Introduction to ARCHER2 for software developers

Description

This lesson provides an introduction to using ARCHER2 for users who:

have already used other HPC systems; and
want to compile (and possibly) develop HPC software on ARCHER2.

The lesson aims to answer the following questions:

What hardware is available on ARCHER2?
- What does it consist of (login nodes, compute nodes, file systems, backup)?
- How does this impact me as a user?
How can I access ARCHER2 interactively and transfer data?
What does the ARCHER2 application development environment look like and how do I use it?
How do I write job submission scripts and submit them to the ARCHER2 scheduler?
How can I be a good ARCHER2 citizen?
How can I check what resources I am using and look at historical usage?
What are the next steps for me using ARCHER2 and how can I get more help?

General Information

Requirements: Participants must bring a laptop with a Mac, Linux, or Windows operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc.) that they have administrative privileges on. They should have a few specific software packages installed (listed below). They are also required to abide by the ARCHER2 Training Code of Conduct.

Accessibility: We are committed to making this workshop accessible to everybody. The workshop organizers have checked that:

The room is wheelchair / scooter accessible.
Accessible restrooms are available.

Materials will be provided in advance of the lesson and large-print handouts are available if needed by notifying the organizers in advance. If we can help making learning easier for you (e.g. sign-language interpreters, lactation facilities) please get in touch (using contact details below) and we will attempt to provide them.

Contact: Please email a.turner@epcc.ed.ac.uk for more information.

Prerequisites

You should have used remote HPC facilities before. In particular, you should be happy with connecting using SSH, know what a batch scheduling system is and be familiar with using the Linux command line. You should also be happy editing plain text files in a remote terminal (or, alternatively, editing them on your local system and copying them to the remote HPC system using scp). Finally, you should be comfortable with compiling parallel HPC source code that uses MPI and OpenMP.

Schedule

		Setup	Download files required for the lesson
Day 1	10:00	1. Welcome	What can I expect from this course? How will the course work and how will I get help? How can I give feedback to improve the course?
	10:15	2. Connecting to ARCHER2 and transferring data	How can I access ARCHER2 interactively and transfer data?
	11:00	3. Morning Break	Break
	11:15	4. Overview of the ARCHER2 system	What hardware and software is available on ARCHER2? How does the hardware fit together?
	12:00	5. Lunch	Break
	13:00	6. ARCHER2 development environment	What does the ARCHER2 development environment look like and how do I access different components? How can I find out what compilers, tools, and libraries are available? How can I capture my current environment for reuse or to share with others? How can I get help with compiling and developing software on ARCHER2?
	14:15	7. Afternoon Break	Break
	14:30	8. ARCHER2 scheduler: Slurm	How do I write job submission scripts? How do I control jobs? How do I find out what resources are available?
	15:15	Finish
Day 2	10:00	9. Debugging and profiling on ARCHER2	What debugging tools are available on ARCHER2 and how can I access them? What profiling tools are available on ARCHER2 and how can I access them? Where can I find more documentation on and get help with these tools?
	11:00	10. Morning Break	Break
	11:15	11. How to be a good ARCHER2 citizen	How can I be a responsible user? How can I protect my data?
	11:45	12. Using SAFE	How can I manage my ARCHER2 user account? How can I gain access to licensed software on ARCHER2? How can I check what resources I am using and look at historical usage?
	12:15	13. Lunch	Break
	13:15	14. Next steps	Where can I get further help on using ARCHER2? What other training is available to me? How can I get access to ARCHER2 for my research?
	13:45	15. Bootstrapping your use of ARCHER2	How can I get started with using ARCHER?
	16:00	Finish

The actual schedule may vary slightly depending on the topics and exercises chosen by the instructor.