This content is also available on the kb (https://kb.iu.edu/d/bhgo), please keep an eye on that page for updates or changes.  Thank you!

Like many services, NCGAS is able to exist as a national resource as a result of funding graciously supplied by the NSF.  However, after 10 years of funding, NCGAS was not renewed for national services.  That leaves us with the same choices as any resource-limited organism – adapt, move, or die.

As we like our home within IU’s Research Technologies division, and we don’t particularly wish to perish, we are adapting our services to offer as much support as we can without any dedicated funding for the national community.  We will remain an XSEDE Service Level 3 center at least through the end of 2021, meaning we can still offer similar services nationally, just in a reduced capacity.

Changes to our four main services are detailed below:

1. Cyberinfrastructure services on Indiana University (IU) hardware infrastructure: Ending November 30, 2021 for affiliate accounts (non-IU)

NCGAS will no longer be able to support non-IU accounts (affiliates) on IU infrastructure. Affiliate accounts will not be renewed past December 31, 2021. This will affect non-IU accounts with data stored on:

• Slate-Project Spaces: /N/project
• Slate Spaces: /N/slate
• Slate-Scratch Spaces: /N/scratch
• Archive Space: SDA

All non-IU (affiliate) users will need to move their data from IU hardware infrastructure by November 30, 2021.

NCGAS will continue to be an XSEDE Service Level 3 service provider until December 31, 2021. The NCGAS team can assist in finding resources where non-IU users’ data/work can be relocated.

Below are some suggestions for this transition.

• Find a new home:
  • NCGAS Cyberinfrastructure Explorer (NCGAS CIRE): A searchable site for finding infrastructure to meet your needs.
  • XSEDE Machine Listing: Bridges2 is excellent for heavy lifting, Jetstream will work for jobs requiring lower memory, and Ranch is a good storage resource for archiving.
  • Jetstream2 will launch in late 2021 and will have nodes with a memory footprint and software stack comparable to IU’s Carbonate supercomputer. Check for transition instructions on the NCGAS blog after Jetstream2 launches.
• Get an XSEDE account: Your first step in getting access to the machines listed above
• How to get a start up allocation on XSEDE: Information on startup and trial allocations
• How to move to a new machine with Globus: A list of blogs on setting up and using Globus

NCGAS personnel will be reaching out individually to all users who have data on IU systems to make the transition as smooth as possible and help users find the best place to do their work.

2. Software support and workflows

As NCGAS can no longer support affiliate users of IU systems, software support will also be changing.

Software:

• Biocontainers can be used on most clusters and clouds. It is a low-barrier route to getting software installed without learning a dozen different methods. Take the new biocontainers tutorial, an introduction to the community project to make easy-to-share, easy-to-install software.
• Refer to the software installation NCGAS blogs on traditional software installation for the myriad ways to install software.
• For installation instructions for any of the software currently on the Carbonate supercomputer, email help@ncgas.org. NCGAS keeps a record of all the instructions, so installation can be streamlined for most packages.

Workflows:

NCGAS workflows (current and new) will be converted so they are fully portable. As they become available you can download them from the NCGAS git repo and run them on any cluster with SLURM and singularity, or directly on a cloud VM. Current workflows include genome-guided differential expression, de novo assembly and annotation of RNAseq, RADseq analysis, genome annotation, and microbial genome assembly.

3. Consulting services

Through December 31, 2021, NCGAS will continue to accept tickets from the national community. NCGAS welcomes continued collaboration with outside groups, but these collaborations will have to be at the funded proposal/subaward level.

For on-going support, XSEDE offers Extended Collaborative Support Services (ECSS). ECSS is XSEDE’s research support arm for members of the XSEDE user community.

4. Training and workshops

NCGAS will continue to offer online training and tutorials across several platforms, including a repository of past workshops, webinars, and tutorials.

Synchronous workshops will continue, though there may be limited capacity.

Closing Notes

It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with all of you.  We love hearing about your work, helping make the computational side of things easier, and struggling through new analyses alongside you.  We’re really excited that we can continue offering services to the national community, even with changes to our funding, albeit in a more limited capacity.  

Earlier this year we  added Discord live office hours on the third Tuesday of every month from 1-3pm EST.  If you are having problems transferring files, figuring out where to move to, or anything else – feel free to sign on and chat with us about it. The link is at the bottom of our website with all of our other social media links ^_^. Alternatively, you can send us a message at help@ncgas.org.

As we reorganize, adapt, and figure out how to best support research within our new funding model, I’m sure there will be further changes to our services (we’re always evolving!).  We’ll keep you informed here and do the best we can to make service changes  as smooth as possible.  

Thank you for your support and your patience!