2025 LCI Intermediate Workshop

5th May 2025 – 9th May 2025
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

If you have some experience as an HPC Linux system administrator and want to expand your skills, this is the workshop for you! In just five days you will:

  • Strengthen your overall knowledge of HPC system administration
  • Focus in depth on file systems and storage, HPC networks, job schedulers, and Ceph
  • Get hands-on training and discuss real-life stories with experienced HPC administrators

Those who have attended an LCI Introductory Workshop in the past are especially encouraged to attend!

PrerequisiteOne year of experience with cluster administration 

Register Here

Schedule

Monday, Day 1 — Storage Pt. 1 Session Instructors

  • 8:00 AM Breakfast
  • 8:30 AM Welcome /Introductions
  • 8:50 AM Current Storage Infrastructure & Future Trends
  • 9:50 AM Current HPC-relevant File Systems & Future Trends
  • 10:30 AM Break
  • 11:00 AM Common HPC File Systems Lecture – Lustre, BeeGFS Pt. 1
  • Noon Lunch
  • 1:00 PM Common HPC File Systems Lecture – Lustre, BeeGFS Pt. 2
  • 2:30 PM Break
  • 3:00 PM Hands on Lab – Lustre/BeeGFS

Tuesday, Day 2 — Storage Pt. 2

  • 8:00 AM Breakfast
  • 8:30 AM Common HPC File Systems Lecture – GPFS, Ceph – JD Maloney
  • 10:30 AM Break
  • 10:30 AM Hands on Lab – GPFS/Ceph – JD Maloney
  • Noon Lunch
  • 1:00 PM Hands on Lab – GPFS/Ceph – JD Maloney
  • 3:00 PM Break
  • 3:30 PM Basics of Storage Management for HPC Environments – JD Maloney

Wednesday Day 3 — Monitoring/Networking/Data Movement

  • 8:00 AM Breakfast
  • 8:30 AM HPC Monitoring Overview
  • 9:30 AM HPC Monitoring Hands on Lab
  • 10:30 AM Break
  • 11:00 AM Network Monitoring via perfSONAR
  • Noon Lunch
  • 1:00 PM perfSONAR hands-on
  • 3:00 PM Break
  • 4:00 PM Data Movement Hardware/Software

Thursday Day 4 — Scheduling/Software

  • 8:00 AM Breakfast
  • 8:30 AM Workload Management Overview
  • 9:30 AM Survey of Scheduler Options
  • 10:00 AM Break
  • 10:30 AM Managing Slurm
  • Noon Lunch
  • 1:00 PM Limiting Resources: Cgroups, Containers, Processor Affinity
  • 2:00 PM Slurm Hands-On
  • 3:30 PM Break
  • 4:00 PM User Software: Modules

Friday Day 5 — Software/Wrap Up

  • 8:00 AM Breakfast
  • 8:30 AM User Software: Apptainer
  • 10:30 AM Break
  • 11:00 AM Panel Discussion
  • Noon Lunch (Boxed)

Travel and Lodging information

The Linux Cluster Institute Workshop is being held at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.

The Cornell University Center for Advanced Computing (CAC) is a leader in high-performance computing, providing cutting-edge resources to support research across diverse fields. A key component of CAC’s offerings is managed HPC cluster services and Red Cloud, an on-demand Infrastructure as a Service based on OpenStack. Red Cloud enables efficient data processing, storage, and access, empowering scientists and students to tackle complex problems in areas like genomics, climate science, and engineering. By combining advanced infrastructure with expert support, CAC accelerates innovation and drives impactful research, advancing the frontiers of computational science. Visit CAC’s FY24 Research & Education Impactto learn more.

Cornell University
Center for Advanced Computing

Venue

The LCI Workshop will be held at Cornell University in Clark Hall.
Clark Hall 
Room 291
142 Sciences Drive
Ithaca, NY 14850

Conference Lodging 

Located on Cornell’s campus within walking distance of the workshop venue.
The Statler Hotel at Cornell University – 130 Statler Dr, Ithaca, NY 14853 – (607) 254-2500

Located in downtown Ithaca and within walking distance to various attractions. Taking public transportation, a rental car or using a rideshare service is recommended for these hotels.

These hotels are located in areas that are not very walkable or as accessible by public transportation. A rental car or using a rideshare service is recommended.

Transportation

Ithaca is located in the Finger Lakes Region in Central New York. It is about an hour drive from Syracuse, 2 hours from Rochester, 2 hours and 45 minutes from Buffalo, 3 hours from Albany and 4 hours from New York City. We recommend flying into Ithaca Tompkins County International Airport (ITH) which is located 3 miles from Cornell University campus and 5 miles from downtown Ithaca. ITH is serviced by Delta and United Airlines. The airport offers several rental car options, as well as traditional taxi services and ride-share options. Additional information about ITH can be found here: https://flyithaca.com/

Car rentals at Ithaca Tompkins County International Airport

Other airports within a two to three hour driving distance

Getting Around

Traditional taxi services, ride-share, and public transportation options are available in Ithaca. Parking is available on Cornell campus and is handled through the ParkMobile app. There are several parking zones available throughout campus. Rates vary based on the parking zone.

Additional information about transportation in Ithaca, NY: https://www.visitithaca.com/plan-your-visit/transportation/

Dining and Things to do:

Ithaca has a variety of activity and dining options. With waterfalls located within walking distance of downtown, it is known for its natural beauty and surroundings. Nearby attractions include hiking trails, museums, wineries and much more.

Contact Lavanya Podila (lpodila2@illinois.edu) for any questions or concerns.



Linux Clusters Institute (LCI)
1205 W. Clark St.
Urbana, IL 61801
Email: mierek@illinois.edu