processors with 8 GB of memory
One node is for interactive use (ssh to scorpio.bc.edu). From this node, jobs can be submitted to the job scheduler to run on the 69 compute nodes. In addition to the interactive and compute nodes, the cluster has a file server with 5 TB of disk space available. The Cluster was purchased from Rackable Systems, Inc.
Software
In addition to compilers, many public domain and commercial application software packages will be installed. To request sofware for the cluster, contact Barry Schaudt (schaudt@bc.edu, 617-552-0242). The Cluster Software Web Pages describes the software installed with brief instructions on how to use the software.
Getting an Account
The Linux Custer is available to all faculty members at Boston College and their research groups. There is a simple application process to get an account on the cluster.
User Guide
The User Guide gives information on how to use the cluster (how to login, how to compile, how to run jobs, and more).
Queues
Except for short test runs, all jobs must be submitted to the queues. For information on the general information on the queue, such as how jobs are scheduled, see: www.bc.edu/offices/researchservices/cluster/queues.html. For information on how to submit jobs, see the Torque (PBS) User Guide.
Purchase of Equipment and adding it to the Cluster
We encourage researchers to write grants to purchase nodes (or other appropriate hardware) that can be added to the cluster. Buying equipment and adding it to the Cluster gives researchers access to a larger system than they could buy independently, counts as part of Boston College's match to the grant, and removes system administration responsibilities from researchers allowing them to focus on their work. It also gives the entire Boston College community access to a larger resource. For more information, see www.bc.edu/offices/researchservices/cluster/purchase.html.
Tape Backup
Home directories are backed up nightly. If a file in your home directory exists, there will be a copy on the backup system. For files that exist and change, we save the current file, and, for 15 days, the previous version. We can restore either the current file or, if the requested is made within 15 days of the last change to the file, the previous version of the file. If a file is deleted, then we can recover the file for up to 30 days from the day it was deleted. Files in /scratch are not backed up.
Policies/Proper Use Guidelines
Users of the Linux Cluster are expected abide by the Cluster Policies which include Boston College's Computing Policies and Guideline.
Course Work
We will create accounts to accommodate the use of the cluster in courses. As usual, there will be no shared accounts. These accounts are created only for the semester. If an account is needed after the course has been completed, the student should become part of a research group.
If you plan to use the cluster to support your classes, please contact Barry Schaudt (617-552-0242, schaudt@bc.edu).
Scheduled Downtimes
Downtimes are scheduled for the second Tuesday of every even month. For 2009, the schedule downtimes are January 13, March 9, May 12, July 14, September 15, and November 17. The scheduled downtimes will be used only if necessary, and will be used to perform routine maintenance and apply patches and upgrades. Emergency downtimes may be required.