- Quantum Information Science on Perlmutter Call for Proposals Closes Monday!
- IDEAS-ECP Webinar on Scientific Software Ecosystems & Communities, this Wednesday!
- Recompile Strongly Recommended After Today's Perlmutter Maintenance
- Perlmutter Machine Status
- Prepare Your Dotfiles for Perlmutter!
- (NEW) ERCAP Award Notifications To Be Sent Next Week
- New Default Python module at AY transition (Wed Jan 19, 2022)
- NERSC Federated Identity Pilot Has Begun!
- Please participate in the NERSC Annual User Survey
- ASCR Leadership Computing Challenge (ALCC) Pre-proposals due Dec 17
- Applications for DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship Open
- Nominations for James Corones Award in Leadership, Community Building & Communication Open Through December 31!
December 2021
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4
5 *6* 7 *8* *9* 10 11 6 Dec Perlmutter Maintenance [1]
8 Dec ECP Monthly Webinar [2]
9 Dec SpinUp Workshop [3]
12 *13* 14 *15**16**17* 18 13 Dec Quantum Perlmutter Proposals Due [4]
15 Dec Cori Monthly Maint Window [5]
16 Dec Perlmutter Maintenance [1]
17 Dec ALCC pre-proposals due [6]
19 20 21 22 23 *24--25- 24 Dec 2021- Winter Shutdown [7]
-26--27--28--29--30-*31* 3 Jan 2022
31 Dec Corones Nominations Due [8]
January 2022
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
-1-
-2---3* 4 *5*--6--*7* 8 5-7 Jan 2022 Using Perlmutter Training [9]
9 10 *11**12* 13 14 15 11 Jan 2022 Perlmutter Maintenance [1]
12 Jan 2022 CSGF Applications Due [10]
12 Jan 2022 ECP Monthly Webinar [2]
12-13 Jan 2022 NVIDIA HPC SDK Training [11]
16 *17* 18 *19* 20 21 22 17 Jan 2022 Martin Luther King Holiday [12]
19 Jan 2022 First Day of AY22 [13]
23 24 *25* 26 27 28 29 25 Jan 2022 Perlmutter Maintenance [2]
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 2022 Presidents Day Holiday [14]
27 28 29 30 31
- December 6 & 13, 2021, & January 11 & 25, 2022: Perlmutter Maintenance
- December 8, 2021 & January 12, 2022: IDEAS-ECP Monthly Webinar
- December 9, 2021: SpinUp Workshop
- December 13, 2021: Quantum Perlmutter Proposals Due
- December 15, 2021: Cori Monthly Maintenance Window
- December 17, 2021: ALCC Pre-proposals due
- December 24, 2021 - January 3, 2022: Winter Shutdown (Limited Consulting and Account Support)
- December 31, 2021: James Corones Award Nominations Due
- January 5-7, 2021: Using Perlmutter Training
- January 12, 2022: Computational Science Graduate Fellowship Applications Due
- January 12-13, 2022: NVIDIA HPC SDK Training
- January 17, 2022: Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday (No Consulting or Account Support)
- January 19, 2022: First day of Allocation Year 2022
- February 21, 2022: Presidents Day Holiday (No Consulting or Account Support)
- All times are Pacific Time zone
-
Upcoming Planned Outage Dates (see Outages section for more details)
- Monday-Tuesday, December 6-7: Perlmutter
- Wednesday, December 8: HPSS Regent (Backup)
-
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)
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 and current known issues webpages.
NERSC is seeking proposals to conduct research using the Perlmutter supercomputer in the area of quantum information science. Researchers in all areas of quantum information science are encouraged to apply. This call is open and not restricted to current NERSC users. Awards are for the 2022 Allocation Year, which begins in mid-January, 2022.
For more information and to apply, please see https://www.nersc.gov/news-publications/nersc-news/nersc-center-news/2021/quantum-information-science-at-perlmutter/. Applications are due December 13, 2021.
The next webinar in the Best Practices for HPC Software Developers series is entitled "Scientific Software Ecosystems and Communities: Why We Need Them and How Each of Us Can Help Them Thrive" and will take place this Wednesday, December 8, 2021, at 10:00 am Pacific time.
In this webinar, Lois Curfman McInnes (Argonne National Laboratory) will discuss a means of tackling the increasing challenges of software complexity: embracing community collaboration toward scientific software ecosystems while fostering a diverse HPC workforce embodying a broad range of skills and perspectives. The webinar will introduce work in the ECP such as the E4S project, as well as cross-cutting strategies to increase developer productivity and software sustainability, thereby mitigating technical risks by building a firmer foundation for reproducible, sustainable science, and complementary community efforts and opportunities for involvement.
There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. Please register here.
The January webinar, entitled "Wrong Way: Lessons Learned and Possibilities for Using the 'Wrong' Programming Approach on Leadership Computing Facility Systems," presented by ORNL's Philip C. Roth, will take place on Wednesday, January 22, 2022, at 10:00 am Pacific time.
The Perlmutter maintenance scheduled for today and tomorrow is a major upgrade. We are updating the operating system and changing the default modules to simplify and unify the programming environment, and also updating the network software. Because of these changes, we recommend that you recompile your codes after Perlmutter returns from this maintenance. We expect to post exact details of the changes and links to any new instructions on Perlmutter's timeline page (https://docs.nersc.gov/systems/perlmutter/timeline/) tomorrow.
The initial phase of the Perlmutter supercomputer is in the NERSC machine room, booting and running successfully.
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.
The second phase of the machine, consisting of CPU-only nodes, will arrive in early 2022. 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.
This newsletter item will be updated each week with the latest Perlmutter status.
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 with any questions or issues.
ERCAP Award notifications will be sent to the PIs of successful proposals the week of December 13.
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/3.8-anaconda-2021.05. Please note that older Python modules will remain available, but users must specify the full module name to continue to use them.
Updates in this module include:
- Mamba 0.7.3 (a faster alternative to conda)
- netcdf4 1.5.3
- mpi4py 3.1.1
- authlib 0.15.4 (support for NERSC's Superfacility API)
Full release notes are available here: https://docs.anaconda.com/anaconda/reference/release-notes/#anaconda-2021-05-may-13-2021.
pip users should be aware that pip packages installed via --user will be
installed at $HOME/.local/cori/3.8-anaconda-2021.05 (defined by
$PYTHONUSERBASE).
This module is available now via module load python/3.8-anaconda-2021.05, so
we encourage you to test it now. If you notice issues or have questions please
contact us at https://help.nersc.gov. NERSC Python users will find a lot of
helpful information and advice in our Python documentation: https://docs.nersc.gov/development/languages/python/nersc-python/.
Note that the python/3.8-anaconda-2021.05 module is already the default on Perlmutter. There are no scheduled Python module changes on Perlmutter.
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!
NERSC has engaged a professional survey company, the National Business Research Institute (NBRI), to conduct our annual user survey. Users should have found a reminder email from [email protected] in their inboxes this past Wednesday, with a personalized link to the user 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!
The Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research's ASCR Leadership Computing Challenge (ALCC) is an allocation program for projects of interest to the Department of Energy (DOE), with an emphasis on high-risk, high-payoff scientific campaigns enabled via high-performance computing (HPC) in areas directly related to the DOE mission, that respond to national emergencies, or that broaden the community of researchers capable of using leadership computing resources.
ASCR is currently soliciting proposals for ALCC allocation awards for the 2022-2023 program year. ASCR HPC platforms available for the allocation cycle include Summit, the 200-petaflop IBM AC922 system at OLCF; Theta, the 12-petaflop Cray XC40 machine, and Polaris, a new 44-petaflop accelerated system at ALCF; and Perlmutter, a new accelerated system at NERSC. Up to thirty percent of the allocatable computing time on each of these machines will be made available to ALCC users. In addition, limited access may be given to the exascale Frontier system at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, pending the pace of system acceptance, for nationally important, and exascale-ready projects.
For more information, and to apply, please visit https://science.osti.gov/ascr/Facilities/Accessing-ASCR-Facilities/ALCC.
Are you a US citizen or lawful permanent resident planning to embark on your first or second year of PhD study in physical, engineering, computer, mathematical, or life sciences at an accredited US college or university in the fall of 2022? If so, you may be eligible to apply for the Department of Energy's Computational Science Graduate Fellowship. Benefits include a yearly stipend of $38,000 and payment of full tuition and fees during the up to 4 years of total support, a 12-week practicum experience at a DOE national laboratory, access to DOE supercomputers, and more!
For more information, please see the CSGF Webpage. Applications are due Wednesday, January 12, 2022.
Nominations for James Corones Award in Leadership, Community Building & Communication Open Through December 31!
Do you know a mid-career scientist or engineer (10-20 years post-PhD) who's making an impact in leadership, community building, and scientific communication? Recognize that person's work in encouraging and mentoring young people to be active in the science community, to communicate their work effectively, and to make a difference in their scientific area, by nominating them for the James Corones Award in Leadership, Community Building, and Communication!
The Award was established by the Krell Institute in 2019 in honor and memory of James "Jim" Corones, founder of the Krell Institute and advocate for mentoring and developing leaders in the scientific community and developing scientists' communication skills to present their research to a general audience. The prize consists of a $2,000 cash award and an engraved tangible gift. Travel expenses will also be covered for the winner to attend a designated event.
Nominations require a letter of support from the nominator and a form identifying the nominee and identifying three additional references who can speak to the nominee's character and accomplishments. Self-nominations are accepted.
For more information, please see the Krell Institute Corones Award Webpage. Nominations are due December 31, 2021.
NERSC and HPE staff will hold a three-day training event on using Perlmutter, Wednesday through Friday, January 5-7 (was December 8-10). This event is a continuation and extension of the Introduction to Perlmutter held in June, and is focused on using Perlmutter, including hands-on exercises.
Day 1 will begin with a brief recap and updated overview of the Perlmutter hardware and programming environment, followed by building and running applications on Perlmutter. Day 2 will introduce the HPE profiling and debugging tools, which are primarily CPU focused. The last day will include GPU basics, an overview of GPU programming models, and using Jupyter, Python, and Machine Learning / Deep Learning on Perlmutter. Each day includes hands-on exercises.
For more information and to register, please see https://www.nersc.gov/users/training/events/using-perlmutter-training-jan2022/.
NVIDIA will present a two-day training for users about the GPU programming models supported by NVIDIA's HPC SDK compilers, including Standard Language Acceleration and Libraries, OpenACC, OpenMP offload, and CUDA. Basic GPU architecture and profiling tools will also be presented. Attendees will have the opportunity to do hands-on and homework exercises on the GPUs on Perlmutter.
For more information and to register, please see https://www.nersc.gov/users/training/events/nvidia-hpcsdk-training-jan2022/.
There will be no new episode of the "NERSC User News" podcast this week. We encourage you to instead enjoy some of our most recent episodes and greatest hits:
- NERSC 2020 in Review & Looking Forward NERSC director Sudip Dosanjh discusses the highlights of 2020 at NERSC, as well as what to look forward to in 2021 and beyond.
- Software Support Policy In this interview with NERSC HPC Consultant Steve Leak, learn about the new NERSC software support policy: what it is, how it works, and its benefits for users and NERSC staff alike.
- NERSC Power Upgrade In this interview with Berkeley Lab Infrastructure Modernization Division's David Topete, learn about the power upgrade happening this weekend, the work that has to be done, and the steps taken to ensure the safety of the workers involved in the effort.
- Dynamic fan NERSC Energy Efficiency Engineer Norm Bourassa talks about how NERSC is saving energy with the dynamic fan settings on the Cori supercomputing cabinets, and what NERSC is doing to make the cabinets even more energy efficient.
- RAPIDS In this interview with NVIDIA RAPIDS senior engineer Nick Becker, learn about the RAPIDS library, how it can accelerate your data science, and how to use it.
- IO Middleware NERSC Principal Data Architect Quincey Koziol talks about IO Middleware: what it is, how you can benefit from using it in your code, and how it is evolving to support data-intensive computing and future supercomputing architectures.
- Community File System NERSC Storage System Group staff Kristy Kallback-Rose, Greg Butler, and Ravi Cheema talk about the new Community File System and the migration timeline.
- Monitoring System Performance NERSC Computational Systems Group's Eric Roman discusses how NERSC monitors system performance, what we're doing with the data right now, and how we plan to use it in the future.
- The Superfacility Concept: Join NERSC Data Science Engagement Group Lead Debbie Bard in a discussion about the concept of the superfacility: what it means, how facilities interact, and what NERSC and partner experimental facilities are doing to prepare for the future of data-intensive science.
- Optimizing I/O in Applications: Listen to an I/O optimization success story in this interview with NERSC Data and Analytics Services Group's Jialin Liu.
- NESAP Postdocs: Learn from NESAP postdoc Laurie Stephey what it's like working as a postdoc in the NESAP program at NERSC.
The NERSC User News podcast, produced by the NERSC User Engagement Group, is available at https://anchor.fm/nersc-news and syndicated through iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and more.
Please give it a listen and let us know what you think, via a ticket at https://help.nersc.gov.
NERSC currently has several openings for postdocs, system administrators, and more! If you are looking for new opportunities, please consider the following openings:
- Operations Linux System Administrator: Provide engineering support services for the systems used to enable the analysis of the health of facility systems in a 24x7 environment.
- Scientific Data Architect: Collaborate with scientists to meet their Data, AI, and Analytics needs on NERSC supercomputers.
- Exascale Computing Postdoctoral Fellow: 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: 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: Help protect NERSC from malicious and unauthorized activity.
- Machine Learning Engineer: Apply machine learning and AI to NERSC systems to improve on their ability to deliver productive science output.
- HPC Performance Engineer: Join a multidisciplinary team of computational and domain scientists to speed up scientific codes on cutting-edge computing architectures.
- Software Integration Engineer: Develop and support software integration with Continuous Integration in collaboration with ECP.
- NESAP for Simulations Postdoctoral Fellow: Work in multidisciplinary teams to develop and optimize codes for the Perlmutter system and produce mission-relevant science that pushes the limits of high-performance computing.
(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.
- Cori
- 12/15/21 07:00-20:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance
- Perlmutter
- 12/06/21 07:00-12/07/21 20:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance
- System will be unavailable during this window.
- 12/16/21 07:00-20:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance
- Rolling update: may result in brief disconnections from login nodes and longer job start up time.
- 01/11/22 07:00-20:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance
- 01/25/22 07:00-20:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance
- 12/06/21 07:00-12/07/21 20:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance
- HPSS Regent (Backup)
- 12/08/21 09:00-13:00 PST, Scheduled Maintenance
Visit http://my.nersc.gov/ for latest status and outage information.
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 [email protected] with your request.