Research Computing Services — RCS

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Foundations for Research Computing

Research Computing Services (RCS), a team within CUIT's Research Services department, is responsible for providing technology resources to support Columbia's researchers and the University's mission to be a leading driver of research, innovation and the advancement of knowledge.

The Research Computing Services team hosts a number of workshops to help you get the most out of our High Performance Computing Cluster. Additionally, we hold an HPC Open Lab the first Monday of every month for those who have additional questions. Download our one-page handout on our workshops and training services to share our offerings with your team or department!

Workshops and Training

HPC Support Office Hour sessions are held from 3-5 pm on the first University Monday of the month online via Zoom. You must register prior to attending. We will send you online meeting details prior to the meeting. Please note: You must register by the end of Sunday before the session takes place.

Is computer processing time holding back your work? Are your projects running into the limits of your machine’s capacities? High Performance Computing (HPC)—sometimes called supercomputing—delivers more efficiency and accuracy than your typical workstation by aggregating computing power, allowing you to run more complex experiments and solve larger problems. Register to learn more. Staff from Research Computing Services are on call to help with projects, general questions, or just to get started!

Next Workshop: Introduction to Linux Thursday, October 27, 2022, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Come learn the basics of the Linux command line as a prelude to learning how to use the High Performance Computing (HPC) resources at Columbia. This is the first in a series of workshops about using HPC to enhance your research. Note: please have your laptop ready for this session; instructions will follow on how to set up the necessary environment on your laptop to use Linux.

Next Workshop: Introduction to Scripting Thursday, November 3, 2022, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Come learn the basics of scripting in the Linux operating system as a prelude to learning how to use the High Performance Computing (HPC) resources at Columbia. This is the second in a series of workshops about using HPC to enhance your research. Note: please have your laptop ready for this session; instructions will follow on how to set up the necessary environment on your laptop to use Linux.

Next Workshop: Introduction to High Performance Computing Thursday, November 10, 2022, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Come learn how to use High Performance Computing (HPC) on a Columbia cluster. This is the third in a series of workshops about using HPC to enhance your research. Please attend the Intro to Linux or Intro to Linux Scripting workshop prior to this session if you are new to either topic. Note: please have your laptop ready for this session; instructions will follow on how to set up the necessary environment on your laptop to use HPC.

Next Workshop: TBA
Resources from November Workshop

This is part one of a two part workshop series about how the cloud can be leveraged to accelerate your research at Columbia. This workshop includes an introduction to the cloud and foundational concepts around cloud computing. Cloud computing is an ever growing and evolving set of tools and services that can empower researchers to quickly build resources to store, manage, and analyze data.

In this first workshop session, you will learn:

- What is the cloud?
- What are advantages and disadvantages of using the cloud for research?
- What cloud resources are available to me?
- How do I set up compute, storage, and billing resources?

The second workshop, entitled High Performance Computing on Google Cloud Platform, will focus on practical step-by-step tutorials on leveraging cloud resources for popular workflows.

Next Workshop: TBA
Resources from November Workshop

This is the second part of a two part workshop series about how the cloud can be leveraged to accelerate your research at Columbia.

Building on the concepts introduced in the Introduction to Cloud Computing for Research workshop, this session will focus on practical step-by-step tutorials on leveraging cloud resources for popular workflows, including:

- Setting up your own High Performance Computing cluster in GCP.
- Using Machine Learning Notebooks in GCP.
- Using a GPU accelerated workstation in GCP.

As of September 1, 2022, XSEDE is now known as ACCESS, an NSF-funded, nationwide collection of supercomputing systems available to researchers through merit-based allocations. The resources are free, but the application process can be competitive. All Columbia faculty members and postdoctoral researchers who are eligible principal investigators (PIs) can contact RCS to inquire about joining our ACCESS national HPC test allocation as a first step to obtaining your own allocation. If you need to run jobs for more than our current 5-day maximum wall time, or you have a short or one-time project, or if you do not have a budget for our resources, ACCESS can be a good option.

There are a few types of allocations that Columbia researchers can use in order of ease of acquisition and amount of resources available.

Use Columbia's Discover allocation 

For very small-scale testing and benchmarking, which Columbia ACCESS representatives can approve.

Accelerate ACCESS Allocation

Accelerate ACCESS allocations are one of the fastest ways to gain access to and start using ACCESS-allocated resources.  Accelerate ACCESS requests require minimal documentation: project description, no more than three (3) pages, and the PI's CV. For resources greater than this, you would need to submit a Maximize access allocation request.

Maximize Access Allocation

For projects that have progressed beyond the Accelerate phase, either in purpose or scale of computational activities, a Maximize ACCESS Request is appropriate. Requests for a Maximize ACCESS allocation are accepted and reviewed by the ACCESS Allocation Review Committee (AARC). Research requests are highly competitive. 

  • To begin, create an account and log in to ACCESS.
  • Under Select an Identity Provider, type Columbia and select Columbia University, and click Log On.
  • You can choose either option in "Select an information release consent duration:" but "Ask me again if information to be provided to this service changes" is the default.
  • Click Accept.
  • Click Begin.
  • Click Submit and type Columbia and click Select, and an email verification will be sent.
  • Read the Terms and Conditions, tick the checkbox next to I Agree, and click Submit.
  • Enter a new password and click Submit.
  • Send an email to [email protected] letting them know you have created an ACCESS account.