Apply for projects

This page guides you through the process of applying for projects at UPPMAX.

Go to the actual instructions and skip over the background information.

Background:

UPPMAX is a supercomputing facility hosted by Uppsala University and hosts resources for the National Academic Infrastructure for Supercomputing in Sweden (NAISS). As a NAISS provider, we provide computational resources at no cost to a wide variety of researchers all over Sweden. Access to our resources is granted to researchers affiliated with a Swedish higher-education institution through the NAISS project management portal, SUPR.

NAISS-funded compute and storage resources at UPPMAX are free to Swedish academic scientists.

We also provide UU-funded resources for research and teaching at Uppsala university.

In order to do any kind of computational work, you need two resources:

1. Computations. It takes time for a CPU to run programs. Computational resources are measured in core-hours. Allocations are granted in core-hours per month.
   • For example, if you have a hundred samples and it takes a single core a week to run a pipeline on one sample, then the total core-hours needed is 100 samples * 7 days/week * 24 hours/week * 1 core/hour = 16800 core-hours. If you're planning to do this analysis over the course of 6 months then you'll need a project that provides about 16800/6 = 2800 core-hours/month.
   • Our NAISS-funded general compute cluster is called Rackham.​
   • Our NAISS-funded secure cluster for sensitive data is called Bianca.
   • Our UU-funded general compute cluster is called Snowy.
   • If a project exceeds its allocation of CPU time, you can keep working but at a lower priority in the queue. We call this the bonus queue.
2. Data storage. It takes disk space to store sequences and related data. Space is usually measured in GB.
   • The data production facility should be able to tell you roughly how much space the raw sample will take. When you're working with the data, it usually expands by some factor, and you will need to account for this when you apply for a storage project.
   • The storage system attached to Rackham is named Crex.
   • The storage system attached to Bianca is called Castor.
   • If a project exceeds its storage quota, no one can write any more data to its directory.

On Rackham, we have divided projects into two types: Compute Projects and Storage Projects. On our secure cluster, Bianca, projects include both compute and storage resources.

Important note: UPPMAX is not responsible for primary data. In general, the academic institution hosting the PI is responsible for handling and archival of primary data. While UPPMAX systems may have backup, these are not designed to act as the sole repository of primary data, e.g. raw data or originals.

Compute Projects: NAISS Small Compute, NAISS Medium Compute, NAISS Large Compute, and UPPMAX Local Compute. They also come with 128 GB of storage, which is enough for many.

• Small: Anyone can apply. Default limit of 2000 core-hours/month, can go up to 5000 upon request.
• Medium: PI must be permanently employed researcher. Up to 200 kch/m. Subject to a technical evaluation.
• Large: For very large projects involving large groups or multiple groups. Proposals are accepted twice per year.

Storage Projects: NAISS Small Storage, NAISS Medium Storage, NAISS Large Storage are for storing active datasets used in a compute project. If you have purchased offload/glacial storage, you should apply for an UPPMAX Offload Storage project.

Sensitive Data Projects: These use the Bianca cluster and Cygnus storage in NAISS SENS.

Course Projects: Small projects for education purposes.

NAISS home page

SUPR - Swedish User and Project Repository

Getting your projects

Below are links to step-by-step instructions for getting a project.

Read this page first if you work with human data. It is very important that sensitive personal data is handled lawfully.

• Instructions for applying for a project involving sensitive personal data
• Instructions for users of the SIMPLER database

As described above, for non-sensitive projects, you'll need a compute project and probably a storage project. It is best to submit both proposals at once.

• Instructions for applying for a compute project
• Instructions for applying for a storage project
• This page has more information about course projects

After having submitted a proposals, a decision will be made by the end of the month. Feel free to contact support@uppmax.uu.se with questions.