HECToR Phase 2B Upgrade: Updated Dates
The latest dates for the Phase 2B upgrade this Summer to include a 20 cabinet Cray XT6 system. We will update users as soon as we have any more information on exact dates.
12 May 2010: Phase 2A Capacity Reduction
As part of the Phase 2B upgrade, the Phase 2A quad-core system will be reduced in size from 60 cabinets to 33 cabinets.
The maximum job size supported at this time will be reduced to 8192 cores.
June/July 2010: Phase 2B User Access
The Phase 2B 24-core system is planned to be online for initial configuration and testing in June.
User access will follow approximately two weeks after this.
All current users will automatically be granted access to the Phase2B system. We will advise on the exact machine configuration and will provide usage instructions on the website nearer the time.
June/July 2010: /work File System Upgrade
In readiness for the Phase 2B upgrade it is necessary to upgrade the /work filesystem in order that both the current XT4 system and the new XT6 can both access it.
As such, all user data will be copied from the existing /work filesystem to a new external /work filesystem.
In order to avoid an extensive amount of downtime for all users, this work will be phased project by project depending on the volume of data on /work. We estimate that 94% of projects will be covered in a single maintenance slot. The remaining 6% will be handled on a case by case basis due to the large volumes of data held. We will be contacting all PIs to advise when your project will be affected and to let you know how this will impact your users.
Note - This work will involve a period of time where quota changes via SAFE will be unavailable. Updated disk usage reports will also be unavailable while the process of copying data is ongoing.
Temporary work space will also be available on the new filesystem (which projects can use while original data is being copied) and we will issue full instructions on how to use it.
In advance of this, if you are currently keeping data on /work which you do not require, please delete it. If you have data which can be archived, please do so. If your project does not currently have an archive quota and you have data to archive, please contact the helpdesk and we will set this up for you. By phasing the work project by project we are doing our best to limit the impact of this change, but the less data there is, the quicker the process will be.
As far as possible the work above will be carried out during standard maintenance slots. We will of course confirm all dates nearer the time as all of the dates are subject to change.
This is a significant program of work and we will do our best to ensure that there is minimal interruption to service.
