Mind Your Memory
Linstat users may have noticed recent episodes of servers running slowly, caused by them running low on memory. At times the servers have had to kill jobs to keep from crashing.
To reduce the frequency of these episodes, we will reduce the maximum amount of memory each user can use on Linstat from 500GB to 350GB on April 16th. We recognize this will require some jobs to be run in Slurm. You can reserve up to 1,000GB of memory in Slurm, and because it is reserved you never have to worry about the server running out of memory because someone else ran a big job. If you are running big jobs on Linstat, contact the Help Desk and the statistical consultants will be happy to show you how to run them in Slurm, or help you overcome any obstacles that are preventing you from using Slurm.
One contributing factor is interactive interfaces like RStudio Server and OnDemand, which make it easy to open a program, load a bunch of data (using a bunch of memory), and then forget about it. Please sign out when you’re done using these tools, or at least close programs that use a lot of memory.
On the other hand, we’ve noted that many Slurm jobs are reserving much more memory than they actually use (often by an order of magnitude). This limits the number of jobs that can be run on the cluster. The email you get when your job finishes will tell you how much of the memory and CPU time you reserved was actually used. Please use that information to adjust your reservation for similar jobs in the future.
SSCC Training
Summer is the SSCC’s primary time for training, so we have a lot of workshops available. This includes teaching our Introduction and Data Wrangling workshops in Python as well as R and Stata, workshops on qualitative analysis using MaxQDA and NVivo, and a wide variety of topical workshops like data visualization and using the SSCC’s Linux servers. Remember, Caitlin Tefft is only with us temporarily, so if you’re interested in qualitative analysis take advantage of the workshops she teaches while you can!
Visit the training page for details and to register.
ResearchDrive Migration in Progress
Last August, the SSCC’s Chairs & Directors Committee voted to move as much SSCC data to ResearchDrive as possible, saving SSCC storage for data that cannot be moved (like data in Silo). This will allow the SSCC to avoid purchasing new data storage hardware for two years, saving about $150,000. Given the current funding environment, this is an essential move.
The migration is now underway. If you own a project directory, you may have already received an invitation to move your data to ResearchDrive along with instructions for doing so. If not, expect one in the coming months. We’re happy to be flexible about the timing–we know this move will cause some disruption to your work, though we’ll try to minimize it. But we do need all project owners to work with us to make this migration happen.
New projects are now being created in ResearchDrive. You can request projects as usual, but we’ll assist you in requesting ResearchDrive space and then set up your project there. Grad students and staff who are not eligible for ResearchDrive will need to identify a faculty member who can provide ResearchDrive space.
For more information, see Using ResearchDrive at the SSCC.
Account Renewal is Coming
Every spring the SSCC carries out an account renewal exercise to identify accounts that are no longer needed (we do not have access to student or HR data that would tell us when people graduate or leave the university). Watch for an email in April asking you to renew your SSCC account–it’s quick and easy.
If you are graduating in May, please do not renew your account. We’ll then close it after the semester is done. If you are graduating but will continue to collaborate on research that uses SSCC resources, renew your account but make sure the department or center that sponsors your account knows you will still need it.
Unfortunately, phishers love to imitate emails like account renewal. We’ll do various things to make it clear the email is not a phishing attempt (like telling you about it ahead of time in SSCC News), but if you’re still not sure check with the SSCC Help Desk.
Updating SSCC-Managed PCs to Windows 11
Microsoft is officially ending support for Windows 10 in October, meaning that computers running Windows 10 will no longer receive patches when security issues are identified. All Windows computers must be upgraded to Windows 11 or replaced by that time.
Over the summer, SSCC staff will migrate all the PCs we manage to Windows 11 automatically: one morning you’ll just find your computer is now running Windows 11. If you would like to choose when that happens, open Software Center, go to Operating Systems, and you can launch the Windows 11 update at a time that’s convenient for you. It will take a while, so we suggest starting it at the end of the day.
Email the Help Desk to Avoid Summer Vacations
With summer approaching, some SSCC staff will be going on vacation. Be sure to send all questions or problem reports to the SSCC Help Desk, not to individual staff. That way it will be read–and automatically entered into our Help Desk system–no matter who is on vacation. The Help Desk staff will then send the ticket to whoever can best help you. There’s no need for you to try to guess who that might be or keep track of who does what.