“You wouldn’t drive a sports car without having passed a driving test, right? So why waste time using a high performance computer without some training?”
That’s the message from Dr David Green, presenter of RCC’s “Intro to HPC” training sessions.
Dr Green has observed that the number of new users on Tinaroo, a UQ HPC that RCC manages, is not matched by the numbers attending RCC’s monthly “Introduction to HPC” training workshops.
“If you’re a new user of HPCs Tinaroo, Euramoo or FlashLite, then attending one of our ‘Intro to HPC’ sessions is strongly recommended,” said Dr Green. “It’ll take just three hours of your time, and will save you lots more time in the long run.”
Even experienced HPC users, he said, would benefit from the overview at the start of the workshop about UQ’s advanced computing strategy, and the opportunity to discuss with RCC staff what they are trying to do using high performance computing for their research.
The workshop is a hands-on session and RCC aims to ensure attendees can, by the end:
- understand the RCC advanced computing platforms that are available and which are suited to their work
- log in to HPC systems
- know how to transfer data files to, and from, a HPC
- safely use software interactively on HPC
- get batch jobs submitted and running
- start thinking about how to best utilise HPC in their research.
If time permits during the session, RCC also discusses researchers’ specific requirements, or schedules a follow-up session to do so.
RCC’s “Introduction to HPC” workshop is held monthly, usually on the last Friday of each month, in RCC’s seminar room, Axon Building (47), UQ St Lucia. The April session will be held on Friday, 28 April, 10am–1pm. Email rcc-support@uq.edu.au to register or for more information.
If you can’t attend the April workshop, check RCC’s Training webpage for future sessions, which are generally posted during the month they occur.
