How to Request an XSEDE Resource Allocation

Introduction

This page provides an overview of how to request an XSEDE resource allocation. This page is a summary of information provided by XSEDE in January 2016. Up-to-date information is available here.

About XSEDE

The Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) is a collection of integrated advanced digital resources and services. It is a single virtual system that scientists can use to interactively share computing resources, data, and expertise.

The XSEDE partnership includes: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Carnegie Mellon University/University of Pittsburgh, University of Texas at Austin, University of Tennessee Knoxville, University of Virginia, Shodor Education Foundation, Southeastern Universities Research Association, University of Chicago, University of California San Diego, Indiana University, Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Purdue University, Cornell University, Ohio State University, University of California Berkeley, Rice University, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. It is led by the University of Illinois’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).

Researchers may submit allocation requests for resources at any of these sites for a period of 1 year.

Types of Allocations

There are three types of allocations: Startup, Educational, and Research.

  • Startup allocations are small scale projects meant to get researchers started on XSEDE.
  • Education allocations are small scale projects for class instruction or training.
  • Research allocations are for full scale projects for computational research.

These requests can either be new or renewal requests. New requests are those that satisfy any of the conditions: it is the PI’s first submission to XSEDE, it is a submission in a different area of science than the PI’s previous submission, or it is the PI’s first submission of that type. If none of these conditions are satisfied, then a renewal request must be submitted.

Startup and education allocation requests are accepted and reviewed continuously, while research allocations are reviewed quarterly by the XSEDE Resource Allocation Committee (XRAC). The schedule for research allocations is:

Submission Period Allocation Period
Dec 15 to Jan 15 Apr 1 to Mar 31
Mar 15 to Apr 15 Jul 1 to Jun 30
Jun 15 to Jul 15 Oct 1 to Sep 30
Sep 15 to Oct 15 Jan 1 to Dec 31

In addition to these allocations, requests may be submitted for supplements, advances, transfers, extensions, and justifications:

  • A Supplement is a request for additional resources during an existing allocation. Justification must be provided for the additional resources. Requests for a supplement are accepted at any time and are usually considered within 2 to 3 weeks of submission, but large requests must be reviewed by the panel at the next XRAC meeting.
  • An Advance of up to 10% of the resources requested may be asked for in anticipation of a favorable review. The size of the advance is dependent on current availability and staff review. Requests for an advance are accepted up to 3 weeks before the allocation period.
  • A Transfer of allocated time from one platform to another may be requested. Approval of a transfer is dependent on resource availability on the target platform.
  • An Extension is a request for additional time on an existing allocation by a maximum of 6 months. A brief reason for the extension is required.
  • A Justification provides additional details and reason for a request. This may be requested by the XRAC or as a rebuttal on a review criticism.

Allocation Request Process

The allocation requests are submitted on the XSEDE website so the first step is to create an account there by clicking on ‘Create Account’. The XRAS system is used for submission of allocation requests. The key part of any request is to determine which resources, how many service units (SU), and how much storage is necessary. Factors such as number of nodes, type of hardware, software, and memory usage required should be taken into consideration when choosing which platform to use. There is some variation in how systems charge for SUs, but an SU typically corresponds to a CPU hour. In that case, running a serial job on 1 core for 1 hour would use 1 SU and running a parallel job on 16 cores for 5 hours would use 80 SUs.

Startup and Education Requests

Both startup and education requests require basic information about funding grants supporting the work, PIs, and co-PIs, including a curriculum vitae (CV) for the PI and co-PIs. An abstract describing the work to be conducted is also required. Although an abstract with only a general description of the work may be adequate, an explanation of why the project requires the use of XSEDE resources, how the estimate of resources was computed, and how the resources were selected will enhance the submission. An education request also requires a course syllabus and resource justification.

Startup and education allocations may be renewed with appropriate justification and a progress report describing how the current allocation was used including any publications that resulted from prior work. However, researchers submitting renewal requests for startup allocations may be directed to submit research request. Education allocations may renewed indefinitely as long as the education activity is continued.

Research Requests

Since research requests are for projects that have progressed beyond the startup phase, there are more requirements for these allocations. Requests must include a well-documented resource-use plan that describes why the allocations are necessary and sufficient for the completion of the project’s objectives. Unlike the small startup and education allocations, there are no limits to the size of the allocation.

Just as for startup and education requests, information about supporting grants, PI, and co-PI are necessary.Additionally, information about the project such as project title, fields of science, project abstract, and keywords are necessary. The following documents should also be submitted:

  • Main document: This document should have the scientific background, research objectives, and the justification of the request for all resources. This is the most important document that is submitted. This is required and are limited to 10 pages (15 pages for requests for more than 10 million SUs and 5 pages for a supplement request).
  • Progress report: This document should have a summary of work completed with previous allocations. This is required for renewals and supplements only and are limited to 3 pages.
  • Publications resulting from XSEDE support: This document is required for renewals and progress reports only.
  • CVs: These are required and have no page limits, although the two-page NSF or NIH format is recommended.
  • Special requirements: This document contains any project requirements that are outside of the standard user and usage environment. This is optional and limited to 1 page.
  • Code performance and scaling: This document should contain information to support claims of code performance and scaling. This is required and limited to 5 pages.
  • References: This document is a list of references cited in the main document, if they do not fit within the page limit of the main document. This is optional and has no page limit.

Getting Started

If your request is accepted, you should receive an email from XSEDE Allocations notifying you of your awarded resources. You can login and use the systems you have allocations on through the XSEDE Single Sign On Hub. It is also possible to login to through the command line as you would on maya. All systems use Linux so the software environment should be familiar to maya users. However, each system is different so you should read the user guide for specific details on the systems you will be using. The XSEDE User Portal can be used to monitor usage. Usage for a particular system is also typically displayed when logging into it.