Dear NERSC PIs and Resource Managers, Thrice annually, NERSC performs allocation reductions on DOE Mission Science projects. The allocation reduction process removes a portion of the remaining allocation from projects that are using it slowly and returns the time to DOE allocation managers for them to redistribute it to other projects based on their priorities and objectives. The reduction scheme applies separately to CPU and GPU allocations (e.g., a project that has underutilized CPU resources but not GPU resources will have only its CPU allocation reduced). ALCC, Education, and Exploratory projects are not subject to allocation reductions. Director’s Reserve projects may be subject to reductions, if needed to support various programs. Any project that started after January 17, 2024 will not be subject to the first round of reductions. This time redistribution is necessary to maintain a productive flow of jobs through NERSC systems and reduce queue wait times later in the year. As we near the end of the first quarter of the 2024 allocation year, we observe that more than half of all projects have used less than 8% of their allocation. More than 20% of projects have used no time at all. For 2024, we will perform allocation reductions on April 17, July 17, and October 16, 2024. The formula for the reductions has been updated to more accurately remove allocation from projects that are not using their allocation at the rate they estimated in their 2024 ERCAP proposals. For projects that are not meeting their quarterly usage plans, we will remove half of the difference between their actual and planned usage. For example, for a project with 10,000 CPU node-hours that planned to use 25% (2,500) this first quarter but used only 10% (1,000), NERSC will reduce their CPU node-hour allocation by 7.5% ((2,500 - 1,000)×0.5 = 1,500×0.5 = 750). These balances will be added to the appropriate DOE allocation manager’s reserve (i.e., BES project reductions will go back to the BES reserve) for them to redistribute. For the first allocation reduction on April 17, NERSC will accept requests for an exemption; please submit your request via a ticket <https://help.nersc.gov/> or an email to allocations@nersc.gov with the reason for your exemption request by April 10, 2024. For subsequent allocation reductions, we do not anticipate allowing any exemptions. For more details on the policy please see the Allocation Reductions webpage <https://www.nersc.gov/users/accounts/allocations/allocation-reductions/>. _______________________________________________ account-managers mailing list account-managers@nersc.gov