Lowering Barriers to Accessing Supercomputing Resources
“Connecting Computing Power With Powerful Minds” is the tagline of Open OnDemand (OOD), a new way that MSI users can connect to the computing and data storage services managed by MSI. Since the mid-1980s, MSI has supported the computational part of research at the University of Minnesota, especially those research tasks that require larger compute, memory, and storage space than is found typically in desktop systems. To that end, MSI strives to make the use of these extra-large resources as easy as possible. Open OnDemand is the latest tool dedicated to making using these resources an easier lift, so researchers can spend more time doing actual research in their field instead of tinkering with the mechanics of accessing the supercomputers.
First rolled out near the end of 2022, Open OnDemand has become the primary means by which MSI users access the resources it manages. Through a common web browser, researchers can:
- access MSI files
- display current jobs on the MSI clusters
- use a command line on either of our compute clusters
- generate an interactive desktop on a compute node of either cluster with configurable memory and compute resources
MSI adapted existing servers, interactive development environments, and graphical user interfaces to use the Open OnDemand platform prior to its release for general use at MSI. By consolidating services under a single, simple to use entry portal, MSI staff are able to focus more on other emerging challenges and researchers have a better overall experience using its systems, whether submitting large batch computing jobs or visualizing complex phenomena.
MSI users are learning about OOD and how it can facilitate their research. From nearly zero users in early 2023, the number of unique OOD users per month grew to over 700 by the end of May 2024. There have been 2,450 unique users since the service launched.
Instructions for using OOD can be found on the MSI website: Open OnDemand. Questions can be sent to the MSI Helpdesk (help@msi.umn.edu).
Acknowledgements
Open OnDemand was originally developed by the Ohio Supercomputer Center supported by two NSF grants, and is under active development by a team from the Ohio Supercomputer Center, the University at Buffalo, and Virginia Tech University. Open OnDemand website.
Image description: Screenshot of Open OnDemand interface.
