Page under construction - last update: 2024-09-06
Information in this page is not yet complete nor final. It will be updated following the progress of
- the Alps system deployment at CSCS
- C2SM's adaptation to this new system
The Alps System¶
Alps is a distributed HPC infrastructure managed by CSCS. Contrary to traditional HPC, it is composed of several logical units called vClusters (versatile clusters). From the users perspective, they play the role of a traditional HPC machine, each vCluster being tailored to the needs of a specific community. This setup also enables geographical distribution of vClusters which facilitates geo-redundancy. The main physical piece of Alps is hosted at CSCS in Lugano and a detailed description can be found at their website .
vClusters¶
The following table shows the current plan for the final vClusters distribution on Alps at CSCS (not the current situation).
| vCluster | Activity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Daint | User Lab | ~ 800 GH nodes |
| Clariden | Machine Learning | ~ 800 GH nodes |
| Santis | Weather & Climate | ~ 400 GH nodes |
| Tödi | Testing | few GH nodes |
| Eiger | multi-core nodes |
GH = Grace Hopper
Early Access¶
For getting access to the vCluster dedicated to testing (Tödi), CSCS offers Preparatory Projects .
Support by CSCS¶
To contact CSCS staff directly, users can join their dedicated Slack channel .
File Systems¶
TODO
-
/users,/storeand/scratch - reserved space per vClsuter vs shared space
- ...
Introductory Workshop Material¶
As an introduction to the Alps infrastructure, the material of our C2SM workshop "Switching to Alps" from August 12, 2024 is available: