Computational Cluster Programs

Using a Cluster from the UCLA Grid Portal

The UCLA Grid Portal provides a common way of working with the clusters at UCLA. It provides access from any web browser via an interface that is intuitive to use.

The services provided by the UCLA Grid Portal include:

Resources
This table shown by this service includes the following for each cluster:
  • Cluster status, up or down
  • Load
  • Number of nodes
  • Number of running and queued jobs
Links in the table allow you to view detailed information about the nodes, queues, and queued jobs on each cluster.

Data Manager
Services provided by the Data Manager include:
  • Data management tasks with files on the clusters: create, delete, change permissions, rename, move, copy, etc.
  • View and edit files that reside on a cluster
  • Visualize data from various types of data files
  • Transfer files between clusters, upload/download files from/to your local machine.
Job Services
This is the batch jobs service. It includes the following:
Applications
This page allows you to submit batch jobs that run any of a number of popular commercial and non-commercial software applications.

On the left side of the page you will find a list of the applications on each of the clusters that you can access and a list of applications in the resource pool that any Grid Portal user can access. Clicking on an application name brings up a form to fill in to submit a job to run that application.

When you submit an application to run as a batch job on a specific cluster, the input files must reside on that cluster. When you submit an application to the resource pool, your input files will be staged from wherever they currently are to the target cluster on which the job will run.

There are two kinds of forms you can be presented with to fill out as part of the submittal process:

  • A form that requests the name of your input file, your job parameters, and an argument list to the application.

  • appForm

    appForm presents you with a form that is application specific. Instead of preparing an input file for the application yourself, you can fill in the form that appForm presents you with and press the Save button. appForm will construct the application-specific input file for you.

Generic Jobs
This page allows you to submit a batch job to any of the clusters that you can access. Use the Generic Job service to submit a job that runs a program or script that you have written yourself.

User Applications
This is a convenience service that allows you to enter information in a Job Submittal form once and use it over again. In the Generic Job or Applications page give the job you are submitting a name and check the box labeled "Save as your application". When you submit the job, the Grid Portal will save the form that you filled out to run the job for you by the name you specified. To run the same job again or a similar job, select the filled out form from the User Applications page, modify the information in the form if necessary and resubmit.

Job Status
Tables on this page allow you to see the status of your jobs and to view and download the stdout and stderr files produced by your jobs. For pool jobs you can download the entire job output.
Other Grids
This service embodies the Data Manager and Job Services but for clusters connected to grids that are outside of the UCLA Grid. Before you can use the Other Grids service you have to push your proxy certificate for the other grid to a myProxy server there. If you do not see that myProxy in the list of myProxy servers that the Grid Portal can access, contact atshpc@ucla.edu to ask for it to be included. The consultants will reply during normal business hours.

Interactive
This service allows you to run interactively on the clusters. It includes the following:
Interactive Apps
This page allows you to run interactive GUI applications, including xterm, on any of the clusters that you can access. Each interactive application runs in a full X Windows environment. You can start up an interactive application and come back later to check on it. You can have at most three interactive applications running at the same time.

In order to run an interactive application, you must have (installed) the Java runtime in your web browser and you cannot have blocked popup windows from the Grid Portal. To launch an application, click on its name under the name of the cluster on which you want to run it.

Development Environment
The Grid Web Development Environment allows you to write/compile C/C++/Fortran code. It can be used to compile any makefile project. Alternatively, you can compile applications in an xterm or by connecting to the head node via ssh.

SSH
The ssh applet lets you ssh directly to a cluster head node. In order to run the ssh applet you have to have:
  • Enabled your browser to run Java applets.
  • Unblocked pop-up windows from the Grid Portal in your web browser.
Getting an xterm under the Interactive Apps tab is an alternative to using ssh.