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ARCHER2 Weekly Newsletter

By ARCHER2 Service on July 29, 2026

Tags: newsletters 

UKRI plans for the computing ecosystem

There are two opportunities to find out more about the UKRI plans for the computing ecosystem:

  1. Webinar on 6th August
  2. Report from the Town Hall held on 2nd June

We would encourage everyone to attend the webinar as there will be an opportunity to ask questions as part of the event.

1. August Webinar

  • Event title: UKRI National Compute Ecosystem Webinar
  • Date: Thursday 6 August 15:00-16:30
  • Location: Online, on Microsoft Teams
  • Registration link

Details: Following the UKRI National Compute Ecosystem Town Hall meeting in London on 2nd June 2026, UKRI is running this webinar to provide an opportunity for more people in the research and innovation community to engage with us on our plans for the Next National Supercomputing Service (NNSS) and the National Compute Resources (NCRs).

In this webinar, we will be sharing the slides that were presented in the town hall meeting and a panel Q&A, so there will be time for attendees to share their thoughts and ask questions.

The webinar will be recorded and transcribed.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us via DRI@ukri.org.

2. Report from June Town Hall meeting

The meeting report for the UKRI National Compute Ecosystem Town Hall meeting held on 2 June 2026 can be accessed via this link on the UKRI DRI Zenodo page: UKRI National Compute Ecosystem Town Hall Meeting Report June 2026

The report provides a high-level summary of the discussions from the town hall meeting. Please note that this report is a synthesis of the event discussions and does not constitute a statement of UKRI policy or policy intent. The insights gathered will, however, inform UKRI’s approach in this area.

ARCHER2 Image and Video competition 2026

Share your images and videos to support excellence and promote the contribution of 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: 28 July 2026
  • Submission Deadline: 4th September 2026
  • Judging: September/October 2026
  • Prizes:
    • Best image : £150
    • Best video : £150
    • Best early career researcher submission : £150
    • Overall winner, selected from the above three winners : additional £100

The ARCHER2 Image and Video Competition is an event for all users of ARCHER2 to share their images or videos of “ARCHER2 Enabling Research”

Full details and entry forms

HPC Carpentry

Glasgow, 17 - 18 August 2026 10:00 - 16:00

This two-day course introduces accessing remote advanced computing facilities via the command line and High Performance Computing (HPC). The first day will introduce how to use the shell in a HPC context. The second day will cover how to use HPC systems effectively. Please note that the first day is optional in case you’re already familiar with the shell.

After completing this course, participants will:

  • Understand motivations for using HPC in research.
  • Understand how HPC systems are put together to achieve performance and how they differ from desktops/laptops.
  • Know how to connect to remote HPC systems and transfer data.
  • Be able to use the Bash command line on remote systems.
  • Know how to use a scheduler to work on a shared system.
  • Be able to use software modules to access different HPC software.
  • Be able to work effectively on a remote shared resource.

Full details and registration

ARCHER2 end of service: 21 Nov 2026

To help users, we have compiled a set of documentation specifically covering the end of the ARCHER2 service

The documentation covers:

  • Timeline for the end of the ARCHER2 service
  • Data on ARCHER2: what do I need to do to save data I have stored on ARCHER2 file systems?
  • EPCC SAFE: what happens to my personal data in SAFE?
  • HPC access beyond ARCHER2

Key impacts for ARCHER2 users:

  • Data on home, work, solid state scratch file systems will not be accessible beyond the end of the ARCHER2 service
  • RDFaaS will continue beyond the lifetime of ARCHER2 but users will need to transfer data from /epsrc and /general to a different local mount point on ARCHER2 - more details will be provided as soon as they are available
  • No login access will be available beyond the end of the ARCHER2 service

If you have questions about the end of service that are not answered by the documentation, then please contact the ARCHER2 service desk

ARCHER2 User Survey 2026

We are committed to continually improving the ARCHER2 Service and would like to request your input to help us understand what is important to you, where the Service is working well and where there is scope for improvement.

The ARCHER2 User Survey consists of just a few questions and should take only a few minutes of your time to complete. There are opportunities to add more detailed comments if you wish.

For each survey response received, we will donate £1 to Save The Children. Additionally, if you enter your ARCHER2 username in the final question, then you will be entered into the prize draw to win one of five £50 Amazon vouchers.

Complete the survey

Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete this survey. The responses will be used to try and improve the service for you and to help identify key areas for service development, and will be shared with UKRI for consideration in planning future services.

WHPC Rising Stars 2026 – Call for Applications

Applications are now open for the WHPC Rising Stars programme at SC26. This initiative celebrates and supports emerging voices in the HPC community, providing early-career professionals with the opportunity to showcase their work at a major international conference, build networks, and receive expert mentorship.

We invite submissions from technical and non-technical contributors across all areas of HPC. Applicants should submit an extended abstract (up to 2 pages), a CV, and a personal statement sharing their journey, goals, and the impact of their work.

The Rising Stars will present a 3-minute lightning talk at the WHPC Workshop at SC26 and may be considered for travel support of up to £3,000.

Application deadline: 14 August 2026

WHPC Workshop at SC26: 16 November 2026

Apply now

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

Further details of upcoming training

We always welcome researchers wishing to present their work in a webinar - please contact the Service Desk if you would be interested in presenting your work.

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Recordings of past courses

Recordings of past virtual tutorials