Talon High-Performance Computing System now Available for UNT Researchers
Volume 13 - Number 1 * January 2010
By Dr. Philip Baczewski, Director of Academic Computing and User Services
The Talon Research High-Performance Computing System is now available for use by UNT researchers whose research or scholarship requires use of computationally-intensive applications. As reported previously, the Talon cluster was installed starting in July of 2009 and had it's official inauguration in November of 2009. Since July, much work has gone into preparing the system for production use, including installation and configuration of hardware and system software as well as installation of the scientific computing software currently in use by UNT researchers on other HPC resources. Also during that time, usage policies for central HPC resources, including Talon, have been developed in consultation with an advisory committee of research faculty. That committee will continue to advise the Vice President for Research and Economic Development and the Vice President for Information Technology regarding use and development of central HPC resources.
HPC usage policies and other information can be found on the newly-constructed UNT HPC Inititative website, along with general information, central HPC resource specifications, and frequently asked questions about central HPC use. UNT Researchers may now apply for access to Talon by completing the HPC account request form linked from the User Information page of the web site.
Access to the account request form requires authentication with a UNT EUID and password. By policy, access may be granted to UNT graduate or undergraduate students who are working with faculty or other principal investigators for which access has been approved. Before student accounts are granted, application must be made by the faculty member with which a student's research is associated. Before applying for an HPC account, it's advisable for users new to the use of HPC resources to consult with Academic Computing and User Services HPC staff as to whether their research or research software can be supported on UNT's central HPC resources. HPC staff can be contacted by e-mailing hpc-admin@unt.edu.
Availability of the Talon HPC system greatly increases the computation resources available to UNT researchers. Academic Computing and User Services HPC staff are pleased to be able offer this new system and look forward to assisting in increasing computational research productivity consistent with UNT's strategic goals.
Originally published January 2010 -- Please note that information published in Benchmarks Online is likely to degrade over time, especially links to various Websites. To make sure you have the most current information on a specific topic, it may be best to search the UNT Website - http://www.unt.edu . You can also search Benchmarks Online - http://www.unt.edu/benchmarks/archives/back.htm as well as consult the UNT Helpdesk - http://www.unt.edu/helpdesk/ Questions and comments should be directed to benchmarks@unt.edu.