Pitzer
Batch Execution Environment
Shell and initialization
HDF5
HDF5 is a general purpose library and file format for storing scientific data. HDF5 can store two primary objects: datasets and groups. A dataset is essentially a multidimensional array of data elements, and a group is a structure for organizing objects in an HDF5 file. Using these two basic objects, one can create and store almost any kind of scientific data structure, such as images, arrays of vectors, and structured and unstructured grids.
GROMACS
GROMACS is a versatile package of molecular dynamics simulation programs. It is primarily designed for biochemical molecules, but it has also been used on non-biological systems. GROMACS generally scales well on OSC platforms. Starting with version 4.6 GROMACS includes GPU acceleration.
Batch System Concepts
The only access to significant resources on the HPC machines is through the batch process.
Why use a batch system?
Access to the OSC clusters is through a system of login nodes. These nodes are reserved solely for the purpose of managing your files and submitting jobs to the batch system. Acceptable activities include editing/creating files, uploading and downloading files of moderate size, and managing your batch jobs. You may also compile and link small-to-moderate size programs on the login nodes.
FFTW
FFTW is a C subroutine library for computing the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) in one or more dimensions, of arbitrary input size, and of both real and complex data. It is portable and performs well on a wide variety of platforms.
BLAST
The BLAST programs are widely used tools for searching DNA and protein databases for sequence similarity to identify homologs to a query sequence. While often referred to as just "BLAST", this can really be thought of as a set of programs: blastp, blastn, blastx, tblastn, and tblastx.
Getting Connected
There are two ways to connect to our systems. The traditional way will require you to install some software locally on your machine, including an SSH client, SFTP client, and optionally an X Windows server. The alternative is to use our zero-client web portal, OnDemand.
AMBER
The Assisted Model Building with Energy Refinement (AMBER) package, which includes AmberTools, contains many molecular simulation programs targeted at biomolecular systems. A wide variety of modelling techniques are available. It generally scales well on modest numbers of processors, and the GPU enabled CUDA programs are very efficient.
Scheduling Policies and Limits
The batch scheduler is configured with a number of scheduling policies to keep in mind. The policies attempt to balance the competing objectives of reasonable queue wait times and efficient system utilization. The details of these policies differ slightly on each system. Exceptions to the limits can be made under certain circumstances; contact oschelp@osc.edu for details.