HPRC:AdaGraceFAQ

This page addresses common questions regarding the retirement of the Ada cluster and the subsequent transition to Grace.

How can I get access to Grace?

Grace has been in friendly user mode since December 2020. Early user requests are being accepted.

Do I need to submit an application for Grace to access Grace?

No allocations are required for Grace during the testing period in FY21.

When will Grace be open to all users?

Grace will be open to all active HPRC users by May 17.

When is the last day I will be able to access Ada?

The last day to access Ada is June 30th, 2021. Ada's retirement will be in phases.

• On May 17, we will shutdown some of the compute racks in preparation to give them to the designated research groups approved by the VPR.
• On June 1, we will shutdown the remaining compute racks. The login and data transfer nodes will remain available for retrieving and migrating data.
• On June 30, the Ada cluster will be completely shutdown. Retrieval and/or migration of data MUST be completed by this date.

What will happen to my data on Ada?

The GPFS file system for Ada's home, scratch, and tiered will be retired. All data on GPFS file system will be wiped after Ada's retirement. Users are advised to migrate/retrieve their data before the Ada's shutdown date of June 30, 2021.

How do I transfer my data from Ada to Grace?

The best option for transferring files from Ada to Grace is using Globus Connect. You can also use scp/sftp and rsync (command line) from Ada login nodes or FTN to transfer files to Grace login or DTN nodes (host selection lists suggested transfer nodes). Please transfer only needed files to Grace. If you need to increase Grace scratch quota or file limit, please contact HPRC helpdesk.

What will happen to my unused SU's on Ada?

SU's expire at the end of every fiscal year. If grace implements charging before the end of this fiscal year (FY21), Ada SU's will be transferred to grace.

Will my Job Scripts from Ada work on Grace?

Ada job scripts will not work without modification on grace. Ada used LSF while Grace uses SLURM for batch job scheduling. Please see Grace Batch Processing wiki page for details on creating grace job scripts.

How do I find / load Software Modules on Grace?

Please see: Grace Quick Start Guide - Finding Software

My version of Software X is on Ada but not on Grace, how can I request this software version?

Please send an email to help@hprc.tamu.edu with the software installation request. Please include the following: software name, version, download link, and any other pertinent details.

Will the "tiered" filesystem be available on Grace?

"tiered" on Ada will be retired. There is no equivalent of "tiered" available on Grace cluster.

Can I bring a portable hard drive to HPRC helpdesk to back up my files?

Unfortunately, we don't support attaching portal hard drives directly to HPRC cluster login and management nodes due to security concerns. Users will download their data over the network.

We have a group/share dir on Ada and would like to have one on Grace cluster.

Please have PI or primary contact of the current group/share dir send an email to help@hprc.tamu.edu, with path to the group/share dir and a list of members in the group (if changes needed), and estimated quota and file limit (as the group/share dir will its own quota and file limit). Note that 10+ TB quota increase request will need PI to send justification to our director for review.