Computing Services

More HPC Workshops

Build Your Skills with HPC Trainings and Workshops

Do you need some training so you can use the Roar supercomputer systems more effectively? Or, maybe you’re just interested in learning more about HPC? Browse the list below, which includes both

  • Training sessions offered by ICDS
  • Other learning opportunities

You’ll find informative HPC workshops on topics like optimizing your code, programming in parallel, using specific software applications, and more. Many of the options listed here are free and/or on-demand.

Jupyter and Colab logos

All About JupyterLab/Google Colab

Date: Tuesday, August 24

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Location: Online

This workshop is designed for students, staff, and faculty who are new to JupyterLab and Google Colab. The workshop will cover several topics, including:

  • how to access the Google Colab resource and use files within Google Colab, Google Drive, and GitHub
  • how to run R, HTML, SQL, and Python code all in the same notebook
  • how to interact with the server command line to install applications temporarily for your notebook
  • how to use markdown to create a structure to your notebook and add images/videos to help tell your story
  • how to tap into the GPU and TPU allocations provided by Google Colab
SCHEDULE: The workshop lasts from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to join early (from 1:30 to 2:00) or stay late (3:00 to 3:30) for additional support or questions.

Register or Learn More

Debugging Your Code with TotalView

Date: Tuesday, August 31

Time: 9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.

Location: Online

ICDS, in collaboration with Perforce, is offering this workshop to provide attendees with an introduction to the TotalView software, which is used for debugging and analyzing code. This workshop will be led by Perforce software engineers who work on TotalView. TotalView, a tool available on Penn State's Roar supercomputer, lets users debug, analyze, and scale high-performance computing applications. This includes highly dynamic, parallel, and multicore applications that run on diverse hardware — from desktops to supercomputers. Who Should Attend? Any student, faculty member, or staff member who writes their own code is welcome to attend. Agenda:

  • Mixed language C/Python debugging
  • NVIDIA GPU and CUDA debugging
  • Reverse connections
  • ReplayEngine reverse debugging
  • Memory debugging in the new UI
REGISTER NOW

Jupyter and Colab logos

All About JupyterLab/Google Colab

Date: Wednesday, September 8

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Location: Online

This workshop is designed for students, staff, and faculty who are new to JupyterLab and Google Colab. The workshop will cover several topics, including:

  • how to access the Google Colab resource and use files within Google Colab, Google Drive, and GitHub
  • how to run R, HTML, SQL, and Python code all in the same notebook
  • how to interact with the server command line to install applications temporarily for your notebook
  • how to use markdown to create a structure to your notebook and add images/videos to help tell your story
  • how to tap into the GPU and TPU allocations provided by Google Colab
SCHEDULE: The workshop lasts from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to join early (from 1:30 to 2:00) or stay late (3:00 to 3:30) for additional support or questions.

Register or Learn More

extreme science and engineering discovery workshop series at psu ics

XSEDE HPC Workshop: Big Data and Machine Learning

Date: Tuesday, December 7–Wednesday, December 8

Time: 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Location: Online

XSEDE, along with the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, is pleased to present a two day Big Data and Machine Learning workshop. This workshop will focus on topics such as Hadoop and Spark and will be presented using the Wide Area Classroom (WAC) training platform. Due to COVID-19, this workshop will be remote, using Zoom.

Register or Learn More

ACI Training Series Logo

ICDS Roar Training: New User Training

Date: Tuesday, January 25

Time: 1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m.

New users will learn the basics of working with the Roar system, including:

  • How to connect to the system
  • Different Roar architectures
  • Using Linux
  • Navigating the file system and software stack
  • Getting help
  • Moving data to/from Roar
  • Allocation usage and topography for jobs
  • Batch job submission scripting
  • How to run a simple job
  • Archival storage
This training will be conducted via Zoom. Registration is required.

Register or Learn More

Training

ICDS Roar Training: Getting Your Software Running on Roar

Date: Tuesday, February 1

Time: 1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m.

Location: 103 Career Services Building

Users will learn the basics of working with software in the Roar supercomputing environment, including:

  • Using the Roar software stack
  • Installing/Building from source code
  • Using shared and static libraries
  • Compilation automation with ‘Make’
  • User level package management with Conda
  • Software containerization with Singularity
Attendees will need an active Roar or Roar Collab account and should bring a laptop. Registration is required.

Register or Learn More

Training

ICDS Roar Training: Intermediate HPC Training

Date: Tuesday, February 8

Time: 1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m.

Users will dive deeper into working with the Roar supercomputing system, including:

  • Basic optimization techniques
  • Code debugging
  • Identifying performance bottlenecks/hot-spots
  • Automatic compiler optimizations
  • Parallelization methods (multi-tasking, shared memory, distributed memory)
  • Scaling studies
  • Version control
This training will be conducted via Zoom. Registration is required.

Register or Learn More

extreme science and engineering discovery workshop series at psu ics

XSEDE HPC Monthly Workshop- MPI

Date: Thursday, May 26–Friday, May 27

XSEDE along with the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center is pleased to present a two-day MPI workshop. This workshop is intended to give C and Fortran programmers a hands-on introduction to MPI programming. Both days are compact, to accommodate multiple time zones, but packed with useful information and lab exercises. Attendees will leave with a working knowledge of how to write scalable codes using MPI – the standard programming tool of scalable parallel computing. This workshop will be remote to desktop only due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the registration has filled, there will be no more students added due to our current limits.

Register or Learn More

Transitioning from Roar to Roar Collab

Date: Thursday, August 4

Time: 2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

Location: 103 Career Services Building

Roar Collab is the new high performance research computing cluster offered by ICDS. While it functions quite similarly to Roar, this training will help new Roar Collab users get up and running quickly. Training attendees will be able to:

  • Describe differences between the Roar and Roar Collab cluster
  • Transfer data between Roar and Roar Collab using Globus
  • Locate and load installed software on Roar Collab
  • Modify an existing Roar workflow to run on Roar Collab
  • Troubleshoot and monitor jobs using Slurm
Important: This training is only for users with an active Roar Collab account. If you're interested in becoming a Roar Collab early adopter, please complete this brief application. Registration is required.

Register or Learn More

ICDS Training: Getting Your Software Running on Roar and Roar Collab

Date: Wednesday, September 28

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Attendees will learn the basics of working with software in the Roar and Roar Collab supercomputing environments, including:

  • Using the Roar and Roar Collab software stack
  • Installing/Building from source code
  • Using shared and static libraries
  • Compilation automation with ‘Make’
  • User level package management with Conda
  • Software containerization with Singularity

Register or Learn More

Nittany Lion in data center

ICDS Training : New User Training for Roar

Date: Thursday, October 6

Time: 1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.

Location: 103 Career Services Building

Attendees will learn the basics of working in the Roar high performance computing cluster, including accessing the portal, handling data, submitting jobs with MOAB, and accessing software. Attendees will need an active Roar account and should bring a laptop to training.

Register or Learn More

ICDS Training : New User Training for Roar Collab

Date: Monday, October 17

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Location: 103 Career Services Building

Attendees will learn the basics of working in the Roar Collab high performance computing cluster, including accessing the portal, handling data, submitting jobs with SLURM, and accessing software. Attendees will need an active Roar Collab account and should bring a laptop to training.

Register or Learn More

Nittany Lion in data center

Introduction to the Linux Command Line

Date: Tuesday, January 24

Time: 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Location: 103 Career Services Building, University Park

Workshop Description  Learn how to navigate the command line on ICDS’s supercomputing cluster. Bash, the default Linux shell on ICDS’s supercomputing clusters Roar and Roar Collab. Bash is a powerful command program that allows users to run programs and interact with file systems through using only typed commands. Fluency in Bash is an important step to maximizing usage of ICDS’s batch job system and automating workflows on a variety of machines.  This workshop is designed for individuals with little to no previous experience with the command line and will feature plenty of hands-on practice and exercises. This content strongly recommended for anyone interested in attending our New User Training sessions in early February who do not have previous experience with the command line.  Learning Objectives  After this workshop, attendees should be able to: 

  • Connect to a remote system using SSH 
  • Use bash commands to complete the following: 
  • Navigate the file system 
  • Create, view, and edit text files 
  • Construct command pipelines using ‘pipes and filters’ 
  • Write a shell script to batch and automate commands 
Attendees will need to: 
  • Have an active ICDS account (Roar or Roar Collab) 
  • Install an SSH Client 

Register or Learn More

Nittany Lion in data center

New User Training: Roar

Date: Thursday, February 2

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Location: 103 Career Services Building, University Park

New users will learn the basics of working with the Roar system including:

  • How to connect to the system
  • Different Roar architectures
  • Using Linux
  • Navigating the file system and software stack
  • Getting help
  • Moving data to/from Roar
  • Allocation usage and topography for jobs
  • Batch job submission scripting
  • How to run a simple job
  • Archival storage
IMPORTANT: All attendees must have an active Roar account.

Register or Learn More

New User Training: Roar Collab

Date: Friday, February 3

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Location: 103 Career Services Building, University Park

New users will learn the basics of working with the Roar Collab system including:

  • How to connect to the system
  • Different Roar architectures
  • Using Linux
  • Navigating the file system and software stack
  • Getting help
  • Moving data to/from Roar
  • Allocation usage and topography for jobs
  • Batch job submission scripting
  • How to run a simple job
IMPORTANT: All attendees must have an active Roar account.

Register or Learn More

Nittany Lion in data center

ICDS Training Series: Intermediate HPC

Date: Tuesday, April 25

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Location: 103 Career Services Building, University Park or via Zoom

Users will dive deeper into working with the Roar supercomputing system, including:

  • Basic optimization techniques
  • Code debugging
  • Identifying performance bottlenecks/hot-spots
  • Automatic compiler optimizations
  • Parallelization methods (multi-tasking, shared memory, distributed memory)
  • Scaling studies
  • Version control
IMPORTANT: To get the most out of this training, which includes hands-on examples, we recommend that all attendees have an active Roar Collab account.

Register or Learn More

Transitioning from Roar to Roar Collab (Zoom Training)

Date: Monday, May 22

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Roar Collab is the new high performance research computing cluster offered by ICDS. While it functions quite similarly to Roar, this training will help new Roar Collab users get up and running quickly. Training attendees will be able to:

  • Describe differences between the Roar and Roar Collab cluster
  • Transfer data between Roar and Roar Collab using Globus
  • Locate and load installed software on Roar Collab
  • Modify an existing Roar workflow to run on Roar Collab
  • Troubleshoot and monitor jobs using Slurm
IMPORTANT: To get the most out of this training which includes hands-on examples, all attendees must have an active Roar Collab account. Registration is required.

Register or Learn More

Transitioning from Roar to Roar Collab (In Person Training)

Date: Tuesday, May 23

Time: 1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.

Location: 103 Career Services Building

Roar Collab is the new high performance research computing cluster offered by ICDS. While it functions quite similarly to Roar, this training will help new Roar Collab users get up and running quickly. Training attendees will be able to:

  • Describe differences between the Roar and Roar Collab cluster
  • Transfer data between Roar and Roar Collab using Globus
  • Locate and load installed software on Roar Collab
  • Modify an existing Roar workflow to run on Roar Collab
  • Troubleshoot and monitor jobs using Slurm
BONUS: Stay after the training for additional one-on -one assistance! ICDS training specialists will be on hand from 3:00-4:00 p.m. to answer any questions you may have about transitioning to Roar Collab. IMPORTANT: To get the most out of this training which includes hands-on examples, all attendees must have an active Roar Collab account. Registration is required.

Register or Learn More

Nittany Lion in data center

ICDS Training: Getting your Software Running on Roar Collab

Date: Thursday, February 22

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Location: Online

Getting your Software Running on Roar and Roar Collab

Learner Profiles/Prerequisites:

Before attending, learners will need to know how to:
  • Connect to ICDS resources
  • Use the bash command line to navigate the file system and view/edit text files

Learning Objectives:

After attending this workshop, learners will be able to:
  • Access, search, and use software from both the Central and RISE Software Stacks
  • Identify what factors can prevent users from setting up their own software and how to request installation of software by ICDS staff
  • Install user level packages for R and python
  • Create custom environments using anaconda, including searching popular repositories for available packages
  • Describe best practices for user-level software compilation on Roar and Roar Collab including shared vs static libraries and what automation is available (make)
    • Basic configure, make, make install example?
  • Understand that containerization is an option and know where to look for more information on using it within the jobs

Register or Learn More

Nittany Lion in data center

ICDS Training: Data Management Best Practices

Date: Tuesday, April 23–Tuesday, April 23

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Location: Online

In this two-hour workshop, participants will delve into the realm of Data Management Best Practices, tailored specifically for researchers engaging with distributed and high-scale computing and storage environments. Hosted by the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS), this session aims to empower researchers with the knowledge and strategies necessary to efficiently handle, manage, and interact with data in their projects. This session is ideal for researchers, data scientists, graduate students, and any individuals involved in research projects that require managing, analyzing, and archiving large volumes of data. Prior experience with data management or distributed computing is helpful but not required.

Learning Objectives:

After attending this workshop, learners should:
  • Understand all available storage pools at ICDS, their use cases, and limitations of each
  • Identify and avoid common file storage pitfalls such as data loss, incompatible file names, and overloaded directory structures
  • Employ data best practices (F.A.I.R.) in their own research
  • Select the correct transfer mechanism for their data set
Identify when a restricted storage environment may be necessary and who to contact for more information

Register or Learn More

Nittany Lion in data center

ICDS Training: Data Management Best Practices

Date: Tuesday, April 23–Tuesday, April 23

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Location: Online

In this two-hour workshop, participants will delve into the realm of Data Management Best Practices, tailored specifically for researchers engaging with distributed and high-scale computing and storage environments. Hosted by the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS), this session aims to empower researchers with the knowledge and strategies necessary to efficiently handle, manage, and interact with data in their projects. This session is ideal for researchers, data scientists, graduate students, and any individuals involved in research projects that require managing, analyzing, and archiving large volumes of data. Prior experience with data management or distributed computing is helpful but not required.

Learning Objectives:

After attending this workshop, learners should:
  • Understand all available storage pools at ICDS, their use cases, and limitations of each
  • Identify and avoid common file storage pitfalls such as data loss, incompatible file names, and overloaded directory structures
  • Employ data best practices (F.A.I.R.) in their own research
  • Select the correct transfer mechanism for their data set
  • Identify when a restricted storage environment may be necessary and who to contact for more information

Register or Learn More

New User Training: Introduction to the Open OnDemand Portal

Date: Tuesday, September 17

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

After attending this workshop, learners will be able to:

  • Understand what resources and support ICDS offers, and which ones are applicable to their research including computing types and storage locations
  • Connect to ICDS’s Roar Collab (RC) cluster and navigate the Open OnDemand web portal
  • Select the best mechanism for transferring data to and from the RC cluster
  • Know who to contact for additional support
This training is offered via Zoom for your convenience.

Register or Learn More

New User Training: Scheduling Batch Jobs and Command Line Access

Date: Wednesday, September 18

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

After attending this workshop, learners will be able to: 

  • Understand what resources and support ICDS offers, and which ones are applicable to their research including computing types and storage locations 
  • Use the module command to search and utilize available software from the Software Stack 
  • Request appropriate resources using the Slurm scheduler to launch interactive or batch jobs 
  • Select the appropriate mechanism for setting up custom software 
  • Know who to contact for additional support 
This training is offered via Zoom for your convenience.

Register or Learn More

New User Training: Getting Your Software Running on Roar

Date: Wednesday, September 25

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

After attending this workshop, learners will be able to: 

  • Access, search, and use software from the software stack 
  • Identify what factors can prevent users from setting up their own software and how to request installation of software by ICDS staff  
  • Install user level packages for R and python 
  • Create custom environments using anaconda, including searching popular repositories for available packages 
  • Describe best practices for user-level software compilation on Roar Collab including shared vs static libraries and what automation is available (make) 
  • Understand that containerization is an option and know where to look for more information on using it within the jobs 
This training is offered on Zoom for your convenience.

Register or Learn More

New User Training: Optimizing Jobs

Date: Wednesday, October 2

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

After attending this workshop, learners will be able to: 

  • Understand what multicore processing is, how to identify if your existing software is capable of it, and understand the rough process to implement it in custom code 
  • Identify what resources jobs utilized and modify future resource requests appropriately 
  • Understand job-chaining/workflows and checkpointing and how to set up job submission scripts to use both 
This training is offered via Zoom for your convenience.

Register or Learn More