Preamble

The Mesocenter of Aix-Marseille University (hereafter referred to as the Mesocenter) has the primary mission of enabling the community to access hardware and application resources, databases, and communication networks (hereafter referred to as resources) for high-performance scientific computing (HPC), distributed computing (Grid), and intensive cloud computing.

Computing resource allocations are made on a per scientific project basis. A project is managed by a coordinator, typically holding a permanent position in a research institution, responsible for the proper use of resources allocated by the Mesocenter.

The consumption report of allocated HPC hours is periodically reviewed by the scientific committee. In cases where a project shows a low usage rate, its allocation may be reduced after consultation with its coordinator.

In exchange for the use of these resources, the project coordinator commits to:

• Provide the Mesocenter managers with the list of publications or communications made within the framework of the project
• Acknowledge the Mesocenter in these same publications and communications with the phrase: “Centre de Calcul Intensif d’Aix-Marseille is acknowledged for granting access to its high performance computing resources.”
• Submit a brief report (1 page) to the scientific committee at the end of the project and/or at the end of the year. Where possible, an illustrative figure of the project will accompany the report for publication on the Mesocenter’s webpage

The Mesocenter is certified as a “Plateforme Technologique Aix-Marseille” and complies with its Terms of Use.

Resource Allocation Request Procedure

Requests are made through an online form.

They are subject to the acceptance of this Terms of Use of the Mesocenter as well as the acceptance of the Terms of Use governing the use of the information system of Aix Marseille University.

The call for projects is ongoing, and submissions can be made throughout the year. For details on the types of eligible projects and the frequency of request evaluations, please consult the computing resource allocations page.

HPC computing hour allocations for B projects are made by sessions. During the main session, allocations are granted to new projects and ongoing projects wishing to receive a new annual allocation. During supplementary sessions, hours can be allocated to a new project, and an increase or decrease in allocation is possible for ongoing projects:

• An additional allocation may be granted to projects that have consumed at least 50% of their initial allocation.
• A reduction may be applied, in consultation with the affected coordinators:
  – during the first supplementary session (June), for B projects with consumption below 15%, reductions can be up to 20% of the annual allocation.
  – during the second supplementary session (October), for B projects with consumption below 50%, reductions of 30% to 50% of the annual allocation.

Use of Resources

Users commit to using the Mesocenter’s resources in compliance with legislation, professional ethics, ethical standards, and according to the recommendations made by the technical committee. In particular, they agree to:

• Only store professional data and software related to the project for which an allocation has been granted on the Mesocenter’s equipment.
• Not install commercial software on the Mesocenter’s equipment without prior authorization from the technical committee.
• Use the software provided by the Mesocenter or installed by themselves under the terms of the subscribed licenses.
• Protect their authentication means (SSH key and password) which are personal and must not be shared with third parties.
• Acknowledge that they must not initiate computations on login nodes, which the Mesocenter may delete without notice.
• Ensure the backup and, if necessary, the encryption of the data they store at the Mesocenter, particularly data considered sensitive. Since the Mesocenter does not provide backup or archiving of user data, it cannot be held responsible for data loss.
• Not attempt to use or access accounts other than their own.
• Not read, modify, or destroy data other than their own and for which they have not received explicit authorization to do so.
• Acknowledge having been informed that access to the Mesocenter’s resources may be interrupted at any time for maintenance reasons.
• Delete files from the /scratch directory that have not been used for more than a year.

HPC User Environment

Named access accounts are created for coordinators and users of projects that have been allocated resources. These accounts are personal and non-transferable. Users without an active project are notified by email that they have one month to retrieve their data stored in their /home, /scratch, and /save, /scratchw spaces (if applicable). After this period, their account and data are deleted, and they are unsubscribed from the Mesocenter’s mailing lists.
All users must use their institutional email addresses for security reasons.

The coordinator of a project is automatically subscribed to the mailing list mesocentre-projets-responsables@univ-amu.fr. They are also subscribed, like all users associated with the project, to the mailing list mesocentre@univ-amu.fr. Users have the option to unsubscribe from the lists; however, they take responsibility for not being informed of notifications, particularly maintenance notices, which may only be distributed through these channels. The user is unsubscribed from these lists upon the deletion of their access account.

The Mesocenter allocates disk spaces with quotas to each user. The storage, backup, and archiving of data and software that the user deposits or installs on the Mesocenter’s equipment are solely their responsibility. A user’s disk spaces and data are deleted upon the deletion of their account.

Non-Compliance with the Terms of Use

In case of non-compliance with the usage and security rules of this terms of use, the Mesocenter may immediately and without notice suspend a user’s access to resources. The coordinators of the projects to which the user belongs will be notified: non-compliance with the terms of tse by a project member may result in non-renewal or even suspension of the project.

For more information, please contact us.