Project leader handbook
The table of contents to the right is ordered in the most logical way, from a new project perspective.
We recommend going through the list in decending order if you just received a new project.
If you have any questions that isn't answered on this page, please do not hesitate to reach out on contact@sigma2.no!
Applying for resources
Resources on the national e-infrastructure are granted on a period basis, each lasting for 6 months at a time.
Applications are submitted through our administration system, metacenter.no, and require authentication with Feide or OpenIdP. The latter is a free alternative for those institutions that doesn't have Feide.
Depending on the service you apply for, you will be asked to provide information about these topics:
- Project description and Funding
- Usage and output
- Software
- Quota (required resources per period, CPU-hours and/or storage)
- Computational characteristics
- Access and Data policy
It is highly recommended to check the Guidelines for the Resource Allocation Committee before applying.
Make sure to apply for each period!
Note that you are required to submit an application for each period you need resources.
Projects without an active allocation are subject to our decommissioning policies.
Multiperiod applications
On the page for quota you can provide your needs for multiple upcoming periods and therefore submit a multiperiod application, which will be included and processed during each respective call.
Please note that you must confirm the application prior to each deadline, where you will be able to update your needs if necessary. You will receive e-mail notifications about this in due time.
Multiperiod applications that are left unconfirmed will not be processed. The option to confirm applications closes at the application deadline for each individual allocation period.
See more details about the applications process
Apply for resources now
Need assistants?
Did you know that we can add assistants to your projects on our infrastructure?
The Executive Officer (XO) role acts as an assistant project leader, which allows other people to submit applications and manage user access on your project.
As a project leader, you can decide who you would like to give the XO role.
If this is of interest for you, please send an e-mail to contact@sigma2.no, providing the project number and full name of the person you would like to add (or remove) as an XO.
Manage user access
You as a project leader or assistant decide who to grant access to your project on our infrastructure. Both internal and external colleagues are welcome to join, even if they are based in Norway or other countries.
If the person already have an user account on our infrastructure, you can add them directly yourself through the project leader web service.
New users must fill out a simple web form to apply for a user account.
These user applications must be signed by you to indicate that the user indeed should be granted access to your project. You will receive e-mails from our system when new user applications are submitted to your projects.
Once the application is signed, it will go through a quick review by Sigma2 which will then create the account and grant access.
How to apply for a new user account
If you have received a user application that won't be signed and should be discarded, please let us know by e-mail on contact@sigma2.no.
Important notes on user accounts
Note that if you intend to use the resources yourself, you also need to have an account and manage your own access through the same web interface.
Project leaders do not automatically get an account when applying and receiving projects.
In addition, projects are not established on the systems before atleast one user is given access.
Handle over- and underusage of resources
We fully understand that it can be difficult to estimate the needed resources. Sometimes the calculations were too efficient, other times something didn't go exactly as planned.
Overusage - too few resources, need more!
Suddenly the allocated resources simply wasn't enough. Therefore we offer the option to apply for extra quota during an ongoing period.
This is also done through metacenter.no by logging in with Feide or OpenIdP.
The application form is very simplified, and you only have to provide the additional resources needed (not the total quota) and a brief explanation of the needs.
Once submitted, we usually process such applications within a working day or two.
Note that extra quota on the HPC facilities get a lower priority in the queue system.
Underusage - too many resources.
On the opposite side, sometimes things happen in the project that affects the activity. Maybe the project simply won't be able to use all the allocated resources within the current period.
To help us with forecasting, booking and allocations we kindly ask that you contact us by e-mail (contact@sigma2.no) if you have quota that you won't use.
Simply provide information about the project and amount of quota that can be reduced so we can release this for other projects.
New applications are also evaluated based on usage. Make sure to provide information about the underusage the application for the next period. There is a dedicated field for this in the application form.
Acknowledging the use of our e-infrastructure
Projects are required to acknowledge (cite) the use of the national e-infrastructure resources in dissemination and scientific publications. Papers, presentations and other publications that feature work that relied on Sigma2 should include such an acknowledgement / citation.
Tag publications in Cristin
Projects that are granted access on the national e-infrastructure facilities are required to provide a list of any publications resulting from the use of these resources.
New projects are not required to provide publications until it has reached six periods of use (three years).
Continued use of the resources require atleast one publication in the last six periods.
How to tag publications in Cristin
Note that co-authors can tag publications as well. If none of you have access to Cristin, please contact us.
Tagged publications from Cristin are fetched from our administrative system once every night.
Project decommissioning
In order to ensure optimal use of the infrastructure resources, projects without an active allocation are subject to decommissioning.
Make sure to read the policies below to understand what will happen with any data left on the infrastructure after the project is done.
Frequently asked questions
Submit you application as soon as possible. We process applications continuously as they are submitted.
Note that applications submitted after the deadline for existing HPC-projects receive quota with a lower priority in the queue system.
It is possible for you to request more quota in the project storage area.
Please refer to the documentation for further instructions.
Make sure to check whether you can use any of the other directories (like $USERWORK) before submitting your request.