Rules and Regulations for using Aire

Rules and Regulations for using Aire#

Aire is an expensive and valuable shared HPC system that supports many users simultaneously. The rules and regulations are important for safe, fair and efficient use of the resource.

Rules of use#

  • Monitor email when running jobs and respond to system administrators requests at your earliest opportunity.

  • Use login nodes only for compiling software, submitting and managing jobs, and transferring data. Do not run processes on the login nodes that run for longer than 1 hour and use more than 8 cores, 40 GB of memory.

  • Use the Slurm scheduler to run processes on compute nodes.

  • Follow cybersecurity good practice: Use strong passwords, never share credentials, and report suspicious activity immediately.

  • Protect sensitive data: Aire can be used for Tier 1 and Tier 2 data (research data or software). Ensure compliance with institutional and legal requirements.

  • Aire is not for personal use or for storing personal data.

  • Abide by the conditions of special resource provisions.

  • Acknowledge the use of Aire in research outputs.

Consequences of Breaking the Rules#

  • Processes that interfere with others will be terminated without warning.

  • Users who persist in disruptive practices may have their accounts suspended.

  • If the issue is not critical and not recurring, system administrators will aim to resolve problems informally via email, before taking further action.

Security and System Integrity#

  • In exceptional circumstances, system administrators may need to access or modify user files to:

  • Respond to a cybersecurity incident (for example, suspected hacking or malware).

  • Resolve a critical system failure that threatens service availability.

Note

Sensitive and Personal Data Aire is not for storing and processing sensitive or personal data. For further information, see:

  1. IT Services’ Knowledge Base article: Research Information Management Guide - Data Classifications for details of data tiers.

  2. Leeds University Library’s research data management guidance on storing and handling data for an overview of data classification, data management and retention, University data storage solutions, and faculty and local storage.

Aire Acknowledgement#

When you publish research outputs, acknowledge use of Aire with this sentence:

This work was undertaken on the Aire HPC system at the University of Leeds, UK.