ARCHER2 Weekly Newsletter


ARCHER2 for Package Users

Online 13 October 2022 10:00 - 16:00 BST

This lesson provides an introduction to using ARCHER2 for users who:

  • have already used other HPC systems; and
  • want to use pre-installed simulation/modelling packages rather than compiling their own.

The lesson aims to answer the following questions:

  • What hardware is available on ARCHER2?
  • What does it consist of (login nodes, compute nodes, file systems, backup)?
  • How does this impact me as a user?
  • How can I access ARCHER2 interactively and transfer data?
  • What does the ARCHER2 software environment look like and how do I access software?
  • How do I write job submission scripts and submit them to the ARCHER2 scheduler?
  • How can I be a good ARCHER2 citizen?
  • How can I check what resources I am using and look at historical usage?
  • What are the next steps for me using ARCHER2 and how can I get more help?

Full details and registration: https://www.archer2.ac.uk/training/#upcoming-training

ARCHER2 Image and Video Competition 2022

Share your images and videos to support excellence and promote the contribution of ARCHER and ARCHER2 to outstanding research. The winner of the competition will be awarded £250.

The winning image or video, along with a selection of other entries, will also be featured on the ARCHER2 website and in EPCC and ARCHER2 publications. Credit will be given to the entrant in all cases.

Key Details

  • Competition Opens: 8th August 2022
  • Submission Deadline: Deadline this Friday 30 September 2022
  • Judging: October/November 2022
  • Prizes:
    • Best image : £150
    • Best video : £150
    • Best early career researcher submission : £150
    • Overall winner, selected from the above three winners : additional £100

Full details and entry form: https://www.archer2.ac.uk/community/image-comp/

ARCHER2 Embedded CSE (eCSE) and Early Career eCSE Panel Observers calls

ARCHER2 Embedded CSE (eCSE) call: funding for software development projects of up to 18 person months available

We are very pleased to announce that the 8th ARCHER2 eCSE call (ARCHER2-eCSE08) is now open for proposals. The deadline for submitting documents for technical evaluation is 16:00 on 4th October 2022 with the final deadline for proposal submission being 16:00 on 25th October 2022.

Embedded CSE (eCSE) support provides funding for RSEs (Research Software Engineers, PDRAs or equivalent) to carry out software development of codes to be run on the ARCHER2 system.

We are very pleased to announce that for this call eCSE projects can be requested for up to 18 person months of effort per project. We hope that this increase in effort will provide researchers with the opportunity to carry out more in depth improvements to software and to allow for an increase in the scope of a project’s objectives. There is flexibility in the way the effort is requested. For example, a project may have more than one person working on it or the effort could be spread over a greater number of calendar months, i.e. a staff member could work on the project at less than 100% alongside other commitments or it could be worked on by a staff member who doesn’t work full time. Please just get in contact with the ARCHER2 Service Desk if you wish to discuss possible scenarios.

The code(s) may already be running on ARCHER2, where the aim is to improve performance or scalability, to add functionality or to improve the usability and maintainability, or the code(s) may be running elsewhere (e.g. on a Tier-2 system) and the proposal could be to bring the software up to a level where it would perform well on ARCHER2.

For this call, software which results in research which is within the remit of EPSRC is eligible. Funding can be requested for staff located at the institution of the PI, third parties, or can include staff from the centralised CSE support team or a mixture of the above.

More details of how to apply are available by following the link to the eCSE calls page from here

https://www.archer2.ac.uk/ecse/

together with details of the application and review process, assessment criteria eligibility, etc.

ARCHER2 Early Career eCSE Panel Observers call

The eCSE Panel Meeting is the meeting where eCSE proposals are reviewed and decisions are made on which proposals to fund. As part of our commitment to encouraging and developing Early Career Researchers, we are offering a small number of places to such researchers to attend the eCSE panel meeting as Early Career Observers. The aim is to give Early Career Researchers a better insight into this competitive selection process, to assist them in the preparation of future funding proposals.

The deadline for applying to attend the panel meeting as an observer is 16:00 on 4 Oct 2022 and details of the call are given here:

https://www.archer2.ac.uk/ecse/observers/

eCSE call dates

Deadline for submitting eCSE08 documents for technical evaluation: 16:00 on Tuesday 4th October 2022

Deadline for Early Career Observers call: 16:00 on Tuesday 4th October 2022

Deadline for final eCSE08 submission: 16:00 Tuesday 25th October 2022

A recent webinar can be found here: https://www.archer2.ac.uk/training/courses/220428-ecse-webinar/

which includes a walk through of the submission of a proposal.

Access to HPC Call

Access to HPC Call (EPSRC remit only) opened 4th July.
ARCHER2 or Tier-2 computing resource for a maximum duration of one year and a minimum of 4000 CU.
TA Deadline has passed (20th September 16:00)
Submit Deadline - 18th October 16:00
More details an application forms https://www.archer2.ac.uk/support-access/access#calls-for-archer2-time-only

Recently added Known Issues

The “Known Issues” page of the ARCHER2 Documentation https://docs.archer2.ac.uk/known-issues/ lists all current open known issues including a description of the issue, its symptoms and any work-arounds.

  • No recent issues

Upcoming ARCHER2 Training

  • Message-passing Programming with MPI, Online, always-open self-service course
  • Shared Memory Programming with OpenMP, Online, always-open self-service course
  • QM/MM with GROMACS + CP2K, Online, Always open - self-service course
  • ARCHER2 for Package Users, Online, 13 October 2022 10:00 - 16:00 BST

Further details https://www.archer2.ac.uk/training/#upcoming-training

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ARCHER2_HPC

Recordings of past courses and virtual tutorials can be found here: https://www.archer2.ac.uk/training/materials/