Key Information

Tutor: Dr Katerina Michalickova
Course Level: Level 2
Course Credit: 1 credit
Prerequisites:
 Basic knowledge of the Linux command line. You need to know the file management commands (pwd, mkdir, cd, cp, mv, rm, cat, head, tail) and the nano text editor.
Course Duration: 2 x 2 hour sessions
Format: Remote session with slides and hands-on practice

Course Resources

Pre-course setup:

  • Access to the Imperial HPC resource - staff can self-register, students have to ask their supervisor to register them online (please see instructions).  If you have problems registering, write to the RCS support.  Make sure that you get access at least one day before the class.
  • To access from off-campus, install and run Imperial VPN (see instructions)
  • Test your access by following these instructions.

This workshop is for students who wish to use the high performance computing resource at the College (the HPC cluster). The pace of the course is suitable for anyone who knows basics of the command line and has no prior experience with HPC. Students who have used the HPC system may also benefit by formalising their knowledge and expanding their overview of parallel methods. Although, the course contains material specific to the local resource, it provides generic skills portable to resources at other universities. 

The Imperial HPC cluster is a central resource that covers a large part of the College’s scientific computing needs.  You will learn how to set up a project and then proceed to deploying simple computations. Next, we will consider data parallelism that is especially useful if you find yourself processing a large number of files or repeating the same task many times over with varying inputs.  Finally, we will move onto the fundamentals of parallel computing and demonstrate how to deploy parallel programs on the resource.  The class is entirely hands-on, you will follow the instructor and will have time for independent exercises. 

Syllabus

  • Systems at Imperial
  • Log in
  • File management
  • Software management
  • Resource manager
  • Computation parameters
  • Deployment scripts
  • Serial jobs
  • Data parallelism
  • Quick introduction to Open Multi-Processing
  • OpenMP deployment on the cluster
  • Quick introduction to Message Passing Interface
  • MPI deployment on the cluster
  • Parallel Python examples

Learning Outcomes


On completion of this workshop you will be able to:

  • Set up a project on the HPC resource
  • Combine knowledge of bash scripting and queue system to write deployment scripts
  • Use Imperial HPC systems for serial, multiple serial and parallel jobs
  • Ask for help in an informed way

 

Dates & Booking Information

 
  • There are no further sessions taking place this academic year. The course programme for 2022-23 will be available to book from late September.