MSI Users Bulletin – June 2024
The Users Bulletin provides a summary of new policies, procedures, and events of interest to MSI users. It is published quarterly.
1. Mesabi Retirement: Mesabi was retired on June 5, 2024. Information about the retirement and what it means for MSI users can be found on the Mesabi Retirement page on our website.
2. Operating System Upgrade: MSI has moved to the Rocky8 operating system. For more information, please see the Rocky8 Transition webpage for more information. For information specific to R Libraries, see Fixes to R Library Issues.
3. Notebooks at MSI: Notebooks.msi.umn.edu was retired on June 5. Refer to Open OnDemand for the Jupyter Notebook service.
4. New Agate GPUs: New nodes with powerful H100 GPUs will be arriving this summer and added to Agate. We anticipate that these nodes will be available in the 4th quarter of 2024. There will be a few dedicated nodes available.
5. Molecular Operating Environment (MOE): Due to a change in the licensing model offered by the vendor, MSI is discontinuing access to our MOE modules. Our logs show nearly no usage for MOE at MSI over the past year, so this is not expected to be a disruptive change.
However, it is possible that there are use cases that are not recorded in the available logs. If you need continued access to MOE for your research, please reach out to [email protected] as soon as possible so that we can work with you to minimize disruption.
6. Changes to Account Retention Rules: As of June 1, the U of M has changed the policies for access to U of M accounts and files. This may affect your research files and access to MSI resources if you leave the University. You can see more on the OIT website: UMN Email and Google Workspace: Access Timelines and How-Tos.
7. Research Computing Collaboration and Coffee: The next Research Computing Collaboration and Coffee event will be held on August 21 at 2:30 – 3:30 p.m., in 401 Walter Library. MSI users are welcome to join staff members for informal discussions. You should bring your own beverage and/or snack. If you’re so moved, you’re welcome to bring a treat to share (many thanks to the people who have done this at recent events!).
8. Summer Tutorials and Workshops: Summer tutorials are being held by MSI, U-Spatial, and GEMS Learning. Besides the links below, a consolidated list of courses that will help you hone your research computing skills can be found at the Research Tools and Computing Workshops portal site.
a. MSI Tutorials: MSI’s tutorials are intended to help users achieve the best results using MSI systems. Spring 2023 tutorials are hybrid, with both in-person and online (Zoom) participation. All tutorials are held in room 575 Walter Library. Descriptions and registration links can be found using the MSI Events page.
Past tutorials can be viewed on the MSI YouTube channel.
b. U-Spatial Workshops: U-Spatial offers a variety of instructor-led workshops focusing on different geospatial tools and technologies. Information about the workshops is posted on the U-Spatial website.
c. GEMS Learning: GEMS Learning provides modular, non-credit digital and data-science training for working professionals and students interested in hands-on food, agriculture, and natural resource applications. These courses give students practical knowledge to tackle data-science challenges across the agri-food sciences. See the GEMS Learning webpage for course details and registration information.
9. MSI Operations: MSI staff are working under a hybrid model; not all staff are working on-site full time. All MSI systems are operational and can be accessed remotely.
To request technical assistance with your MSI account, contact the Helpdesk:
- In-person walk-ins: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.; 587 Walter Library
- Zoom walk-ins: Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 1 - 3 p.m.
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 612-626-0802
- Video consultation: schedule a consultation on the Helpdesk page
10. Jobs Available at MSI:
11. Useful Webpages: Looking for help with using MSI or other RC resources? One of these pages may have the information you need: