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John Yocum edited this page Sep 24, 2021 · 26 revisions

Brain is a small computing cluster running Rocks 7. The cluster currently consists of 16 compute nodes, and 1 head node with a total capacity of 464 cores, and approximately 6.2TB of RAM. Cluster nodes are interconnected via 2x 10Gb Ethernet.

This Wiki will serve as the primary source for cluster documentation. It will be divided into two major topic groups, cluster administration, and end-user tasks. In cases where a topic must reference potentially sensitive information, that information should be stored on the DEOHS Portal, and a reference link provided.

FAQ

How do I access /projects or /bigdata?

Brain doesn't have access to the department's main network storage. You will need to transfer any data or code you are working on to Brain. Once you are no longer working a particular dataset on Brain, you should remove the dataset from your Brain account.

How do I access R Studio?

R Studio Desktop is installed on Brain. You'll need to connect to the cluster using X2Go. Once connected request an interactive computing session, and activate the R and R Studio environments.

Alternatively, you can use R Studio Server via your browser. For details, see https://github.com/deohs/ehbrain/wiki/RStudio-Server

I can't connect to database XXX...

The problem is most likely, one of the following:

  1. You need to specify the full hostname of the database server you wish to reach.
  2. The database server firewall isn't configured to allow access from Brain.
  3. Your database user account isn't authorized to access the database from Brain.

If the problem isn't the hostname, you'll need to contact EHIT for assistance.

Where should I compile or install software?

Software (including R packages) should be compiled and installed via the head node.

I keep getting "request could not be scheduled, try again later."

Most likely you have forgot to change your Unix primary group, to the group your queue requires. Make sure, you run "newgrp WORKGROUP", before you run qlogin or qsub.

Where should I store my group's files?

Each group that sponsors brain, has a group folder located in /share/groups. Within each group folder, we automatically create an "apps" directory, for your storing software you install, along with a modulefiles sub-directory for Environment Modules.

Is data on brain backed up?

No. Brain's storage system isn't backed up. Each user or group is responsible for backing up the files they wish to protect.

When building R packages, R can't find g++...

Most likely you are trying to build R packages on one of the compute nodes, rather than the frontend. All software compilation should be done on the front end, as the compute nodes lack compilers and development libraries.

Getting Help

Brain users can contact EHIT for assistance in getting connected, installing software, etc. The primary means of contact is via email to ehit[at]uw.edu (replace the [at] with @). Additional contact methods can be found on Portal.

Additional Resources

Unix / Linux

Rocks

Conda (including Anaconda and Miniconda)

Environment Modules

R