CF-137

The University of Hong Kong
Computer Centre

Information Sheet on High Performance Computing Facilities Account Application

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Introduction

The Computer Centre supports High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities to facilitate research and teaching at the University. At present, we have two HPC clusters set up, namely the “hpcpower” and “hkuhpcc” to support University staff and students for their research, teaching and learning that require computational-intensive resources.

About the Systems

Below is a summary about the two systems, “hkupower” and “hkuhpcc”:

	hkupower	hkuhpcc
No. of CPU	128 dual Intel Pentium 4 Xeon CPU	40 dual Intel Pentium III CPU
CPU speed	2.8GHz	1GHz (32 dual CPU) and 800MHz (8 dual CPU)
Disk storage	500GB	252GB
Theoretical peak (Rpeak) processing speed	1,433.6 GigaFLOPS	76.8 GigaFLOPS
Operating system	Red Hat Linux 9.0	Red Hat Linux 7.2
Software installed	Abaqus BLAS C C++ Fortran 77 Fortran 90 GAUSSIAN 03 -- High Performance Fortran -- LAPACK -- Maui job scheduler MPICH message passing library PBS job queue system -- --	-- BLAS C C++ Fortran 77 Fortran 90 -- GAUSSIAN 98 High Performance Fortran IMSL LAPACK LINDA -- MPICH message passing library -- ScaLAPACK TotalView debugger
Limit on batch processing queue	Maximum 64 processors for each computational job	Maximum 32 processors for each computational job
Web site reference	http://www.itservices.hku.hk/ccsystem/hpcpower/	http://www.itservices.hku.hk/ccsystem/hkuhpcc/

Account Application

Depending on the system resources and software packages requirement, users can apply for an account either on the “hpcpower” or “hkuhpcc” systems or both.

Application for an “hpcpower” account should be submitted via the application form CFe-137d (for Non-TOSI staff and students) or CFe-137e (for TOSI staff) while application for a “hkuhpcc” account should be submitted via the application form CFe-137a (for Non-TOSI staff and students) or CFe-137b (for TOSI Staff). These application forms can be submitted online via the HKU Portal at https://hkuportal.hku.hk by selecting the tab “Computer Centre” under the group “Services” and then the link “Facilities Applications”. These forms are also available for download at http://www.itservices.hku.hk/home/services/forms.htm.

Annual Account Renewal

All users are required to apply for annual renewal of their hkuhpcc/hpcpower accounts on October 1 each year in order to continue the use of their accounts. Detailed information about the project progress and results published should be included together with the account renewal application form CFe-137c. Please refer to the section on “Account Application” for details on getting this form.

Training

The Computer Centre also provides training and support to assist users in using the HPC facilities through parallel programming techniques. They can visit the web page at http://www.hku.hk/local/cc/training/courses.htm for the latest training courses to be conducted

Acknowledgement in Research Publications

Users are requested to acknowledge the use of the HPC facilitates of the University in publications of research results that are achieved or facilitated by the University’s HPC facilities.

Acceptable Use Policy for hpcpower/hkuhpcc Systems

1. Users are responsible for using the hpcpower and/or hkuhpcc systems, resources and facilities in an efficient, effective, ethical and lawful manner.

2. Users are requested to report any weaknesses in hpcpower and/or hkuhpcc computer security, and incidents of possible misuse or violation of the account policies to the Computer Centre.

3. Users shall not attempt to access any data or programs contained on the hpcpower and/or hkuhpcc systems for which they do not have authorization or explicit consent of the owner of the data/program.

4. Users shall not share their hpcpower and/or hkuhpcc account(s) with others. This includes sharing the password of the account, providing access via a .rhost entry or other means of sharing.

5. Users shall not make copies of system configuration files (e.g. the password file) for unauthorized personal use nor to provide them for other people/users.

6. Users shall not purposely engage in activities to circumvent hpcpower and/or hkuhpcc computer security or system administrative measures (for example batch queue control settings).

7. Users shall not download, install or run security programs or utilities which reveal weaknesses in the security of the hpcpower or hkuhpcc systems.