Apply for Computing Time

GCS calls for large-scale projects

HLRS is a German national high-performance computing center and member of the Gauss Centre for Supercomputing (GCS), the alliance of Germany's three tier-0 supercomputing centers. This means that HLRS operates a world-class supercomputing infrastructure that is designed to accommodate the most demanding computational research projects. Investigators interested in utilizing more than 25,000 node hours per year on HLRS's HPE Cray EX 4000 (Hunter) supercomputer are invited to reply to a GCS Call for Large-Scale Projects. Application deadlines for Large-Scale Projects occur twice annually, typically at the end of winter and end of summer.

Overview of GCS Large-Scale Projects

Examples of GCS Large-Scale Projects

Application form for Large-Scale Projects via GCS (new project application or extension of existing project)

GCS rolling call for proposals for regular projects

In addition to holding large-scale calls, GCS also supports access to HLRS's systems for smaller-scale (regular) projects requiring less than the lower limit specified for Large Scale projects per year. Applications can be submitted through the GCS-JARDS system at any time of year. Please note that in the calculation of the used compute time, the node hours are always multiplied with the available number of cores per node, which means, unused cores will also be charged.

Annually, HLRS publishes a book on “High-Performance Computing in Science and Engineering”. This book includes the latest findings from leading researchers using systems from HLRS.

Application form for regular access via GCS (new project application or extension of existing project)

Test access for GCS projects

If you are planning to submit a proposal for computing time on HLRS's systems, it is possible to gain temporary access beforehand to perform scalability tests of your code. This possibility exists for potential applicants both in GCS Large-Scale Calls and for those intending to submit a proposal for a smaller project as part of GCS's rolling call, as well as University of Stuttgart researchers.

Within your test account you can consume a resource contingent of 100 Hunter node hours on the granted hardware platforms. The project time is limited to six months. The account may be used only for testing of your software on our platforms, it must not be used for production. To apply for a test project, please upload a short application of one to three pages, briefly describing the project and outlining the objectives for the test period. This short proposal will not be peer-reviewed.

It is also possible to receive test access to HLRS's systems by proposing a GCS Preparatory Access project. This kind of test project is designed to support users in making precise preparations to undertake a GCS regular- or large-scale project. GCS Preparatory Access projects receive assistance from HLRS user support staff and provide a higher resource contingent than ordinary GCS test projects. GCS Preparatory Access projects may last a maximum of one year. Only a limited number of GCS Preparatory Access projects can be awarded.

Please use the application form on the GCS-Website to get in touch with the HLRS team. After receipt of your application, the HLRS team will contact you to discuss the requirements of your project.

Applying for test access via GCS

If you are a University of Stuttgart researcher and would like to use HLRS's systems, the following procedures apply:

Contact person in your department

Each University of Stuttgart institute/department has identified a single contact person who is responsible for managing administrative issues related to usage of HLRS's systems. The contact person in your department is responsible for defining new projects (accounting groups or "Abrechnungsprojekte") and user logins through the administration interface (password restricted).

If your institute/department does not yet have such a person, please use this contact form to define who is responsible.

Group and project ID's

Each project (accounting group) is associated with an account ID (ACID), which is the same as the group ID, and a group name. The default project of a user login is defined by the default group ID.

When you log into one of HLRS's systems as a user, you can use the command ID to see all group ID's and the group names associated with them.

Accounting

Accounting for usage of HLRS computing time is associated with an Account ID (ACID). Each user is associated with a default project. A user can simultaneously have both billed projects and reviewed projects. When submitting a compute job, you should specify the group name for accounting purposes. Please see the HLRS Platforms Wiki for more information. The corresponding page for each computing resource has information explaining how to set jobs under different ACID / group name for that specific resource.

Users associated with more than one project are responsible for indicating the correct project for a corresponding computing job. It is not possible to change the project affiliation for a job retroactively.

Billing and legal requirements

Use of HLRS platforms is billed annually according to the categories and rules in our cost and fee schedule (Entgeltordnung). Usage of our systems is governed by the rules specified in our Legal Requirements.

Computing budget

Institutes of the University of Stuttgart can apply for a computing budget at the Central Administration of the University (Dezernat V, Finanzen). The application form can be found here: Antrag Fonds für sonstige Maßnahmen.

If you are a member of the University of Stuttgart, you might already have a computing budget as part of your institute's budget. Check with your department administrators for more informaton. An annual budget for university projects can be entered via the above-mentioned accounting interface, which makes it possible to monitor the computing time costs incurred.

Computing through bwHPC

HLRS participates in the bwHPC program (High-Performance Computing in Baden-Württemberg), which supports scientific computing across the state. Researchers and students affiliated with a university in Baden-Württemberg can apply for access to the bwUniCluster or bwForCluster.

Apply for access to bwUniCluster

Apply for access to bwForCluster