The HECToR Service is now closed and has been superceded by ARCHER.

THE HECToR SERVICE WILL CLOSE ON MARCH 21st 2014 AND WILL BE SUPERCEDED BY THE ARCHER SERVICE. Prospective users should refer to the ARCHER Website. These pages are kept for historical reasons only.

Getting Access to HECToR

How you apply for access to the HECToR Facility depends on whether you are an academic researcher based in the UK, in Europe, somewhere else or you work for a commercial organisation.

We have designed an online tool that will help you apply for access to HECToR. All you need to do is answer a few simple questions:

You can also use the following links to access this information directly.

Academic Researchers based in the UK

There are essentially four classes of access on HECToR for UK-based academic researchers.

Class 1a - Full Peer Reviewed Access.

Applicants complete an application form and prepare the necessary supporting documentation prior to applying via the J-eS system.

Details of the Class 1a application procedure for your particular research council are listed below.

Class 1b - Direct Access.

In response to the 2009 Gateway review of the HECToR project and requests from users, it was felt that users would benefit from a new access mechanism which would allow them direct access to HECToR and the ability to request large allocations of compute time with a faster review process than is currently possible through EPSRC's full peer-review mechanism. As such EPSRC has decided to pilot a new access class for the HECToR service called Direct Access (Class 1b) where users can request significant amounts ( more than 1,000 kAUs) of computing resource only.

Note: Direct Access is only open to EPSRC applicants.

Class 2a - Pump Priming/New Research

New users to HPC may wish to start with a Class2 project. Under this access route it is anticipated that most applications will be exploratory in nature, utilising allocated compute time to gain a feel of whether usage of the service is of benefit to their research. As such this activity is aimed at new-users and those transitioning from other HPC platforms. Under this mechanism up to 300 kAU can be requested from HECToR Phase 2a and subsequent phases.

A Technical Assessment form and 2 page case for support are required. Applications should be routed directly to the HECToR Helpdesk. You can use the online HECToR AU calculator to help you fill in the Technical Assessment form.

An office decision is then made by the relevant research council on whether to grant access.

Class 2b - Distributed Computational Science and Engineering (dCSE)

Class 2b provides researchers who do not hold a HECToR allocation with a modest allocation of compute time (maximum of 800 kAU) that will be released to the applicant on successful review of their Distributed Computational Science and Engineering (dCSE) grant.

Users should complete a Technical Assessment form and forward it to the Helpdesk. You can use the online HECToR AU calculator to help you fill in the Technical Assessment form.

Access to GPGPU Testbed

EPSRC invites proposals to access a GPGPU test facility hosted by the University of Edinburgh. It is envisaged that expressions of interest to access the test bed will be primarily for test and development, and exploratory work to trial this relatively new architecture.

Access to the GPGPU testbed is now open to all EPSRC-eligible applicants. Please check the GPGPU Access page for further information.

Academic Researchers based in Europe

There are a number of routes by which European based researchers can get access to the HECToR Facility.

Academic Researchers based elsewhere in the World

The main route of access would be through collaboration with a UK- or European-based researcher. Other arrangements may be possible, please contact the HECToR Helpdesk for more information.

Commercial Organisation

Commercial organisations can also get access to HECToR.

Commercial users please contact the EPCC Industry Hub in the first instance.

The Cost of Access to HECToR

This section provides more information on how much your project will cost your Research Council. The costs of access to the service depends on the funding council.

More detail on the cost of access.