The Tier-2 "Cambridge Service for Data Driven Discovery" (CSD3) national service will start with the first Tier-2 Open Call. Check the EPSRC website for more information about the Open Calls, based on what I know it is going to be 12nd October and the technical assessment due on 21st September (a process very much like ARCHER applications).
At the current stage there are two clusters available for access:
- a GPU-accelerated cluster made of 360 P100 called "Wilkes -2" (~1.2 PFlop/s)
- a many-core cluster made of 340 Intel Xeon Phi called "Peta4-KNL" (~0.5 TFlop/s)
During this Pump-priming / Proof-of-concept access (which will always be open) we accept requests for access the systems to help people to prepare their applications. It is very important to point out that the Pump-priming / Proof-of-concept access is not for running science. For this reason, the allowance will be limited (~20k GPU hours and ~20k KNL hours). Expansions of this allowance are complete discretion of the chair of the CSD3 Resource Allocation Panel (RAP). It works pretty much like the ARCHER Instant Access.
We still working on enabling a proper portal based on JIRA Service Desk to send requests in a more "modern fashion". For now you need to send an email to resources@csd3.cam.ac.uk and JIRA Service Desk will automatically record your request
Please tell us the following information (very important!!!)
- a project title;
- what are you planning to do during this Pump-priming / Proof-of-concept access (e.g. profiling & scaling, code development/optimisation, environment readiness, ...);
- which code(s) you will run;
- which clusters you want to access (GPU, KNL or both).
The Pump-priming / Proof-of-concept access duration will not exceed 6 months. Guidelines will be clarified as soon as all pieces are put together so please consider this current access as temporary. Keep an eye on the CSD3 website (http://www.csd3.cam.ac.uk) for more content.
Cambridge is also offering Research Software Engineering (RSE) support as part of the Tier-2 service. In particular Cambridge can help
- in preparing the application for the Open Access / Technical Assessment (help with profiling, scaling tests, simple optimisation and consultation on how to best run your simulations);
- in supporting co-development or specific optimisations on the code(s) used during a successful proposal.
If you need RSE support that fits in in one (or both) of these two categories please email rse@csd3.cam.ac.uk. Since the amount of effort Cambridge can invest is limited, we need to be aware of who needs what in advance. Moreover it is not guaranteed that all proposals accepted and awarded will receive RSE support. Hands are limited.
If you have specific questions regarding the Pump-priming / Proof-of-concept access, or the type of applications that will fit CSD3 (remember, EPSRC remit only!) please email resources@csd3.cam.ac.uk. If you need to know more about the Research Software Engineering please email rse@csd3.cam.ac.uk.
-- Filippo
(last edit: 7th August 2017)