Request New Allocation

Once a project has been created, an allocation to a computing and/or storage resource must also be requested. Allocations indicate what resources each project has access to and any limits associated with that access. Allocations expire either by date or when a limit is reached.

Types of allocations

CARC has three types of allocations that can be requested in the User Portal: computing resources on Discovery, computing resources on Endeavour (subscription-based), and storage space.

Discovery computing resources

CARC's main computing resource available to all USC faculty/staff and their students/collaborators. Discovery is a shared resource and free to use under most circumstances, although larger allocations can be requested for a fee. There are five allocation sizes available; see "Requesting an allocation" below for details.

Endeavour computing resources (subscription-based)

CARC's condo cluster, part of the Condo Cluster Program (CCP). The CCP allows research groups to subscribe to their selected number of compute nodes on a yearly basis. The resources that a research group subscribes to will be dedicated for use by their condo job queue. This user guide explains how to request a CCP subscription, but the Request New Condo Subscription user guide has more detailed instructions.

CARC also offers a traditional, five-year purchase model for condo resources. See the Request New Condo Purchase user guide for more information.

Storage space

Storage space in the /project file system. PIs can request up to 10 TB of space across projects for free, but more can be purchased if needed.

cryo-EM computing resources

A special allocation for researchers that will make use of the cryo-electron microscopes (cryo-EM) housed at the the Core Center for Excellence in Nano Imaging. The cryo-EM instruments are a paid service and pricing details can be found here. Includes access to the cryo-EM pre-processing portal, a GPU cluster with 10 GPU compute nodes, and a shared storage space (/cryoem1) for the datasets collected by the microscopes.

Requesting an allocation

First, click on the name of the project that you are requesting an allocation for to be taken to that project's Project Detail page.

ColdFront Project page

To request a new allocation for a resource, click on the green Request Resource Allocation button on the Project Detail page.

You will then be taken to the Request New Allocation page:

ColdFront New Allocation

The Resource drop-down list contains the following resource options (only resources for your project's cluster type, Discovery or Endeavour, are selectable):

  • Discovery (Cluster Partition): CARC's main computing resource. Shared and typically free to use.
    • Compute size:
      • Small: 12,000,000 system units (default and free)
      • Medium: 30,000,000 system units (annual charges may apply)
      • Large: 60,000,000 system units (annual charges may apply)
      • Large2m: 120,000,000 system units (annual charges may apply)
      • Class: 600,000 system units (free, for faculty teaching classes)
      • Graduate research: 6,000,000 system units (free, for students conducting research work that is separate from a PI's main research project)
  • Endeavour (Cluster Partition) - Condo Subscription: Paid service, part of the Condo Cluster Program. PIs will receive an email once resources are available (typically 24-48 hours after the request).
    • Nodetype:
      • Lenovo NX360 with 16 CPU cores and 64 GB memory: $800 per year
      • Lenovo NX360 with 20 CPU cores and 64 GB memory: $1,000 per year
  • Project Storage (Storage): Storage space in the /project file system. PIs can request up to 10 TB of space across projects for free, but more can be purchased if needed.
    • Entered in increments of 5 TB.
  • cryo-EM Subscription (Cluster Partition): This is a special allocation for researchers that will make use of the cryo-electron microscopes (cryo-EM) housed at the the Core Center for Excellence in Nano Imaging. The cryo-EM instruments are a paid service and pricing details can be found here.

Select the resource you'd like access to and provide a justification for access to that resource. Your justification should include information on how you'll be using the resource and how many CPU/service unit hours you anticipate needing to use.

If required, select the users on your project for which you'd like to grant access to this allocation.

If you're requesting a condo subscription resource, you'll have to read the Terms and Conditions before completing your request. If you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions, please contact us at carc-condo@usc.edu before submitting your request.

Click the Submit button when done.

Note: If there is a resource you think you should have access to but it's not in the drop-down list on the Request New Allocation page, please submit a help ticket. If you would like access to a departmental server or a colleague's cluster, the PI responsible for that resource may need to request the allocation for you.

Allocation Status: New

Your allocation will now display on your Project Detail page with a status of "New".

ColdFront Allocation Status Pending/New

Allocation Status: Active

Once verified and approved by CARC, the status will be changed to "Active" and you will have access to that resource for your project:

ColdFront Allocation Status Active

Project Review

If you have not completed a project review in the last 365 days, you will be required to do this before requesting any allocations. You will see this error:

ColdFront Project Review

More information about the project review process can be found here.

Increasing an existing storage allocation

If you have an existing storage allocation but would like to increase the amount of storage, please submit a help ticket under the "Accounts/Access" category. Please include your project ID, desired allocation size, and reason for this increase. The CARC team will consult with you to determine your needs and the total cost.

PIs with departmental clusters

If you would like a colleague to have access to your resource, please submit a help ticket to request this. It's important that you let CARC know if that colleague is allowed to add users from their research group to your cluster. You will not be able to see any allocations or users that are added if this access is given.

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