# NERSC Weekly Email, Week of February 5, 2024<a name="top"></a> # ## Contents ## ## [Summary of Upcoming Events and Key Dates](#section1) ## - [Scheduled Outages](#outages) - [Key Dates](#dates) ## [This Week's Events and Deadlines](#section2) ## ## [Perlmutter](#section3) ## - [Perlmutter Machine Status](#perlmutter) - [Perlmutter Scratch Purge Now Enforced](#scratchpurge) - [(NEW/UPDATED) Podman-HPC Available Again on Perlmutter](#podmanreturns) ## [NERSC@50](#section4) ## - [Save the Date: Celebrate 50 Years of NERSC with Us October 22-24](#nug50) - [Read about NERSC History](#nerscfirsts) ## [NERSC Updates](#section5) ## - [(NEW/UPDATED) Attention Students: NERSC Summer Internships Available!](#nerscinterns) ## [NERSC User Community ](#section6) ## - [Need Help? Check out NERSC Documentation, Send in a Ticket or Consult Your Peers!](#gettinghelp) - [Submit a Science Highlight Today!](#scihigh) ## [Calls for Proposals](#section7) ## - [(NEW/UPDATED) Project Proposals for Quantum Information Science Research Now Open](#qis) ## [Upcoming Training Events](#section8) ## - [Learn to Use Spin to Build Science Gateways at NERSC: Next SpinUp Workshop Starts February 14!](#spinup) - [February 15 HPC Workforce Webinar on HPC Culture & Identity](#hpcwf) - [New User Training & Updated Best Practices on Perlmutter, February 15-16](#newusertrain) - [Join Us for Data Day, February 21-22](#dataday) - [Join Us February 23 for Perlmutter and Data Day Office Hours!](#officehrs) - [Training on Performance Portability for Next-Generation Heterogeneous Systems, February 26](#ppnextgen) - [Apply for Argonne Training Program on Extreme-Scale Computing by February 28](#atpesc) - [(NEW/UPDATED) Join NERSC for a Training on the Forge Toolset for Debugging & Profiling, March 13](#forgetrain) - [(NEW/UPDATED) Performance Portability Series: AMReX Tutorial, March 14](#amrex) - [Learn Parallel Programming in Fortran, March 26-27](#ppfortran) ## [NERSC News ](#section9) ## - [Come Work for NERSC!](#careers) - [About this Email](#about) ([back to top](#top)) --- ## Summary of Upcoming Events and Key Dates <a name="section1"/></a> ## ### Scheduled Outages <a name="outages"/></a> (See <https://www.nersc.gov/live-status/motd/> for more info): - **Perlmutter** - 02/21/24 06:00-16:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - Perlmutter will be unavailable during the listed times due to scheduled maintenance. - 03/20/24 06:00-16:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - Perlmutter will be unavailable during the listed times due to scheduled maintenance. - 04/17/24 06:00-16:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - Perlmutter will be unavailable during the listed times due to scheduled maintenance. - 05/15/24 06:00-16:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - Perlmutter will be unavailable during the listed times due to scheduled maintenance. - **HPSS Archive (User)** - 03/13/24 09:00-13:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - System down for quarterly maintenance - **HPSS Regent (Backup)** - 02/15/24 09:00-12:00 PST, System Degraded - Some retrievals may be delayed during tape library maintenance. - 03/13/24 09:00-13:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - System down for quarterly maintenance - **registry.nersc.gov** - 02/08/24 15:00-15:45 PST, Scheduled Maintenance - The "Registry" system will be unavailable during certificate renewal. ### Key Dates <a name="dates"/></a> February 2024 March 2024 April 2024 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 25 26 27 28 29 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 28 29 30 31 #### This Week #### Next Week - **February 14, 2024**: [Spin Up Workshop](#spinup) - **February 15, 2024**: [HPC Workforce Webinar on HPC Culture & Identity](#hpcwf) - **February 15-16, 2024**: [New User Training & Perlmutter Refresher](#newusertrain) #### Future - **February 19, 2024**: Presidents' Day Holiday (No Consulting or Account Support) - **February 21-22, 2024**: [Data Day](#dataday) - **February 23, 2024**: [Office Hours for New User Training & Data Day](#officehrs) - **February 26, 2024**: [Performance Portability for Next-Gen Heterogeneous Systems Training](#ppnextgen) - **February 28, 2024**: [Applications Due for ATPESC](#atpesc) - **March 1, 2024**: [QIS@Perlmutter Proposals Due](#qis) - **March 13, 2024**: [Linaro Forge Debugger/Profiler Training](#forgetrain) - **March 14, 2024**: [AMReX Tutorial](#amrex) - **March 26-27, 2024**: [Introduction to Parallel Programming in Fortran](#ppfortran) - **October 22-24, 2024**: [NERSC 50th Anniversary Celebration & NUG Meeting](#nug50) ([back to top](#top)) --- ## This Week's Events and Deadlines <a name="section2"/></a> ## ([back to top](#top)) --- ## Perlmutter <a name="section3"/></a> ## ### Perlmutter Machine Status <a name="perlmutter"/></a> Perlmutter is available to all users with an active NERSC account. Some helpful NERSC pages for Perlmutter users: * [Perlmutter queue information](https://docs.nersc.gov/jobs/policy/#qos-limits-and-charge) * [Timeline of major changes](https://docs.nersc.gov/systems/perlmutter/timeline/) * [Current known issues](https://docs.nersc.gov/current/#perlmutter) This section of the newsletter will be updated regularly with the latest Perlmutter status. ### Perlmutter Scratch Purge Now Enforced <a name="scratchpurge"/></a> NERSC began enforcing its Perlmutter [scratch purge policy](https://docs.nersc.gov/filesystems/perlmutter-scratch/#file-system-purging) on February 1. As part of the policy, **NERSC reserves the right to delete any files on the scratch file system that have not been accessed for 8 weeks or longer.** File purging is a tool NERSC uses to clean up unwanted files and improve the performance of the file system. **Please remember that this process benefits everyone by keeping a performant scratch file system available for users, and do not attempt to circumvent the purge process.** Performance decreases as a file system becomes very full. Our plan is to use the purge process to prevent the file system from filling up above 70%. NERSC invites you to delete unnecessary files and move important data to longer-term storage (such as CFS, HPSS, or externally). NERSC recommends using [Globus](https://docs.nersc.gov/services/globus/) for migrating data, and following best practices when using [HPSS](https://docs.nersc.gov/filesystems/archive/). Assistance in migrating files from SCRATCH to another location is available via a [ticket](https://help.nersc.gov), and [quota increases](https://docs.nersc.gov/filesystems/quotas/#increases) on HPSS and the Community File System (CFS) are also available, should you need more space on non-purged storage resources. ### (NEW/UPDATED) Podman-HPC Available Again on Perlmutter <a name="podmanreturns"/></a> In December, NERSC identified an issue that adversely impacted the performance of Podman (as well as some other container environments) on Perlmutter, so Podman was disabled. The rolling reboot of Perlmutter last week included a fix for the issue, and Podman has been re-enabled. We appreciate your patience as we resolved the issue. ([back to top](#top)) --- ## NERSC@50 <a name="section4"/></a> ## ### Save the Date: Celebrate 50 Years of NERSC with Us October 22-24 <a name="nug50"/></a> In honor of NERSC's fiftieth anniversary, we are planning an exciting program of anniversary-related events culminating with the annual NERSC User Group meeting, to be held October 22-24, 2024. Please join us to enjoy blasts from the past as well as fun in the future during this one-of-a-kind event! ### Read about NERSC History <a name="nerscfirsts"/></a> NERSC history experts are publishing articles and timelines in celebration of NERSC's golden anniversary. Last week's addition to the list was an article entitled [Fifty Years of NERSC Firsts](https://www.nersc.gov/news-publications/nersc-news/nersc50/50-years-of-nersc-firsts/). For more on the NERSC 50th anniversary, please see the [NERSC 50th Anniversary](https://www.nersc.gov/news-publications/nersc-news/nersc50/) page. ([back to top](#top)) --- ## NERSC Updates <a name="section5"/></a> ## ### (NEW/UPDATED) Attention Students: NERSC Summer Internships Available! <a name="nerscinterns"/></a> Are you an undergraduate or graduate student who will be enrolled as a student in the fall? Are you interested in working with NERSC staff on interesting technical projects? NERSC is looking for motivated students to join us for the summer in a paid internship role. Qualifications vary depending on the project, and pay is based on years of education completed. We have created a [list of summer internship projects on our website](https://www.nersc.gov/about/work-at-nersc/internships/nersc-summer-internship-projects/). Projects are still being added to the list so please check back for further additions. ([back to top](#top)) --- ## NERSC User Community <a name="section6"/></a> ## ### Need Help? Check out NERSC Documentation, Send in a Ticket or Consult Your Peers! <a name="gettinghelp"/></a> Are you confused about setting up your MFA token? Is there something not quite right with your job script that causes the job submission filter to reject it? Are you struggling to understand the performance of your code on the GPU nodes? There are many ways that you can get help with issues at NERSC: - First, we recommend the NERSC [documentation](https://docs.nersc.gov) (<https://docs.nersc.gov/>). Most of the time, the answers for simpler issues, such as setting up your MFA token using Google Authenticator, can be found there. (The answers to more complex issues can usually be found in the documentation too!) - For more complicated issues, or issues that leave you unable to work, submitting a [ticket](https://help.nersc.gov) is a good way to get help fast. NERSC's consulting team will get back to you within four business-hours (8 am - 5 pm, Monday through Friday, except holidays) with a response. To submit a ticket, log in to <https://help.nersc.gov> (or, if the issue prevents you from logging in, send an email to <accounts@nersc.gov>). - For queries that might require some back-and-forth, NERSC provides an [appointment service](https://docs.nersc.gov/getting-started/#appointments-with-nersc-user-support-staff). Sign up for an appointment on a variety of topics, including "NERSC 101", Containers at NERSC, NERSC File Systems, GPU Basics, and GPUs in Python. - The **NERSC Users Group Slack**, while not an official channel for help, is a place where NERSC users often answer each others' questions, such as whether anyone else is seeing something strange, or how to get better job throughput. You can join the NUG Slack by following [this link](https://www.nersc.gov/users/NUG/nersc-users-slack/) (login required) - Sometimes, a **colleague** can figure out the issue faster than NERSC, because they already understand your workflow. It's possible that they know what flag you need to add to your Makefile for better performance, or how to set up your job submission script just so. ### Submit a Science Highlight Today! <a name="scihigh"/></a> Doing cool science at NERSC? NERSC is looking for cool, scientific and code development success stories to highlight to NERSC users, DOE Program Managers, and the broader scientific community in Science Highlights. If you're interested in your work being considered to be used as a featured Science highlight, please let us know via our [highlight form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScP4bRCtcde43nqUx4Z_sz780G9HsXtpecQ_qIPKvGafDVVKQ/viewform). ([back to top](#top)) --- ## Calls for Proposals <a name="section7"/></a> ## ### (NEW/UPDATED) Project Proposals for Quantum Information Science Research Now Open <a name="qis"/></a> NERSC is soliciting new project proposals to conduct research in the area of quantum information science using the Perlmutter supercomputer. Projects in all areas of quantum information science are encouraged to apply. Successful proposals can expect to be awarded from 1,000 to 20,000 GPU node hours. This is an open call and is not limited to current NERSC users. For full consideration, please apply by March 1, following the instructions in the [call for proposals](https://www.nersc.gov/research-and-development/quantum-information-science/qisperlmutter/quantum-information-science-perlmutter-2024/). ([back to top](#top)) --- ## Upcoming Training Events <a name="section8"/></a> ## ### Learn to Use Spin to Build Science Gateways at NERSC: Next SpinUp Workshop Starts February 14! <a name="spinup"/></a> Spin is a service platform at NERSC based on Docker container technology. It can be used to deploy science gateways, workflow managers, databases, and all sorts of other services that can access NERSC systems and storage on the back end. New large-memory nodes have been added to the platform, increasing the potential of the platform for new memory-constrained applications. To learn more about how Spin works and what it can do, please listen to the NERSC User News [podcast on Spin](https://anchor.fm/nersc-news/episodes/Spin--Interview-with-Cory-Snavely-and-Val-Hendrix-e1pa7p). Attend an upcoming SpinUp workshop to learn to use Spin for your own science gateway projects! Applications for sessions that begin Wednesday, February 14 [are now open](https://www.nersc.gov/spinup-workshop-feb-2024/) SpinUp is hands-on and interactive, so space is limited. Participants will attend an instructional session and a hack-a-thon to learn about the platform, create running services, and learn maintenance and troubleshooting techniques. Local and remote participants are welcome. If you can't make these upcoming sessions, never fear! More sessions are planned for April, June, September, and December. See a video of Spin in action at the [Spin documentation](https://docs.nersc.gov/services/spin/) page. ### February 15 HPC Workforce Webinar on HPC Culture & Identity <a name="hpcwf"/></a> The [HPC Workforce Development and Retention action group](https://hpc-workforce-development-and-retention.github.io/hpc-wdr/) will host Dr. Denice Ward Hood, Director of the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) at the University of Illinois, to give a webinar on HPC Culture and Identity. Issues and questions to be addressed in HPC are sufficiently complex and nuanced so that multiple perspectives, world views and lived experiences are needed to adequately attend to them. HPC is attractive as a field because it appeals to individuals’ unique curiosity, skills, and aptitude. Your whole, authentic self is an asset and a source of innovation. This talk with be a space for discussion about culture and identities and the ways in which they inform and guide our work. For more information and to register, please see: <https://hpc-workforce-development-and-retention.github.io/hpc-wdr/events/event-hpc-culture> ### New User Training & Updated Best Practices on Perlmutter, February 15-16 <a name="newusertrain"/></a> NERSC is hosting a two half-day online training event for new and existing users on efficiently using NERSC resources and Perlmutter on February 15 and 16. The goal is to provide attendees with the basics on our computational systems; accounts and allocations; programming environment, running jobs, tools, and best practices; and the data ecosystem. This event is suitable for new users as well as existing users who want to learn more about best practices for using Perlmutter. This training will be presented online only using Zoom. For more information on the training, please see the [event webpage](https://www.nersc.gov/new-user-training-february2024/). ### Join Us for Data Day, February 21-22 <a name="dataday"/></a> NERSC is hosting a hybrid two-day event on February 21-22, 2024 to showcase the latest and greatest data-focused tools for scientific computing on Perlmutter. The presentations are set to occur in a fully hybrid format at NERSC, featuring speakers onsite. For more information and to register, please see the [event page](https://www.nersc.gov/nersc-data-day-feb-21-22-2024/). ### Join Us February 23 for Perlmutter and Data Day Office Hours! <a name="officehrs"/></a> To help NERSC users make the best use of best practices on optimal performance on Perlmutter nodes, NERSC is offering virtual office hours on February 23 from 9 am to noon (Pacific). Users are welcome to bring questions and their own applications to get one-on-one help. For more information, please see the [event page](https://www.nersc.gov/perlmutter-and-data-day-office-hours-february/). ### Training on Performance Portability for Next-Generation Heterogeneous Systems, February 26 <a name="ppnextgen"/></a> This performance portability overview session, presented by Tom Deakins of University of Bristol, is part of the Performance Portability training series offered by OLCF/NERSC/ALCF. This talk will highlight the opportunities this variety of heterogeneous architectures brings to applications, and how application performance and portability can be rigorously measured and compared across diverse architectures. It will share a strategy for writing performance portable applications and present the roles that ISO languages C++ and Fortran, as well as parallel programming models and abstractions such as OpenMP, SYCL and Kokkos play in the ever-changing heterogeneous landscape. For more information and to register, please see <https://www.nersc.gov/performance-portability-for-next-generation-system-feb2024/>. ### Apply for Argonne Training Program on Extreme-Scale Computing by February 28 <a name="atpesc"/></a> Are you a doctoral student, postdoc, or computational scientist looking for advanced training on the key skills, approaches, and tools to design, implement, and execute computational science and engineering applications on current high-end computing systems and the leadership-class computing systems of the future? If so, consider applying for the Argonne Training Program on Extreme-Scale Computing (ATPESC) program. The core of the two-week program focuses on programming methodologies that are effective across a variety of supercomputers and applicable to exascale systems. Additional topics to be covered include computer architectures, mathematical models and numerical algorithms, approaches to building community codes for HPC systems, and methodologies and tools relevant for Big Data applications. This year's program will be held July 28-August 9 in the Chicago area. There is no cost to attend. Domestic airfare, meals, and lodging are provided. For more information and to apply, please see <https://extremecomputingtraining.anl.gov/>. **The application deadline is February 28, 2024**. ### (NEW/UPDATED) Join NERSC for a Training on the Forge Toolset for Debugging & Profiling, March 13 <a name="forgetrain"/></a> Linaro Forge combines DDT for parallel high-performance application debugging, MAP for performance profiling and optimization advice, and Performance Reports for summarizing and characterizing both scalar and MPI application performance. The goal of this training is to teach useful features of these tools and demonstrate how to use them for debugging and profiling tasks on Perlmutter. For more information, please see the [event page](https://www.nersc.gov/users/training/events/2024/forge-training-for-debugging-and-profiling-march-13-2024/). ### (NEW/UPDATED) Performance Portability Series: AMReX Tutorial, March 14 <a name="amrex"/></a> The AMReX framework supports the development of Block-Structured Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) algorithms for solving systems of partial differential equations (PDEs) that require structured mesh and/or particle discretizations. The Mar 14 hands-on AMReX training session, as part of the OLCF/NERSC/ALCF [Performance Portability training series](https://www.nersc.gov/users/training/events/2024/performance-portability-series-2023-2024/), will cover an overview of AMReX and its applications, focusing on features to solve multiphysics problems. In particular, the training will describe how one can use AMReX to develop simulation codes that will work for both CPU and GPU systems. For more information and to register, please see <https://www.nersc.gov/performance-portability-series-amrex-mar2024/>. ### Learn Parallel Programming in Fortran, March 26-27 <a name="ppfortran"/></a> If you are a Fortran user, we would like to encourage you to attend a two-day, virtual, hands-on training, "Introduction to Parallel Programming in Fortran," March 26th-27th from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm (Pacific Time) each day, hosted by the Fortran Users of NERSC (FUN) Special Interest Group. Fortran is adopted in many large scientific applications running on high-performance computers. This training will provide different methods for taking advantage of multi-node and multi-core hardware for performing calculations in parallel using the Fortran programming language and some common libraries and extensions. We'll look at examples and work through exercises on Perlmutter. For more information and to register please see <https://www.nersc.gov/fun-training-march-2024-introduction-to-parallel-programming-in-fortran/>. ([back to top](#top)) --- ## NERSC News <a name="section9"/></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: - [Data Science Workflows Architect](http://phxc1b.rfer.us/LBL9MJ8u2): Support experimental facility scientists using NERSC resources. - [Network Group Lead](http://phxc1b.rfer.us/LBLlcr8u1): Lead a team of network engineers responsible for the NERSC network architecture and infrastructure. - [NERSC HPC Department Head](http://phxc1b.rfer.us/LBLqbK819): Lead and provide vision and strategic direction for the NERSC High-Performance Computing department. - [HPC Systems Software Engineer](http://m.rfer.us/LBLSQh6ZH): Help architect, deploy, configure, and operate NERSC's large scale, leading-edge HPC systems. - [NESAP for Simulations Postdoctoral Fellow](http://m.rfer.us/LBLRUa4lS): Collaborate with computational and domain scientists to enable extreme-scale scientific simulations on NERSC's Perlmutter supercomputer. (**Note:** You can browse all our job openings on the [NERSC Careers](https://lbl.referrals.selectminds.com/page/nersc-careers-85) page, and all Berkeley Lab jobs at <https://jobs.lbl.gov>.) We know that NERSC users can make great NERSC employees! We look forward to seeing your application. ### 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