# NERSC Weekly Email, Week of January 17, 2022 <a name="top"></a> # ## Contents ## - [Summary of Upcoming Events and Key Dates](#dates) ## [NERSC Status](#section1) ## - [NERSC Operations Continue, with Minimal Changes](#curtailment) ## [This Week's Events and Deadlines](#section2) ## - [Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Holiday Today; No Consulting or Account Support](#mlkday) - [(NEW) Attention Continuing Project PIs & Membership Managers: Mark Continuing Users Before COB Tomorrow!](#contusers) - [Allocation Year 2021 to 2022 Transition this Wednesday, January 19](#aytransition) - [Join the "Julia at NERSC" Call on Friday!](#julia) ## [Perlmutter](#section3) ## - [Perlmutter Machine Status](#perlmutter) - [Prepare Your Dotfiles for Perlmutter!](#dotfiles) ## [Updates at NERSC ](#section4) ## - [New Default Python module at AY transition; All Python modules will support conda activate](#python) - [NERSC Federated Identity Pilot Has Begun!](#fedid) ## [Calls for Participation](#section5) ## - [Please participate in the NERSC Annual User Survey](#usersurvey) ## [Upcoming Training Events ](#section6) ## ## [NERSC News ](#section7) ## - [Come Work for NERSC!](#careers) - [Upcoming Outages](#outages) - [About this Email](#about) ## Summary of Upcoming Events and Key Dates <a name="dates"/></a> ## January 2022 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 *17* 18 *19* 20 21 22 17 Jan Martin Luther King Holiday [1] 19 Jan First Day of AY22 [2] 21 Jan Julia at NERSC call [3] 23 24 *25* 26 27 28 29 25 Jan Perlmutter Maintenance [4] 30 31 February 2022 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 *21* 22 23 24 25 26 21 Feb Presidents Day Holiday [5] 27 28 March 2022 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1. **January 17, 2022**: [Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday](#mlkday) (No Consulting or Account Support) 2. **January 19, 2022**: First day of Allocation Year 2022 3. **January 21, 2022**: [Julia at NERSC Call](#julia) 4. **January 25, 2022**: Perlmutter Maintenance 5. **February 21, 2022**: Presidents Day Holiday (No Consulting or Account Support) 10. All times are **Pacific Time zone** - **Upcoming Planned Outage Dates** (see [Outages section](#outages) for more details) - **Wednesday (AY Transition)**: Iris, Cori, DTNs, HPSS Archive (User), NoMachine, Spin - **Other Significant Dates** - **May 30, 2022**: Memorial Day Holiday (No Consulting or Account Support) - **June 20, 2022**: Juneteenth Holiday (No Consulting or Account Support) - **July 4, 2022**: Independence Day Holiday (No Consulting or Account Support) - **September 5, 2022**: Labor Day Holiday (No Consulting or Account Support) - **November 24-25, 2022**: Thanksgiving Holiday (No Consulting or Account Support) - **December 23, 2022-January 2, 2023**: Winter Shutdown (Limited Consulting and Account Support) ([back to top](#top)) --- ## NERSC Status <a name="section1"/></a> ## ### NERSC Operations Continue, with Minimal Changes <a name="curtailment"/></a> Berkeley Lab, where NERSC is located, is operating under public health restrictions. NERSC continues to remain open while following site-specific protection plans. We remain in operation, with the majority of NERSC staff working remotely, and staff essential to operations onsite. We do not expect significant changes to our operations in the next few months. You can continue to expect regular online consulting and account support as well as schedulable online appointments. Trainings continue to be held online. Regular maintenances on the systems continue to be performed while minimizing onsite staff presence, which could result in longer downtimes than would occur under normal circumstances. Because onsite staffing is so minimal, we request that you continue to refrain from calling NERSC Operations except to report urgent system issues. For **current NERSC systems status**, please see the online [MOTD](https://www.nersc.gov/live-status/motd/) and [current known issues](https://docs.nersc.gov/current/) webpages. ([back to top](#top)) --- ## This Week's Events and Deadlines <a name="section2"/></a> ## ### Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Holiday Today; No Consulting or Account Support <a name="mlkday"/></a> Consulting and account support will be unavailable **today**, January 17, due to the Berkeley Lab-observed Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday. Regular consulting and account support services will resume tomorrow. ### (NEW) Attention Continuing Project PIs & Membership Managers: Mark Continuing Users Before COB Tomorrow! <a name="contusers"/></a> PIs and others who manage the membership of continuing projects should mark the users currently in their project who they wish to have continue **before the end of the day tomorrow** to ensure that they can transition into the new allocation year without disruption. If you do not take action, then no users will continue in your project. Jobs in the queue at the time of the AY transition belonging to non-continuing users will be deleted. To take action, please log into [Iris](https://iris.nersc.gov) and go to your project's Roles tab. Click the checkboxes of users you wish to have continue in your project, and then select "Update all" from the menu to the right of the user list. If you miss the deadline, you can add back your users after the AY transition completes. ### Allocation Year 2021 to 2022 Transition this Wednesday, January 19 <a name="aytransition"/></a> The current Allocation Year (AY21) ends at 7 am Pacific Time **this Wednesday, January 19, 2022**. PIs for new and continuing projects have received notification of the status of their project request. Project PIs/Proxies/Membership managers for continuing projects should [select their continuing users](https://docs.nersc.gov/iris/iris-for-pis/#set-your-user-list-for-the-next-allocation-year) **before close of business tomorrow**. This can be performed in the project's "Roles" tab. Note that the "alert" triangle will continue to appear at the top of the Iris webpage even if you have completed this task, until the new allocation year. There are a few changes for AY22. Of note: - **Charge factors have been recalibrated to the new Perlmutter machine.** The new currency, "CPU Node Hours", are 1/400th the size of the former "NERSC Hours" currency. Using one hour of time on a Cori Haswell node will cost 0.34 CPU Node Hours, and one hour of time on a Cori KNL will cost 0.2 CPU Node Hours. When we begin charging for Perlmutter (which will likely happen for the second half of the year), the charge for a single Perlmutter CPU node for one hour will be 1.0. - **Two separate allocations for CPU and GPU architectures.** Projects will have allocations on CPU and GPU architectures, which are separate and cannot be traded or exchanged. - **New default Python Module at AY Transition.** Please see the [entry](#python) on this topic below. - **Cori defaults will change in March, 2022.** Cori defaults will remain the same at the AY transition, but the machine will undergo what we hope will be its final major system upgrade during the March maintenance, at which time the default user environment will be updated. For more information, please see the [Allocation Year Transition](https://www.nersc.gov/news-publications/announcements/allocation-year-transition-2021-to-2022) page. ### Join the "Julia at NERSC" Call on Friday! <a name="julia"/></a> NERSC will host a "Julia at NERSC" call on Friday, January 21 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm (Pacific time) on Zoom ([link to meeting](https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/97357505996?pwd=dm5aUkpPVk8rN3R1RHR1K0YxMUZsQT09)). The agenda includes 1. Future Julia support at NERSC (what we have planned, and what you would like to see) 2. Community involvement in Julia support at NERSC (e.g., documented use cases, design patterns, etc.) 3. Planning future meetings (format, frequency, etc.) 4. Any other business All NERSC users are welcome to attend. Please also let us know if you would like to make any additions to the agenda. This meeting will also explore future Julia at NERSC calls, so please bring your ideas about interesting topics for future discussions. To stay up to date on all the latest Julia at NERSC info, please subscribe to the [Julia at NERSC calendar](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=Y19uYzVsMTAwcjc1NW9xNzh2a3BsMXUxaXRrc0Bncm91cC5jYWxlbmRhci5nb29nbGUuY29t). ([back to top](#top)) --- ## Perlmutter <a name="section3"/></a> ## ### Perlmutter Machine Status <a name="perlmutter"/></a> The initial phase of the Perlmutter supercomputer is in the NERSC machine room, running user jobs. We have added many early users onto the machine. We hope to add even more users soon. Anyone interested in using Perlmutter may apply using the [Perlmutter Access Request Form](https://nersc.servicenowservices.com/nav_to.do?uri=%2Fcom.glideapp.servicecatalog_cat_item_view.do%3Fv%3D1%26sysparm_id%3D7155797e1b23f490263aa82eac4bcbd7%26sysparm_link_parent%3De15706fc0a0a0aa7007fc21e1ab70c2f%26sysparm_catalog%3De0d08b13c3330100c8b837659bba8fb4%26sysparm_catalog_view%3Dcatalog_default%26sysparm_view%3Dcatalog_default). The second phase of the machine, consisting of CPU-only nodes, will arrive early this year. After all the new nodes arrive, all of Perlmutter will be taken out of service and integrated over a period that we anticipate could take up to 8 weeks. We are developing a plan for integration that will reduce the amount of time the entire system is down. We will let you know when this plan is finalized. This newsletter item will be updated each week with the latest Perlmutter status. ### Prepare Your Dotfiles for Perlmutter! <a name="dotfiles"/></a> To help ready your account for Perlmutter, please review your dotfiles. The same home file system is mounted across all NERSC systems, so your `.bashrc`/`.cshrc`/etc. files (dotfiles) need to work on all systems. The NERSC\_HOST variable can help you distinguish between systems and to set customizations for each system. The NERSC\_HOST variable is set automatically to "perlmutter" on Perlmutter and to "cori" on Cori. Some users may have older dot files that are setting the NERSC\_HOST variable without first checking to see whether it already has a value, which will cause problems on Perlmutter. Please ensure that this is not the case in your dotfiles. Feel free to reach out to [NERSC consulting](https://help.nersc.gov) with any questions or issues. ([back to top](#top)) --- ## Updates at NERSC <a name="section4"/></a> ## ### New Default Python module at AY transition; All Python modules will support conda activate <a name="python"/></a> Python users take note: On Jan 19, 2022 at the Allocation Year rollover, NERSC will change our default Python and Python3 modules on Cori to python/3.9-anaconda-2021.11. Please note that older Python modules will remain available, but users must specify the full module name to continue to use them. [Updates](https://docs.anaconda.com/anaconda/reference/release-notes/#anaconda-2021-11-nov-17-2021) in this module include: - Python 3.9 - Support for conda activate - Mamba 0.7.6 (a faster alternative to conda) - netcdf4 1.5.8 - mpi4py 3.1.3 - authlib 0.15.4 (support for NERSC's [Superfacility API](https://docs-dev.nersc.gov/sfapi/)) This module is available via `module load python/3.9-anaconda-2021.11`, and we encourage you to test it now. At the AY transition, we will retroactively change the behavior of **all** Cori Python modules to support `conda activate`. Please see [these pending updates to our documentation](https://gitlab.com/NERSC/nersc.gitlab.io/-/merge_requests/1665) for more details. As always, if you have a question, please contact us via our [helpdesk](https://help.nersc.gov). **Note for pip users:** pip packages installed via `--user` will be installed at `$HOME/.local/cori/3.9-anaconda-2021.11` (defined by `$PYTHONUSERBASE`). Note that the python/3.9-anaconda-2021.11 module is already the default on Perlmutter and `conda activate` functionality is already supported there. There are no scheduled Python module changes on Perlmutter. ### NERSC Federated Identity Pilot Has Begun! <a name="fedid"/></a> Berkeley Lab staff can now follow a one-time process to link their Lab identity to their NERSC identity, then subsequently use their Lab credentials to log into resources such as Iris, ServiceNow, and the NERSC web site. We anticipate that soon, more than two-thirds of our users will be able to use their institutional login credentials to log into these NERSC services. **The appearance of the NERSC login page for these services has now changed**: instead of the form requesting your login name and password you will see a menu where you can choose the institution to use for login. During this first phase, if you are not Berkeley Lab staff, simply select "NERSC" as the authentication source, and you will be sent to the familiar NERSC authentication form. If you are Lab staff, we encourage you to select the "Berkeley Lab" option and try it out! ([back to top](#top)) --- ## Calls for Participation <a name="section5"/></a> ## ### Please participate in the NERSC Annual User Survey <a name="usersurvey"/></a> NERSC has engaged a professional survey company, the National Business Research Institute (NBRI), to conduct our annual user survey. Users can search for **a reminder email from <NERSC@nbriresearch.com> in their inboxes** with a personalized link to the user survey. The latest reminder was sent last week to those who have not yet completed the survey. We value your response to the survey, which helps inform future plans for improvements to benefit our users. Please take the survey to let us know what we've done well and how we can better serve you! ([back to top](#top)) --- ## Upcoming Training Events <a name="section6"/></a> ## ([back to top](#top)) --- ## NERSC News <a name="section7"/></a> ## ### Come Work for NERSC! <a name="careers"/></a> NERSC currently has several openings for postdocs, system administrators, and more! If you are looking for new opportunities, please consider the following openings: - [Scientific Data Architect](http://m.rfer.us/LBLl2w4Fo): Collaborate with scientists to meet their Data, AI, and Analytics needs on NERSC supercomputers. - [Exascale Computing Postdoctoral Fellow](http://m.rfer.us/LBLeIu4BW): Collaborate with ECP math library and scientific application teams to enable the solution of deep, meaningful problems targeted by the ECP program and other DOE/Office of Science program areas. - [Data & Analytics Team Group Lead](http://m.rfer.us/LBLxCV4BX): Provide vision and guidance and lead a team that provides data management, analytics and AI software, support, and expertise to NERSC users. - [Cyber Security Engineer](http://m.rfer.us/LBLCw447V): Help protect NERSC from malicious and unauthorized activity. - [Machine Learning Engineer](http://m.rfer.us/LBLXv743y): Apply machine learning and AI to NERSC systems to improve on their ability to deliver productive science output. - [HPC Performance Engineer](http://m.rfer.us/LBLsGT43z): Join a multidisciplinary team of computational and domain scientists to speed up scientific codes on cutting-edge computing architectures. (**Note:** You can browse all our job openings by first navigating to <https://jobs.lbl.gov/jobs/search/>. Under "Business," select "View More" and scroll down to find and select the checkbox for "NE-NERSC".) We know that NERSC users can make great NERSC employees! We look forward to seeing your application. ### Upcoming Outages <a name="outages"/></a> - **Cori** - 01/19/22 07:00-20:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - Systems will be unavailable during the Allocation Year transition - **Perlmutter** - 01/25/22 07:00-20:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - **Data Transfer Nodes** - 01/19/22 07:00-08:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - 01/19/22 08:00-20:00 PST, System Degraded - cscratch1 will be unavailable - **HPSS Archive (User)** - 01/19/22 09:00-11:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - **Iris** - 01/19/22 07:00-09:30 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - IRIS will be unavailable during the Allocation Year transition - **NoMachine** - 01/19/22 09:00-10:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - Engineers will be performing minor internal NoMachine configuration updates. - **Spin** - 01/19/22 10:00-13:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - Rancher 2 workloads and Rancher 1 services using global filesystems may be sluggish or hang during a storage server upgrade (10:00-11:00); Rancher 1 and 2 CLI and UI may be briefly unavailable during Rancher 1 and 2 internal system software upgrades and Rancher 2 deployments may fail during a Harbor (registry.nersc.gov) upgrade (11:00-13:00). Visit <http://my.nersc.gov/> for latest status and outage information. ### About this Email <a name="about"/></a> You are receiving this email because you are the owner of an active account at NERSC. This mailing list is automatically populated with the email addresses associated with active NERSC accounts. In order to remove yourself from this mailing list, you must close your account, which can be done by emailing <accounts@nersc.gov> with your request. _______________________________________________ Users mailing list Users@nersc.gov