MSI Users Bulletin - September 2025
The MSI Users Bulletin provides a summary of new policies, procedures, and events of interest to MSI users. It is published quarterly.
1. Primary Storage Migration Project: As announced in April, MSI is migrating research projects’ storage from our current vendor, VDURA/Panasas, to our new primary storage vendor, VAST. These migrations take place on maintenance days, which are on the first Wednesday of each month. Migrations began in June, and groups will be migrated on maintenance days until all are completed. Groups will be notified directly a few weeks prior to their scheduled migration.
Please read and carefully review the project migration webpage. The webpage, which will be updated regularly, includes advice and questions to answer ahead of your scheduled migration and provides a guide for actions to take after the migration happens. Some changes to the way you write scripts can be done beforehand. Nearly all projects will need to take actions of some kind to reset your environment, and to be able to run jobs on the cluster after migration.
2. Annual Renewals: The annual renewal period for MSI resources will open on October 31, 2025. MSI will notify PIs and Group Administrators when the renewal period is open and their renewal is ready to be completed. Renewals should be submitted by EOD, November 30. Non-renewed accounts will be closed at the end of the calendar year. Please contact Becky von Dissen ([email protected]) if you have any questions.
3. Tier 2 Storage Data Policy Clarification: As a reminder, per existing policy, after a user’s access to MSI is terminated, any Tier 2 buckets owned by that user will be retained for no more than two years. If you have former users with Tier 2 buckets, please see instructions on how to transfer data between users on Tier 2.
4. ISC 2026 Student Cluster Competition: MSI users are putting together a team to compete in the ISC 2026 Student Cluster Competition. This is an annual competition for student teams run benchmarks and HPC applications remotely on clusters in France and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center. There is also an in-person competition for ten selected teams who will build and demonstrate their clusters at the ISC High Performance Conference. Students interested participating can contact Dyan Thakkar ([email protected]).
5. Fall Tutorials and Workshops: Schedules for MSI and GEMS Learning tutorials have been published for the fall semester. 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. Fall 2025 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 Tutorials page.
Past tutorials can be viewed on the MSI YouTube channel.
b. 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. They are currently offering several asynchronous courses; see the GEMS Learning webpage for course details and registration information.
6. GenoFest 2025: GenoFest is the annual conference hosted by the University of Minnesota Genomics Center (UMGC). This year’s event will be held on Friday, October 3, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. See more information and register on the UMGC website. The event is free and open to the public.
7. PEARC 2026: The annual conference on Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing (PEARC) will be held in Minneapolis next year, July 26 - 30, 2026. The organizers are developing the program and gathering names of those interested in volunteering. The PEARC 26 website will be updated with information as it becomes available.
8. Research Computing Collaboration and Coffee: The next Research Computing Collaboration and Coffee event will be held on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 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.
9. U-Spatial Mapping Prizes: The winners of the 2025 U-Spatial Mapping Prizes, held by MSI’s Research Computing partner U-Spatial, were announced last month. The winning maps are shown on the Spatial University website.
10. Upcoming RC Events:
a. AI and Higher Education Webinar Series: Scheduled webinars for the Fall 2025 series:
- September 16: Dr. Scott Latham, “Are We Ready for the AI University?”
- October 6: Professor Danny Oppenheimer, how guided use of AI can support learning, with evidence on effective scaffolding and implications for AI-enabled classroom design
- December 9: Dr. Panayiota Kendeou, introduction of the ED-AI Lit framework for AI literacy in education
More information and registration can be found on the DSAI Hub website.
b. IIB Lecture Series: The International Institute for Biosensing (IIB), one of MSI’s Research Computing Partners, hosts a Precision Sensing Lecture Series featuring experts. Most lectures are held in person, with lunch provided. See the IIB website for the schedule.
c. MNC/IIB NanoDay: IIB is teaming up with the Minnesota Nano Center to present MNC/IIB Nano Day on October 8, 2025. This social event will showcase research from partners and users. Information and registration can be found on the IIB website.
d. WiADS: The Women in AI and Data Science Conference, WiADS 2025, will be held on November 3, 2025. This conference aims to amplify the voices of women, non-binary, and gender-diverse individuals in AI and data science. See complete information and the registration link on the conference website.
e. University of Minnesota Spatial Forum and Borchert Lecture: The annual Spatial Forum and Borchert Lecture will be held on Thursday, November 20, 2025, 1 - 5:30 p.m. in the Research Collaboration Studio in Wilson Library on the west bank of the Twin Cities Campus. The Borchert Lecture will be presented by Janet Franklin, from San Diego State University. This event is free and open to the public. Complete information can be found on the University of Minnesota Events Calendar.
11. MSI Operations: MSI staff work under a hybrid model; not all staff work on-site full time. All MSI systems can be accessed remotely.
The Help Desk, located at 587 Walter Library on the East Bank campus, provides assistance to users for all issues related to using MSI resources. The Help Desk is staffed Monday through Friday:
- 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
- 1 - 4 p.m.
Follow the contact instructions found on the Help Desk webpage to request assistance.
12. Useful Webpages: Looking for help with using MSI or other RC resources? One of these pages may have the information you need:
- Our Services
- Our Resources
- Getting Started at MSI (includes Quickstart Guides)
- MSI Systems Status
- Software at MSI
- MSI Help
- Tutorials
- Knowledge Base
- Staff Listing and Areas of Expertise
- Proposal Support
- Upcoming Events
MSI Partner websites: