10th Feb 2025 – 14th Feb 2025
Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS
The Linux Clusters Institute (LCI) will hold an Introductory-level workshop for Linux system administrators new to HPC. In just five days you will:
- Learn HPC system administration concepts and technologies and how to apply them
- Get hands-on skills building a small test cluster in lab sessions
- Hear real-life stories and get to ask experts questions in panel discussions
Registration is now closed
$645 through January 10, 2025
$750 after January 10, 2025
(Registration includes daily breakfast and lunch)
Note that the workshop location has limited seating. Registration will be available until that maximum capacity is reached and then will be closed.
Schedule
Monday, 10th Feb 2024
- 8:00 Breakfast
- 8:30 Welcome and Open
- 9:00 01 Lecture: Intro to HPC
- 10:00 Break
- 10:15 02 Lab: Introduction to Virtual Lab Environment
- 11:00 03 Lecture: Designing a Cluster
- 12:30 Lunch
- 1:30 04 Lab: Build a Cluster: Head Node
- 3:00 Break
- 3:30 05 Lecture: HPC Storage, part 1, Lab compute nodes
Tuesday, 11th Feb 2024
- 8:00 Breakfast
- 8:30 05 Lecture HPC Storage, part 2
- 10:00 Break
- 10:15 06 Lab: Build a Cluster: Compute Nodes
- 11:00 07 Lecture: Cluster Stack Basics
- 12:00 Lunch
- 1:00 08 Lab: Build a Cluster: Install Scheduler on Head Node
- 2:30 09 Lecture: Intro to Configuration Management
- 3:30 Break
- 3:45 10 Lecture: Scheduling and Resource Management
Wednesday, 12th Feb 2024
- 8:00 Breakfast
- 8:30 11 Lecture: Introduction to SLURM
- 9:30 12a/12b Lecture: Intro to OpenMP and MPI and ACC
- 11:30 Break
- 11:45 13 Lab: Intro to OpenMP and MPI
- 12:45 Lunch
- 1:30 14 Lab: Build a Cluster: Run Application via Scheduler
- 2:30 15 Lecture: Monitoring
- 3:30 Break
- 4:00 16 Lecture: HPC User Support
Thursday, 13th Feb 2024
- 8:00 Breakfast
- 8:30 17 Lecture: Intro to Networking
- 9:00 18 Lecture: Networking
- 10:30 Break
- 11:00 Panel/Roundtable: Hardware “Stories from Experience”
- 11:30 19 Lecture: Account Management
- 12:30 Lunch
- 1:30 20 Lecture/Lab: Lmod, A Modern Environment Module System
- 3:00 Break
- 3:30 21 Lecture: User Software Management
- 4:00 Panel/Roundtable: Software “Stories from Experience”
Friday, 14th Feb 2024
- 8:00 Breakfast
- 8:30 22 Lecture: Node Health Check
- 9:30 Panel/Roundtable: The Future of Research IT
- 10:00 Break
- 10:30 Panel/Roundtable: Closing “Stories from Experience” (Open Q&A)
- 12:00 Boxed lunches to go
Travel and Lodging Information
The Linux Cluster Institute Introductory Workshop is being held at Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi.
Mississippi State University is a comprehensive, doctoral degree-granting institution with a nationally and internationally diverse student body. MSU has a 35-year history in parallel computing. The High Performance Computing Collaboratory (HPC²), an evolution of the MSU NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Computational Field Simulation, at Mississippi State University is a coalition of member institutes and centers that share a common core objective of advancing the state-of-the-art in computational science and engineering using high performance computing; a common approach to research that embraces a multi-disciplinary, team-oriented concept; and a commitment to a full partnership between education, research, and service. The mission of the HPC² is to serve the University, State, and Nation through excellence in computational science and engineering.
Venue
The LCI Introductory workshop will be held at the Malcom A. Portera High Performance Computing Center (HPCC) located in the Thad Cochran Research Park.
Malcom A. Portera High Performance Computing Center
2 Research Blvd
Starkville, MS 39759
Conference Lodging
- Russell Inn – 801 Russell St., Starkville, MS 39759 – (662) 324-9595
- Courtyard by Marriott Starkville/MSU at The Mill – 100 Mercantile St., Starkville, MS 39759, (662) 338-3116
- Hampton Inn – 700 Highway 12, Starkville, MS 39759 – (662) 324-1333
Not in a very walkable area, a rental car is recommended for this hotel.
- Hotel Chester – 101 North Jackson St., Starkville, MS 39759
Located in Downtown Starkville, a historic hotel featured on Gordon Ramsey’s Hotel Hell. Within walking distance of various attractions, however a rental car is recommended for this hotel for transportation to the workshop venue
Transportation
Starkville is located in the northeastern part of Mississippi. It is about a two-hour drive from Jackson, MS and Birmingham, AL, and a three-hour drive from Memphis, TN.
We recommend flying into the Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR) in Columbus, MS, which is a relatively short 15-mile drive to Starkville. GTR is serviced by Delta and has two flights in and out daily, and a free shuttle service is offered prior to and after each flight between the Airport and the Courtyard Starkville/MSU at The Mill. Additionally, several rental car options are available at the airport, as well as traditional taxi services and ride-share options.
Car Rentals at Golden Triangle Airport
Shuttle Schedule
Arrivals
– Departs from GTR 30 minutes after landing.
– Arrives at The Mill 55 minutes after landing.
Departures
– Departs from The Mill 1 hour and 25 minutes before takeoff.
– Arrives at GTR 1 hour before takeoff.
Other airports are available within a two-three-hour driving distance:
- Jackson-Medgar Whiley Evers International Airport – JAN (126 miles)
- Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport – BHM (145 miles)
- Memphis International Airport – MEM (182 miles)
Getting Around
The distance from The Mill to CAVS is about 2 miles and it is walkable and bikeable, however a free shuttle will be provided between the hotel and the workshop venue each morning and evening. The Mill is within walking distance of the Cotton District and Starkville’s Downtown area where many of the city’s restaurants are located.
Free shuttles, SMART, may be available throughout the day – Monday through Friday for routes that service MSU campus, Monday through Saturday for routes that service Starkville. The DoubleMap App or website can be used to track buses and get route information.
Traditional taxi services and ride-share options are available.
Parking is available at CAVS. There is a flat daily rate of $5.35 and it is handled through the ParkMobile app. Most of MSU campus, including the Thad Cochran Research Park, is considered a single zone in the app. This app is also used by the city for metered parking Downtown and in the Cotton District.
Dining and things to do
Starkville, sometimes referred to as Starkvegas, has a wide range of activities and dining options. Starkville can provide a taste of the South, Italian, BBQ, Mediterranean and several other choices.