New head node

New head node

2022-03-22

On April 3, 2022, the node desert will become the new head node.

The switch is planned during the weekend April 2-4, 2022. Access to cluster may be limited during upgrade.

  • Starting at 9:00 on April 3, 2022 all compute nodes will be disabled, all user processes will be stopped, file system will be remounted in read-only mode.
  • Head nodes will be switched after user data transfer (estimated time – 20:00, April 3, 2022).
  • After basic checks, all compute nodes will be available, file system will become writable (estimated time – 23:00, April 3, 2022).

Important notes on new head node upgrade:

  1. The new head node will use unique host name – desert. Subsequently, the current node h1 will be renamed to coral, auxiliary node ds1 will be renamed to beige. New unique names are introduced in order to reduce the inconsistency during upcoming upgrades. In 2023 the compute nodes cl1n[031-066] will be renamed to n[01-36]. The users may still use old host names (h1, ds1, cl1n[031-066]) for compatibility.
  2. New operating system SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 is installed on new head node. Current version on old head node ans compute nodes – 15 SP2. In 2023 all nodes will be upgraded to 15 SP4.
  3. All user home directories will be transferred to new head node desert in /home/users/. Old paths (/data4t, /data14t, etc.) will be linked to new location for compatibility.
  4. Disk quotas will be enforced for all users under /home/users/.
  5. User password changes will require strict password quality checks.
  6. Remote access for users outside INM RAS network will be simplified: SSH public keys authentication will be allowed, password based authentication will be allowed for individual users with strong passwords. SSH access through INM RAS network or VPN will remain unrestricted.
  7. Queues x20core, mix and long will be deprecated. Users will be advised to switch to normal queue.
  8. Compatibility tools emulating Torque (qsub, qinfo) will be removed.