New User Information

Welcome to the TACC web site!

The information on this page is designed to enable you to quickly:

Learn about TACC resources available to eligible user communities;
Select the TACC resource most appropriate to solve your problem;
Request a project and allocation on one or more TACC resources;
Gain an awareness of TACC training activities; and
Know where to go for more detailed information on the resources and how to most efficiently use them.

TACC provides the computational user community access to terascale computing systems, remote and collaborative visualization resources, high-performance, local disk file systems, a data applications facility, and a petascale data archive.

The Sun Constellation cluster, Ranger, enables users to scale applications to a petascale level. Batch queues allow jobs in the tens of thousands of cores that have access to terabytes of distributed memory and parallel file systems that can accommodate files in the terabyte range. Programming models supported include MPI, OpenMP, and the combination of both (hybrid paradigm). Configuration details and information on how to efficiently use the system can be found in the Ranger User Guide.

The Dell Linux Xeon cluster, Lonestar, should be the computational resource of choice for users with parallel, MPI codes that take advantage of a large, distributed-memory architecture. Development and serial queues enable users to port and develop models that can scale from tens, to hundreds, or even thousands of processors. See the Lonestar User Guide for system configuration and instructions on how to efficiently use the system.

The IBM AIX Power5 system, Champion, provides users access to a large, shared memory (SMP) system. Codes that require large memory or employ OpenMP to accomplish parallelism on large memory nodes will benefit from the use of this system. MPI codes can also be executed to leverage the power of multiple of the Power5 nodes in a small-scale, parallel mode. A parallel GPFS file system provides a solution to users with a requirement for high-speed IO. See the Champion User Guide for system configuration and instructions on how to efficiently use the system.

The Dell Serial cluster, Stampede, accommodates users with a requirement to solve serial and small-scale parallel problems. Users have access to a large, parallel work file system for temporary storage and the TACC petascale storage facility for storing files on a permanent basis. This system also provides the community with a development platform to begin scaling algorithms to eventually run on the larger TACC compute clusters. See the Stampede User Guide for system configuration and information on how to use the system.

The TACC Visualization Laboratories contain a number of high-resolution resources dedicated to providing interactive and collaborative visualization environments, including Stallion, currently the world’s highest-resolution tiled display. In addition, the Sun Visualization Cluster, Spur, is available for the remote visualization of large data sets. Spur shares the network and disk resources for Ranger, making it ideal for analyzing data produced by Ranger. See the Spur User Guide for system configuration and instructions on how to efficiently use the system.

Requesting a Project/Allocation

Researchers at UT Austin, UT System and Texas higher education institutions may apply for access to TACC resources and services by requesting a TACC project and allocation via the TACC User Portal. Members of the research community at other institutions must apply for a National Science Foundation TeraGrid project to access TACC. Additional information on the types of TeraGrid allocations and how to apply can be found at the TeraGrid web site. UT Austin, UT System and Texas higher education researchers may also apply for TeraGrid allocations but must do so through the TeraGrid web site. Detailed information on the eligibility requirements for using TACC resources is available via the TACC web site.

Before requesting a project and allocation, UT Austin and UT System users must request a new TACC account.

Request a New TACC Account:

Connect to the TACC User Portal: https://portal.tacc.utexas.edu;
Select the “New User?” link (on the right, below the "Login" button);
This page, concerning information for new users, will again be displayed for your review. Click the "Continue" button;
A page will be displayed containing the TACC Usage Policy. After reading through the TACC Usage Policy, click the "Accept" button in order to agree you will abide by this policy;
Complete all required information and submit the form;
A page will be displayed display confirming you have been successful at requesting an account;
You should soon receive a confirmation e-mail from TACC at the e-mail address you provided containing a URL to verify your e-mail address. Click on the link to validate your e-mail address;
After you have successfully verified your e-mail address, your account request will be reviewed by the TACC Accounting Coordinator within one business day. You will be notified when the account request process is complete.

After successfully creating a TACC account, users may then log into the TACC User Portal to create a project and request an allocation.

Requesting a Project and Allocation:

Log in to the TACC User Portal;
Select the Allocations link at the top of the page;
Click on the "Create New Project" button to create a new project. Complete all required information and submit the form;
To add grant information related to your project, click on the "Grants" row and then click on the "Add New Grant" button. Complete all required information and submit the form;
To add publication information related to your project, click on the "Publications" row and then click on the "Add New Publication" button. Complete all required information and submit the form;
Repeat the above for as many grants and publications that area applicable;
To request an allocation, click on the "Allocations" row and then click on the "Request Allocation" button. Selecting the resources you require, complete all required information and submit the form;
A page will be displayed confirming you have been successful at submitting your request for review.

Training, Documentation & Consulting

New TACC users are encouraged to attend TACC short courses. A variety of courses are offered, covering topics in high-performance computing, scientific visualization, and distributed and collaborative computing. Students are provided with all presentation materials for future reference. TACC staff members also make available and maintain a set of user guides to assist users continue to improve their knowledge of the resources. During normal business hours, personal assistance from the TACC consulting staff can be requested via the TACC Consulting System which is available through the TACC User Portal. TeraGrid users must request assistance by sending email to help@teragrid.org.