Get a CI Allocation
Overview
Before getting a CI compute or data allocation, define the type of programs you will be running, the amount of time you’ll need and if you’ll have special data needs. Allocation requests are subject to a committee review process, which differs according to the size of your request. All CI allocation requests are reviewed centrally, independent of which resource you are requesting.
High-level summary of Resources section
<condensed from CI Resources & http://www.paci.org/HardwareList.html >
Summary from Data section ??
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Who can use an NSF Cyberinfrastructure allocation?
<info from http://www.paci.org/Allocations.html#eligible >
A Principle Investigator (PI) must:
- Be a researcher or educator at a U.S. institution (includes postdocs)
- NOT be a high school, undergraduate, or graduate student; a qualified advisor must serve in this capacity. (see CI Outreach for special programs)
See CI Allocations for full information
How do I choose a compute resource?
To choose a resource, you’ll need to match the type of code you’ll be running with the CI resource.
Code classifications:
- Code doesn’t scale well or number of processors required is less than 512 :=> request <X, Y, Z>
- Computations requiring large processor counts (>512) or large memory per node (>4GB) :=> request <A, B, C>
- Interactive jobs with large memory requirements (>4GB) :=>request <Q, R, S>
- Code that scales very well, only fine-grained parallelism with strict restriction on memory per node :=> request <L, M, N>
Resource specifications:
- Processors per node <summary and how it affects my computing>
- Clock speed (MHZ) <summary and how it affects my computing>
- Intranode PingPong bw (MB/s) <summary and how it affects my computing>
- Node-to-node PP bw (MB/s) <summary and how it affects my computing>
- Intranode PP latency (µs) <summary and how it affects my computing>
- Node-to-node PP latency (µs) <summary and how it affects my computing>
- Storage <??>
See the CI Resources section for recommendations listed by resource and for a comparison chart of specifications.
Which machine is the fastest/biggest/newest?
How do I apply?
Computing allocations are awarded based on the number of Service Units (SUs) requested, with 1 SU equal to 1 CPU-hour. Allocations are typically for one year, although experienced users may apply for a multi-year award. Time can be requested on more than one machine as long as the total time does not exceed the award limits.
Development (Expedited) Allocations are appropriate for eligible PIs to develop their applications, to experiment with CI platforms or to use CI systems as part of classroom instruction. To make a request to the Development Allocation Committee, or DAC, you need (a) to know which platform you’d like to run on, (b) to have an estimate of the computing time you need, up to 30,000 (?) CPU-hours (aka SUs), and (c) to have a short abstract of your computational project.
Armed with this knowledge of your eligibility and resource request, go to https://pops-submit.paci.org/.
- If do not already have a POPS login, select "Create POPS login" from the left column to create one and login.
- Select "New."
- Select "0 - 10,000 (TeraGrid only: 0 - 30,000)" and press Continue.
- Select your chosen platform;
- Fill out the required fields in the following sections:
- PI Information
- Proposal Information
- Resource Request
That's it. No formal proposal attachment is required. Supporting grant information is helpful but optional. You can "Save to Date" at any time, or press "Final Submission" to complete your proposal.
For more information on the expedited review process or for larger requests, visit the CI Allocations section.
When can I start using my allocation?
- Development allocation requests are reviewed year-round; your proposal will be reviewed and processed, usually within two weeks. Once it’s accepted you’ll receive a packet via U.S. Mail with information you’ll need to get started.
- Larger allocations are reviewed on a quarterly schedule. See the CI Allocations section for details.
