Information for Prospective SCF Principal Investigators
Any member of the Boston University faculty or academic research staff who requires computational resources for their research may apply for access to the Shared Computing Cluster (SCC), Katana Linux Cluster, and related Scientific Computing Facilities (SCF). Use of the shared services on the SCF is provided free of charge to all users of the facilities. As a principal investigator on a research project you will be responsible for authorizing individual user accounts (for collaborators at BU and those outside of BU), requesting and monitoring the computer usage of your group, and submitting yearly status reports concerning CPU allocation, funding, and publications related to your research.
New SCF accounts are not automatically given access to the IBM Blue Gene system, due to special rules that apply to it. If you do need access to the Blue Gene, you must first obtain a standard SCF account and then follow the instructions on the Blue Gene page. This is done on an individual basis for each researcher, including the principal investigator.
When your project is approved, you will receive an account on the SCF and will be sent email with instructions on setting a SCF password, distinct from your BU Kerberos password. Your SCF password is required to manage your project, such as adding users to it, but to log in to the Katana Cluster you may also use your Kerberos password once you have an SCF account.
For undergraduate and graduate students interested in using our facilities, but not yet associated with an SCF project, there is an alternative way to gain access. If you are a student in this situation, please send email to help@scv.bu.edu to inquire about start-up accounts with very small CPU allocations and limited time durations.
All project and account management is done via the Web. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send email to scfacct@bu.edu or call Aaron Fuegi at 617-353-8255.