Picotte User Accounts

The University Block of Picotte is available to Drexel faculty and students to run batch jobs. The job scheduling software is configured to allow the fairest allocation of compute time across all Picotte users, and no hard limits on compute time are currently in place. Depending upon usage, we may move to an allocation-based system in FY15.

To gain access, submit an application. By submitting an application, you agree to abide by the URCF User Policy below.

Accounts used for coursework or educational purposes are subject to additional Terms of Use.

You will be notified of your activated account on Picotte once it is ready.

User Policy

Overview

This policy governs all aspects of user account authorization, creation, and removal within the University Research Computing Facility (URCF) computing environment. Per Drexel's Acceptable Use Policy, all accounts are assigned to individuals, and are non-transferable.

Account Authorization

Faculty Account Requests

Any faculty member of Drexel University may request an account for use of the URCF computing environment. An account will be granted to a faculty member pursuing active research requiring the use of resources provided by the URCF computing environment. The department chair(s) of the faculty member requesting the account will receive notification of the account request and approval. The purpose of this notification is to sustain and grow the facility by raising awareness of its usage among the chairs and, indirectly, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.

Staff Account Requests

Any staff member of Drexel University may request an account for use of the URCF computing environment. An account will be granted to a staff member under the following conditions: a) the staff member's department head or supervisor endorses the request for access, b) the staff member will be conducting research on behalf of a faculty member (research associate of any kind) or providing direct support to a faculty member.

Student Account Requests

Any student of Drexel University may request an account for use of the URCF computing environment. An account will be granted to a student under the following conditions: a) the student's supervisor endorses the request for access, b) the student will be conducting research on behalf of a faculty member (research associate of any kind) or providing direct support to a faculty member.

External Person Account Request

An account will be granted to a person who is not directly affiliated with Drexel University provided that: a) the person is directly collaborating with a faculty member affiliated with Drexel University, b) the Drexel faculty member has an existing relationship with the URCF computing environment, c) the Drexel faculty member endorses the request for an account. These accounts shall be valid only for the duration of the collaboration with the Drexel faculty member or until the Drexel faculty member no longer is affiliated with the URCF computing environment.

For clarity, an external person shall be defined as someone who has no official, direct relationship (academic or employment) with Drexel University, or Drexel University College of Medicine.

In certain URCF systems administration situations, a short term guest account may be authorized by the systems administration personnel to facilitate normal operations of the facility.

Account Termination

Default Account Authorizations

The default duration for which an account is authorized differs among the account types delineated above. The following list specifies the account types and their default period for which they are authorized:

Account Type	Period of Authorization
Faculty	Duration of faculty member's association with the University, either through employment or emeritus appointment. To ensure faculty accounts are current, renewal requests will be sent every two years to ensure the account is still required.
Staff	As authorized by supervisor up to 2 years, renewable every year thereafter.
Student Research	As authorized by faculty advisor up to 2 years, renewable every year thereafter.
External Person	As authorized by Drexel sponsor up to 1 year, renewable every year thereafter.

Accounts are subject to immediate revocation of their authorization if use of the account has violated the terms of the URCF User Policy or Drexel University’s Acceptable Use Policy.

Revocation of Accounts

Once the account is no longer authorized for use on URCF, an automated process shall be used to expire and remove the account. This automated process will make a best effort to adhere to the following protocol:

Date Relative to End of Authorization	Action Taken
30 days prior	Email notification of upcoming expiration sent to address on record, and to the PI/supervisor of the user.
Day authorization ends	Account is disabled and logins no longer permitted. Email notification sent to address on record.
30 days after	Account is deleted. All files owned and grouped to the account have their ownership and group membership changed to the registered advisor or supervisor account, if it exists. Email notification sent to advisor or supervisor regarding the change.

The account termination protocol may be abridged or disregarded in cases where authorization must be terminated abruptly or the adherence to the protocol would cause significant risk to the normal operation of the URCF.

Accounts may be reactivated at the discretion of the URCF Governing Board.

Account Management

Authorization Requests

Requests for account authorization and group membership shall be submitted through the URCF facility's designated issue tracking system in production at the time of the request.

Group Membership

Each operating system group that is available for assignment to user accounts on the URCF facility has a designated approval authority registered for the group. Each group membership requested for an account shall be approved by that group's designated authority prior to its addition. Because of the delays in communication associated with the designated approval authorities, group membership requests can take several business days to be approved and assigned to an account. In the interests of time, authorization and creation of accounts can be fulfilled without the requested group memberships assigned and, as the group membership requests are approved, can be added at a later date.

Sponsorship and Authorization

In general, authorized accounts in the URCF are governed and protected by the Acceptable Use Policy.

However, conditions unique to the URCF exist and must be emphasized. Specifically, accounts authorized by a sponsor of any kind can be subject to the status, requests, and decisions of the sponsor. The balance between the rights of the account holder and the rights of the account sponsor are difficult to define fairly in a policy. Determination of this balance shall be under the sole discretion of the URCF management, and will be guided by this URCF User Policy, and the Acceptable Use Policy.

With little or no prior notice to the account holder, a person that authorizes or sponsors that account may revoke that authorization at any time and cause the account to undergo the automated revocation process.

Transfer of Account Authorization

Users and their accounts are subject to changes in authorization parties (i.e. 'advisors') during the course of the academic career at Drexel University. Users are required to notify the URCF management through the Authorization Requests process of any changes that would affect an account's authorization status or authority. While not an exhaustive or complete list, such changes include: (a) change of department, (b) change of degree program, (c) change of research group, or (d) change of research advisor.

Failure to provide this advance notification could result in the account becoming subject to the automated account removal process.

Basic Allocations

All PIs receive a no-cost basic allocation for HPC resources. For the July 2019 – June 2020 fiscal year, the Basic Allocation is 7,305 SU per month. Unused basic allocations do NOT rollover from month to month and are forfeited if not used during the month of allocation. This option provides faculty immediate access to the shared resources of the Picotte cluster including compute nodes, GPUs, and basic storage. A Drexel PI may designate users who may share their allocation, including but not limited to postdocs, grad students, undergraduate students, and K-12 students/teachers. Basic allocations may be subject to resource restrictions (# of concurrent CPUs, storage, etc.) as determined by the Board.

Investor Allocations

Investors can obtain additional SUs on Picotte by: a) purchasing of Picotte cluster-compliant hardware or b) purchasing of cluster time/storage (cases are differentiated below). Purchased SUs will contribute to the maintenance and expansion of the cluster, while purchased nodes will immediately augment the cluster.

Purchase of Equipment (typically $12K or above)

Faculty are encouraged to purchase one or more Picotte-compliant nodes for integration into the cluster. Researchers will receive, as a credit to their account, a number of SUs equivalent to the cost of the purchased equipment. Purchased nodes are not subject to the F&A/indirect-cost rate, providing a substantial cost savings over direct purchase of SUs.

Purchase of SUs (typically less than $12K)

Faculty who require more than the basic allocation level may purchase additional SUs directly. When budgeting computational resources for a grant, an SU purchase should be listed as “Purchased Services: Computer Use” and is subject to F&A/indirect-cost rate. SU usage will be deducted from the budgeted fund’s designated cost-center on a monthly basis.

Educational Allocations

Faculty who teach courses that can benefit from Picotte access may apply to the Board for a grant for each course. An application, consisting of a course syllabus, must be submitted by drop day of the quarter prior to that in which the course will be taught. Educational grants may be subject to resource limitations.

Supplemental Allocations

Brief proposals for additional SUs can be submitted by a Drexel PI at any time. Proposals are reviewed on a monthly basis and are subject to approval by the Board based upon scientific merit, resource availability, current and pending support, and prior results. Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide preliminary data to justify the requested allocation. A supplemental allocation application form can be found on the URCF web site.

Exceeding Allocations

Faculty whose use exceeds their allocation will be expected to obtain another allocation via purchase or grant. When an overage occurs, PIs will be contacted by URCF to resolve the matter. If neither a purchase nor grant proposal is received in a timely manner, the Board reserves the right to limit or suspend the PI’s account and access subject to a Board vote.

Basic Allocations

Investor Allocations

Purchase of Equipment (typically $12K or above)

Purchase of SUs (typically less than $12K)

Educational Allocations

Supplemental Allocations

Exceeding Allocations