HPC Overview on Loading Modules
Logging In
To log in to the HPC system, open a terminal and use the following command:
ssh user_id@login.hpc.virginia.edu
To print your working directory:
pwd
The /home/user_id directory is your home directory and provides 200GB of permanent storage. The /scratch/user_id directory provides up to 10TB of temporary storage. Scratch files not accessed for 90 days are automatically purged. You can check which files will be purged through our
Open OnDemand utilities.
HPC Allocations & Storage
To check your disk space usage:
hdquota
To check your active allocations and balances:
allocations
If you sign up for one of our HPC workshops, you will be assigned to the allocation hpc_training. After the workshop, the hpc_training allocation will be removed.
Modules
A module is a software utility that allows multiple versions of a software to exist on the same system. It helps to simplify the management and access of software applications. Below are a list of helpful commands for using modules through the command-line interface.
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
module avail |
List all available modules that can be loaded immediately |
module spider |
List all available packages (may be a lot!) |
module spider <package> |
List all versions of <package>, if any |
module spider <package>/<version> |
Describes how to load <package>/<version>. There may be prerequisite modules |
module key <search term> |
Search for a module using a keyword |
module list |
List modules loaded in current shell |
module load <package>/[<version>] |
Load the module for (optionally) <version> of <package> |
module unload <package> |
Delete the changes made by the <package> module |
module purge |
Remove all module modifications to the environment |
module swap <package>/<current> <package>/<newver> |
Exchange one version of a package for another |
Overall, there are three main approaches to running HPC jobs: interactively, using modules, or downloading software locally.