Introduction¶
This documentation focuses mostly on our High-Performance Computing (HPC) Clusters at West Virginia University Research Computing (WVU-RC). However, WVU-RC offers a variety of technologies and services beyond HPC. The Introduction chapter summarizes those services and the policies regarding their usage. Purchasing nodes is also possible and described.
First-time users should go to Quick Start. This chapter is presented as a tutorial, covering the basic elements of using a computer cluster. It guides the user step by step from getting an account to submitting a job and taking the results back to his/her desktop computer.
Once you have followed the Quick Start, we move into the chapter:ref:chap-basic-usage. This chapter assumes that the user knows at least how to enter the cluster and submit a basic job. The chapter provides basic information not covered in the Quick Start tutorial. We include more information about the command line interface, the various text-based editors, environment modules, and more details on the previously skipped information.
The next chapter is Advanced Usage. It is intended for users who feel comfortable with the Command Line Interface. Advanced users are supposed to know how to create scripts using Shell Scripting or any other interpreted language. They could also be interested in installing their own software, using containers, or conda environments.
The chapter Scientific Programming is intended for users interested in developing, testing, and running their programs on WVU’s clusters. We introduce the basics of using compilers, build systems, parallel programming, debugging, profiling, and optimization. Developers can be considered advanced users who program their codes or integrate others in more than a simple linear workflow.
In the chapter Software Administration, we refer to the various tools that can be used to monitor the global health of clusters. In general, users do not need that global view, but knowing how the entire cluster works can give them insights about their own role in effectively using the cluster.
The next chapter Domain Specific Details collects sections for various relevant packages for a restricted number of researchers.
Chapter Clusters Specifications should serve as a reference for the current configuration of the clusters in terms of hardware, software, modules, and queues.
The final chapter, References, collects tables and references about Unix commands, PBS options, and variables. It should be of good use when you know exactly what you are looking for.