ARCHER News
Wednesday 6th May 2020
- ARCHER2 Training - Webinar
- "covid-sim" COVID-19 pandemic modelling tool available on ARCHER
- Frequently asked questions (and answers) to support transition to ARCHER2
- Message-passing programming with MPI course
- Other upcoming ARCHER training
- HPC-Europa3 Transnational Access programme
ARCHER2 Training
Wednesday 6th May 2020 15:00 - 16:00 BST
Juan Rodriguez Herrera, EPCC
EPCC, as part of the ARCHER2 service, will deliver a training programme that covers a wide range of scientific disciplines and technology platforms. We are fully committed to providing a rich and diverse scheme of training taking into account the needs of different types of users. Due to the current pandemic, our initial courses will be online. However, we will look forward to teaching at sites around the UK once this is again practicable.
In this webinar, we will explain:
- The different paths that a user can take based on their varied needs and levels of experience.
- An overview of the training schedule for the upcoming year.
- The delivery mechanisms introduced in this innovative programme.
Accessibility, diversity, and user needs will also be addressed in this talk.
This online session is open to all.
Join link and full details : https://www.archer2.ac.uk/training/courses/200506-archer2-training/
"covid-sim" COVID-19 pandemic modelling tool available on ARCHER
Following the recent work to make available the source code for the influential "covid-sim" COVID-19 pandemic modelling tool from the group of Neil Ferguson at Imperial College, we are happy to announce that the tool is now installed for use on ARCHER (and Cirrus: http://www.cirrus.ac.uk) for use by all users. You can access the tool by using the 'module load covid-sim' command. Once loaded, the UK model is available with the command 'CovidSim_UK' and the US model with the command 'CovidSim_US'. You can find more information on the modelling tool, including source code and documentation, on the GitHub repository at:
https://github.com/mrc-ide/covid-sim
and reports on COVID-19, including modelling using this tool, from the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College at:
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/mrc-global-infectious-disease-analysis/covid-19/covid-19-reports/
Frequently asked questions (and answers) to support transition to ARCHER2
We have recently published an FAQ to assist users with the migration from ARCHER to ARCHER2 including information about data migration, allocations for projects which migrate and advice on preparation.
This FAQ will be regularly updated as new information becomes available.
You can find the FAQ at http://www.archer.ac.uk/support/faq/end_of_service.php
Message-passing programming with MPI
14 - 22 May 2020
David Henty, EPCC
The world’s largest supercomputers are used almost exclusively to run applications which are parallelised using Message Passing. The course covers all the basic knowledge required to write parallel programs using this programming model, and is directly applicable to almost every parallel computer architecture.
Parallel programming by definition involves co-operation between processes to solve a common task. The programmer has to define the tasks that will be executed by the processors, and also how these tasks are to synchronise and exchange data with one another. In the message-passing model the tasks are separate processes that communicate and synchronise by explicitly sending each other messages. All these parallel operations are performed via calls to some message-passing interface that is entirely responsible for interfacing with the physical communication network linking the actual processors together. This course uses the de facto standard for message passing, the Message Passing Interface (MPI). It covers point-to-point communication, non-blocking operations, derived datatypes, virtual topologies, collective communication and general design issues.
The course is normally delivered in an intensive three-day format using EPCC’s dedicated training facilities. It is taught using a variety of methods including formal lectures, practical exercises, programming examples and informal tutorial discussions. This enables lecture material to be supported by the tutored practical sessions in order to reinforce the key concepts.
Details and registration: https://www.archer2.ac.uk/training/courses/200514-mpi/
Other upcoming ARCHER2 Training
- ARCHER2 Training, Online, Wednesday 6th May 2020, 15:00-16:00 BST
- ARCHER2 Spectrum of Support, Online, Wednesday 13th May 2020 15:00-16:00 BST
- The determination of clusters structures combining infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations, Online, Wednesday 20th May 2020 15:00-16:00 BST
- Reproducible computational environments using containers, Online, 13-14 July 2020
- Preparing to run biomolecular QM/MM simulations with CP2K using AmberTools, Online, 9 June 2020 13:00-16:00 BST
Further details https://www.archer2.ac.uk/training/#upcoming-training
HPC-Europa3 Transnational Access programme
Collaborative research visits using High Performance Computing
Call for applications: next closing date 14th May 2020, for visits during the second half of 2020.
HPC-Europa3 funds research visits for computational scientists in any discipline which can use High Performance Computing (HPC).
Visits can be made to research institutes in Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain or the UK.
UK-based researchers can benefit in two ways: either by visiting a research group elsewhere in Europe, or by hosting a research visitor from another country.
Coronavirus travel restrictions: Applicants will be notified of the selection panel’s decisions around the end of June. We hope that the travel situation should be returning to normal by this time. Visits should be planned for July to December, but there can be some flexibility if there are continuing restrictions on travel at that stage.
What does HPC-Europa3 provide?
- Funding for travel, living and accommodation expenses for visits of up to 13 weeks.
- Access to world-class High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities.
- Technical support to help you make best use of the HPC systems.
- Collaborative environment with an expert in your field of research.
Who can apply?
- Researchers of all levels, from postgraduate to full professors.
- Researchers from academia or industry.
- Researchers currently working in a European Union country or Associated State (see http://bit.ly/AssociatedStates for full list of Associated States).
- Researchers may not visit a group in the country where they currently work.
- A small number of places may be available for researchers working outside these countries - please contact staff@hpc-europa.org for more information.
How do I apply?
Apply online at http://www.hpc-europa.org
The next closing date is 14th May 2020. Closing dates are held 4 times per year. Applications can be submitted at any time. You should receive a decision approximately 6 weeks after the closing date.
For more information and to apply online, visit: http://www.hpc-europa.org/
Follow us on Twitter for project news: https://twitter.com/HPCEuropa3
