How do I obtain a High Performance Computing Center (HPCC) account?

HPCC accounts are free for all MSU researchers. To obtain an account, Principal Investigators (PIs) must complete a New Account Request form indicating their research focus. After getting an account, PIs can then request accounts for collaborators (students, post-docs, and off-campus colleagues). Information required to complete the form includes:  

• a list of the names and MSU NetIDs of collaborators (students, post-docs, visiting scholars and off-campus colleagues) requiring accounts. For collaborators without an MSU NetID, the PI can sponsor MSU NetIDs by contacting the MSU ID Office via email at idoffice@msu.edu or phone at 517-355-4500. 
• a statement about whether export controlled software or data will be used by the account recipient
• a project abstract (several paragraphs) 

All MSU Net IDs used to access the HPCC must be associated with a valid email address.  The email provided does not need to be an MSU email address but one that we can use to reach out to you.

If you are not an MSU PI, but you are collaborating with one, only that faculty member can request an account on your behalf. 

By applying for an account, the PI agrees that all members of the research group will abide by the Statement of Acceptable Use. 

What do I get with an HPCC account?

The following resources are automatically available, free of charge to all MSU researchers: access to HPCC for job submission, up to XX CPU hours per year, up to 1TB of persistent storage and 50TB of temporary high performance SCRATCH storage on the HPCC. Faculty members may also request a Research Space, which is provisioned with up to 1TB of persistent storage and accessible by the faculty member's group (once access is requested). Users can gain access to priority job submission queues by purchasing system hardware though our buy-in program via research grants or equivalent funding. This is the recommended route for users with large run times or other specialized requirements. Additional storage in home or research directories may be purchased here.

How do I access HPCC?

The HPCC cluster runs the Linux operating system and is primarily accessed by the Secure Shell (SSH) network protocol. An SSH connection can be opened to hpcc.msu.edu from a terminal prompt (Mac/Linux) or a program like MobaXterm (Windows). See User Documentation for more details.

How is usage recorded on HPCC systems?

HPCC does not monitor usage by projects and individuals, regardless of whether the usage is free or priority. 

Which HPCC system should I use?

The HPCC maintains three clusters, along with additional testing nodes. We feature a single queue system where a user only has to specify job requirements. The scheduler assigns the job to an appropriate cluster. See User Documentation for more information about queuing policies.

What do I do next?

Once you've received an email confirming your account has been created, you should read the User Documentation to find out how to use the systems. All new users are also encouraged to sign up for synchronous workshops through ICER, which cover a wide variety of topics relevant to research computing.