Pitzer
Software Refresh - May 2020
OSC will be refreshing the software stack for Owens and Pitzer on May 19, 2020. This will be done in a system-wide downtime. During the software refresh, some default versions will be changed to be more up-to-date. Information about the new default versions, as well as all available versions of each software package will be included on the corresponding OSC software webpage. See https://www.osc.edu/supercomputing/software-list.
Free Academic Ansys Desktop License (2020 R1 version)
Ansys, Inc. is generously providing a temporary free trial license for home use as a COVID-19 response for OSC academic users. You can download the installer and license from our website, see link below. The license will expire on May 31, 2020.
For more information, please visit our website (login required): https://www.osc.edu/resources/getting_started/howto/howto_install_free_academic_ansys_desktop_license_for_covid19
HOWTO: Manage Access Control List (ACLs)
An ACL (access control list) is a list of permissions associated with a file or directory. These permissions allow you to restrict access to a certain file or directory by user or group.
OSC supports NFSv4 ACL on our home directory and POSIX ACL on our project and scratch file systems. Please see the how to use NFSv4 ACL for home directory ACL management and how to use POSIX ACL for managing ACLs in project and scratch file systems.
NetCDF-Serial
NetCDF (Network Common Data Form) is an interface for array-oriented data access and a library that provides an implementation of the interface. The netcdf library also defines a machine-independent format for representing scientific data. Together, the interface, library, and format support the creation, access, and sharing of scientific data.
For mpi-dependent codes, use the non-serial NetCDF module.
Manage profile information
Edit profile
Profile information can be changed by logging in with valid OSC credentials at MyOSC, navigating to the profile page by clicking the display name in the upper right corner of the page, and selecting Edit my profile.
HDF5-Serial
HDF5 is a general purpose library and file format for storing scientific data. HDF5 can store two primary objects: datasets and groups. A dataset is essentially a multidimensional array of data elements, and a group is a structure for organizing objects in an HDF5 file. Using these two basic objects, one can create and store almost any kind of scientific data structure, such as images, arrays of vectors, and structured and unstructured grids.
For mpi-dependent codes, use the non-serial HDF5 module.
intel compiler module (gcc-compatibility) update
Previously, intel/19.0.3 and intel/19.0.5 compilers automatically load gcc-compatibility modules as following:
On Pitzer: gcc-compatibility/8.1.0 On Owens: gcc-compatibility/8.3.0
Now, gcc-compatibility/8.4.0 will be loaded consistantly. This has a very low impact, but if you have any issues, please contact OSC Help
Lower memory limits (Pitzer and Owens)
To improve system stability, the maximum allowed memory limit for jobs on owens and pitzer nodes is being reduced.
Some more details on why this change was made and exact memory limits can be found here:
https://www.osc.edu/documentation/knowledge_base/changes_of_default_memory_limits
OSC Classroom Support
CLASSROOM RESOURCES FOR DISTANCE LEARNING
If your class has lost or limited access to computer labs, the Ohio Supercomputer Center might be able to help by providing no-cost access to cloud computing resources. Classes and workloads of any size can gain access. OSC's web-browser interface to its substantial Linux computer systems provides novice users with virtual desktops preloaded with applications, such as MATLAB, RStudio, or Jupyter Notebook.
As an example, an OSU undergrad statistics class recently used iPads to remotely access RStudio on OSC systems.
