###Obtaining a TACC account Anyone who wishes to use TACC resources must apply for a TACC account through their user portal. You will be directed through a series of webpages that will explain the process of applying for an account, as well as what you are eligible to access. Your account may take a few days for approval. You will receive an email from TACC with instructions to confirm your account.
###Creating a project and requesting an allocation After you have created an account, you need to become associated with an allocation in order to run analyses. An allocation is an assigned set of resources assigned to a particular project that must be approved by TACC prior to using their resources. Faculty, staff, and postdocs at eligible institutions (including UT System schools) may request allocations, and can then add their students as users of a particular allocation. You can read more about managing allocations here, and the process is briefly described below.
To obtain an allocation, first log on to the user portal. Select "Projects and Allocations" from the "Allocations" drop down menu. Click on the green button to "Create Project." The next page will ask you to describe the research you will be conducting, which may represent a particular manuscript or grant. Most of these questions are self-explanatory (i.e., the "Abstract" is literally the abstract you would submit for the manuscript or grant), but you can click on the question mark next to each text box for more information. Here are descriptions of a few requirements that might be confusing:
- "Project Charge Code" is a short name for the project that you will include when running analyses later, so the analysis can be associated with this project.
- "Type" describes what kind of allocation you will be requesting. You will probably want to select "Startup" project. These projects are reviewed on an as-needed basis and relate to allocations for modest amounts of resources. More extensive, long-term projects may require a "Research" project.
Once you have created your project, you can request particular resources to conduct your analyses. Your newly designated project will appear on your "Project Management" page in the TACC user portal. Click "View Project Detail" to see the information you just entered. Click on "Request New Allocation" and you can view the computational resources for which you can apply. There are complete descriptions of the resources listed in the TACC User Guide. Stampede is the largest and most widely used resource for high-performance computing, and would be a good place to start.
When you click the box next to Stampede, two new text boxes will appear for you to enter additional information. "SUs requested" is basically asking you to estimate the amount of computational time you will need for all of your analyses. It is reasonable to ask for 20,000 SUs for a startup. For "Justification," you should provide a brief description of the types of analyses you will be running, and perhaps mention particular software (you can find whether the software you need is currently installed here).
After you submit your allocation request, you will receive an automated email confirming the submission. It may take a few days for TACC staff to review your allocation, and they may have questions about your computing needs. Remember that they are there to help you!
###Managing your account
You can continue to create new projects and request additional allocations through the TACC User Guide. You can also add other users, such as your students and collaborators at other institutions, through this online interface. When you or other users begin running jobs, you can view and monitor usage for each project, too. This information is also useful if you need to increase an allocation (if you use all SUs provided) or renew an allocation (if the time alloted runs out).
If you forget the password you register with your TACC account, you may reset it. However, it may take up to 30 minutes after reset for the new password to take effect, so be patient!