User Contribution Model (Pricing)

HPC, NIRD storage services, and TSD services are subject to the User Contribution Model. The cost of the resources depends on the funding supporting the research project.

As a result of the renegotiations with BOTT universities (UIB, UiO, UiT and NTNU) completed in June 2023, BOTT will reduce their contribution to the national e-Infrastructure to only cover the operational costs (from 100 million NOK to 53 million NOK).
 
Sigma2's financial situation is affected by this, and we are, therefore, unfortunately, forced to increase the prices for our users. We regret this, but even with the price increase, the prices will still be well below the level from 2021. We encourage all users to familiarise themselves with the updated prices below.

Costs of the services

The allocation of the resources is on a per-period basis and is subject to an evaluation of the RFK. 

The cost for all services is based on cost models consisting of actual cost elements from service suppliers for operational costs and investment costs.

New prices take effect from 1 October 2023.

HPC prices

The billing for CPU hours depends on the CPU usage recorded in the machine(s) queueing system, except for allocations running in a reservation (Dedicated and Commercial by default). In a reservation, the CPU hours are billed based on the reserved time multiplied by the number of reserved cores, regardless of how much the reservation is actually utilised.

LUMI

GPU usage on LUMI is accounted as GPU hours. One GPU hour on LUMI is invoiced as 16 CPU hours using the rates in the table above. See the documentation for more details.

Storage prices

*) EU – in kind was previously included in category B.
**) Back-up cost per TB is not included in the price.

Sensitive data prices

The Sensitive Data Service (TSD) has an annual fee, invoiced by the University of Oslo/USIT, which covers two virtual machines, up to 1 TB of storage and backup, and the use of the service Nettskjema.

Extra yearly costs apply for services that are not covered by the yearly fee, such as the use of the HPC cluster, more storage, use of database and use of licensed software not included in the software portfolio. Please note that a potential invoice for extra services like this will come from the University of Oslo/USIT.

Projects supported by Sigma2 for the use of HPC or storage resources will be charged for these services according to the following price list:

(~) If the price model above will give you expenses you consider unreasonable compared to what you have paid before, please contact us at contact@sigma.no.

(~~) Non-commercial projects with extraordinary needs, e.g. in terms of certain predictability for allocations within a specific time frame, due to for instance obligations or dependencies for other services.

By applying for TSD resources you accept the prices stated here and you will receive a yearly invoice from Sigma2.

EU programmes

Projects participating in EU programmes will continue to be exempted from contributing. For this to be valid, projects participating in EU calls, planning to use the Sigma2 e-infrastructure need to consult with us on resource usage before the application to EU is sent.

Only agreed resource usage will be exempted, and only usage proportionate to the EU funding will be exempted.

To efficiently handle your request, please provide the following information when contacting us:

• What EU programme you will apply to.
• Status on your EU application and when the deadline is.
• The period you need resources from us (from and to year is fine).
• Estimated amount of CPU hours needed per year.
• Estimated amount of storage space per year (in terabytes).

Storage space for projects allocated via DICE is free of charge up to June 2023 thanks to the project funding.

Invoicing

The revised model is valid from 1 October 2023.

BOTT projects, which have not secured external funding which covers the cost of using the services, must ensure – in agreement with internal management at their university — that there is financial coverage for their project. If a project does not get full financial coverage from its university, the project must reduce the amount of resources they apply for accordingly.

Applicants will now be asked to confirm that they are legally capable of financially committing their organization to pay for the resources used by the project.