Docs/policies

Policies A Beowulf cluster can be used for many purposes. It can integrate complex equations, analyze massive chemical models, locate patterns in the human genome, crunch enormous amounts of statistical data, etc. Because there are so many possible projects that could be completed using the Beowulf cluster(s), several issues must be taken into consideration:  Who can use the cluster? How much time and computing power should be alloted to a given project? What permissions do researchers have when controlling the cluster? What rules are users obligated to follow?  Who can use the cluster? In short, anyone with an academically-motivated project who can provide sufficient reason for needing a massive computing structure can use the Beowulf cluster(s). If you have a project or idea that you would like to propose, please contact the Beowulf administrators (beowulf-admin@stolaf.edu). If your project is approved, your St. Olaf user name will be enabled on our beowulf cluster servers.

Allotting time and computational power Time and computational power are both very valuable resources in the computing industry. In order to insure that all Beowulf users receive a fair quantity of each, Beowulf administrators will schedule times and computational nodes for each user. Users will be able to run their programs and computations only during their alloted times, and only on the nodes assigned to them.

User rights and responsibilities "With great power, comes great responsibility." With that in mind, all users must adhere to the following rules:  All computations performed on the Beowulf clusters must be academically-related. Programs run for personal use will only hinder the academic progress of other users. Users must respect the privacy of other users. Users should not attempt to view or edit others' work without explicit permission Users should adhere to their allotted time and node assignments. Scheduling is critical, and other users may need to use the nodes that you are using. 