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Active Compute
Shared high-performance computing environment, including dedicated hardware available for high-memory and GPU-intensive tasks. Intended for active research data that is frequently accessed, modified, or computed againstOverview
The O2 cluster is a shared high-performance computing environment serving a large research community with diverse research requirements and workflows, including dedicated hardware for high-memory and GPU-intensive tasks. Active Compute comprises shared group or project folders accessible when signed in to O2 or the transfer cluster. It is intended for active research data frequently accessed, modified, or computed against.
Access
How to Login to O2 from the O2 Cluster or Transfer Cluster
Request storage
Allocation amounts dependent on lab needs and available resources. If not eligible, please contact HMS Research Computing to discuss further options.
To request storage, complete the Active: Compute Storage Request Form.
Contact
Contact Research Computing Consultants: rchelp@hms.harvard.edu
Resources
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Active Collaborations
Share files and documents with colleagues within and outside of your department. Intended for active research data that is frequently accessed or modified.Overview
Active Collaborations are shared group or project drives, designed for active research data that is frequently accessed or modified. Active Collaborations allows individuals to share documents and files with colleagues, both from within and outside of their department.
How to access
- Active Collaborations are shared group or project drives, generally accessed from desktops and laptops. Also available on the O2 Cluster as
/n/files.
Request storage
To request storage, please complete the Active: Collaborations Storage Request Form.
Contact
Contact Research Data Management: rdmhelp@hms.harvard.edu
- Active Collaborations are shared group or project drives, generally accessed from desktops and laptops. Also available on the O2 Cluster as
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Scratch
Scratch space available on O2 that should be utilized for transient files during a single job on the HPC Cluster. Intended to be used as a temporary storage space for data that can be easily regenerated.Overview
A scratch space is available on O2, mounted at
/n/scratch3. Intended to be used as temporary storage (days to weeks) for data that can be easily regenerated. Should be utilized for transient files during a single job on the HMS High-Performance Compute (HPC) Cluster.Note – Non-temporary data should be stored elsewhere, as an automatic deletion process will take place, periodically removing files.
Access
To Create a User Scratch Directory
Contact
Contact Research Computing Consultants: rchelp@hms.harvard.edu
Resources
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Standby
Should be leveraged for infrequently accessed data. Can also act as an intermediary location, a space to organize and prepare research data for long-term retention.Overview
Standby is a new storage offering, built as an alternative to Tier 2. Standby should be leveraged for infrequently accessed data that is still directly available for reference, retrieval or analysis. Standby can act as an intermediary location; a space to organize and prepare research data for long-term retention.
Standby can also be used to store large data sets, transferring portions of the data back and forth to the Active space for analysis. Data stored in Standby does not need to be recalled or downloaded for access, the data is available immediately.
How to access
Standby is accessible via desktop or transfer nodes on O2. To access /n/standby on the O2 cluster, you must sign in to one of the transfer servers at transfer.rc.hms.harvard.edu; /n/standby is not available from O2 login or compute nodes.
Standby storage provides a similar degree of data protection as Active, including snapshots and off-site backup.
Request storage
Allocation amounts dependent on lab needs and available resources.
To request storage, please complete the Standby Storage Request Form.
Contact
Contact Research Data Management: rdmhelp@hms.harvard.edu
Resources
For additional information, visit the Standby storage webpage.
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Cold
A lower cost storage offering intended for long-term storage of inactive research data, such as after project completion, but must still be kept to meet data retention requirementsOverview
Cold storage is a low-cost data storage service intended for long-term storage of inactive research data, such as after project completion, that must be retained to meet data retention requirements.
Data identified for Cold storage should not be expected to be accessed or retrieved except in rare and unexpected circumstances. Due to the slow transfer rates and costs of transfer (currently covered by HMS), only the minimum amount of data needed should be retrieved.
Examples for when it is appropriate to move data to Cold storage:
- Project Completion
- Grant or funding agency data retention requirements for project datasets
- Journal stipulations for data retention of published data
- Harvard institutional policy stipulating 7-year retention of “essential research records”
- Data retained for intellectual property purposes (e.g., patents)
- Inactive data associated with a departed lab member
- Raw data difficult to regenerate, associated with completed projects
Additional information about Cold Storage is available in ServiceNow.
How to access
Direct access to the files in Cold storage will be limited to HMS IT. Metadata associated with the migrated files will be viewable using your group’s Starfish Zone dashboard and/or corresponding manifest file(s).
Request storage
To request data be moved to or retrieved from Cold Storage: Cold Storage Request Form
Contact
Contact Research Data Management: rdmhelp@hms.harvard.edu
Resources
For additional information, visit the Cold Storage webpage.
