---------------------------------------------------------------------- H H PPP CCC UK NATIONAL HPC SERVICE H H P P C C -------------------------- HHHHH PPP C x x provided by H H P C C xx EPCC and H H P CCC x x CCLRC Daresbury Laboratory ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HPCx User Mailing 080 19 August 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents ** New performance analysis tools: KOJAK ** xlf version 9: revised timetable ** Reminder: Use of the su command ** Course: Practical software development ** Change of design in the admin website ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Greetings-- NEW PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS TOOLS: KOJAK A new set of tools, collectively named KOJAK, have been installed on HPCx. They are designed to analyse the performance of and find bottlenecks in parallel applications. Information can be gained about the communications and hardware events which occur when the application is run, and is displayed graphically in an intuitive heirarchical format. For more information please see the 'Tools' section of the User Guide: http://www.hpcx.ac.uk/support/documentation/UserGuide/HPCxuser/HPCxuser.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- xlf VERSION 9: REVISED TIMETABLE As I mentioned on 15 July (Mailing 075), version 9 of xlf is currently available for use as a Non-Default Installation (NDI). The plan at that time was to make version 9 the default on 28 September. We will now be bringing this forward to 14 September 2005. If this is going to cause probelms to anyone, please let us know now. After this date, the current version of xlf will still be available as an NDI. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- REMINDER: USE OF THE su COMMAND I mentioned this in Mailing 074, on 8 July: users should not make use of the su command. For those who aren't familiar with it: it enables a user to become another user without logging off. The problems about it are: - You can only do this by using the password of the other user - You end up using the other user's account Both of these are against the HPCx Terms and Conditions. http://www.hpcx.ac.uk/services/policies/tandc.html This is because they have serious security implications. There are, of course, perfectly good reasons for wanting to use "su", but we have to adopt procedures which preserve the system's security. It's in the nature of such things that they are occasionally a nuisance, but in this case we think it's worth it. Observing the Terms and Conditions is a legal requirement, by the way. For these reasons, we need to ask people not use "su". If you have problems with moving or sharing files between accounts, please mail the helpdesk and we will help. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- COURSE: PRACTICAL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT Monday-Thursady, August 29-September 1 20 at EPCC, Edinburgh The area of software development is of key importance for the effective use of HPC facilities. This course looks at the tools and techniques which are important for enhancing the efficiency of the software engineering process from initial design to testing. The focus of the course is on the application of practical techniques allowing students effectively to develop, test and maintain high quality, portable code. The course will provide students with valuable software skills which are vital in the fields of computational science and engineering. This is a four-day version of the course described here: http://www.epcc.ed.ac.uk/computing/training/courses/course_summaries/SoftDev_s ummary.html The course will take place in EPCC's tarining room and is free to academics who are based in the UK. Please register here: http://www.hpcx.ac.uk/support/training/form.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE OF DESIGN IN THE ADMIN WEBSITE The "look" of the HPCx administrative website has been redesigned. This shouldn't have any effect on the way it works; if you find any problems, please let us know. The Admin FAQ: http://www.hpcx.ac.uk/projects/FAQ/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Regards --John ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Earlier mailings: http://www.hpcx.ac.uk/support/notices/index.html To be removed from the mailing list: log into your website account, go to the "Update" page, and click the "Opt out of user emails" field; then click "Commit update". -- John Fisher j.fisher@epcc.ed.ac.uk HPCx User Administration and Helpdesk HPCx: http://www.hpcx.ac.uk Helpdesk: support@hpcx.ac.uk Phone: +44 131 650 5029 Fax: +44 131 650 6555