Our Services

CONSULTING

Short of specialized, domain-specific consulting (i.e. we do not have scientists on our support staff) we are able to offer significant technical advice on the best use of science & engineering applications on our HPC systems. We are familiar with best practices in the efficient use of HPC systems for different classes of workloads and can guide you away from most of the common performance pitfalls.

If you intend to purchase hardware for computational needs that cannot easily be fulfilled on our HPC systems, we can also assist in evaluating hardware and technology options best suited to those needs.

TRAINING

We offer several short courses to train users in the efficient use of our resources. A three-session Linux course is offered at least once per semester. In addition, a separate single-session course on the use of our flagship HPC system (Raad2) is also offered occasionally, typically as a follow-up to the Linux course.

Because we do not employ support staff who are experts in specific application domains, we do occasionally arrange professional on-site training courses specific to a certain software package (e.g. Matlab, Ansys, etc.) by inviting outside experts to HBKU. If a need for any such training can be identified by the community and there is sufficient interest, we can facilitate and arrange a relevant event.

RESEARCH COMPUTING HELPDESK

Helpdesk services are an important and time intensive component of our work. We understand that the HPC hardware itself is only one part of a viable and useful HPC facility, while the other critical component includes knowledgeable and expert staff that not only train and guide the user community but also troubleshoot its day to day problems. All our staff is expected to be involved in responding to user queries and troubleshooting problems on a daily basis. The problems we respond to range from the trivial and mundane to complex long-drawn out diagnosis of unexpected system or application behaviors. Consequently, while we can often provide resolutions to commonly encountered problems within minutes, at other times we may need days or weeks to properly reproduce, understand and resolve a complex issue.

The primary mechanism for seeking assistance from Research Computing is by sending email to "rccl@hbku.edu.qa". The service desk email address and back-end ticketing system are managed by the IT department, which is an organizational unit distinct and separate from Research Computing. The IT service desk staff perform the important function of sifting through and categorizing requests from the user community, and where appropriate, assigning certain requests to other organizational units such as Research Computing. Requests sent to the service desk typically reach our work queue within tens of minutes during business hours. Important guidance on how best to formulate your requests can be found here.

Apart from email requests, users may also visit us in person in room 125 within the HBKU Manufactury Building. Since we do not have staff dedicated exclusively to the helpdesk function at all times, we may not be available for an immediate walk-in meeting, but when we are, we are happy to help right away. Naturally, one on one meetings may also be scheduled in advance for this purpose.

COMPUTING SUPPORT FOR RESEARCHERS

We offer guidance on how to install certain science & engineering software packages on Windows systems, and can help with troubleshooting Windows installation and configuration problems specific to these packages. This support does not cover general Windows OS or networking support (which is provided by the IT department).

We can also offer general guidance for your needs to connect scientific equipment or instruments to computing hardware, and can serve as a “communication bridge” or facilitator between your team and the IT department, if there is such need.

We are also able to field questions and offer advice about the Linux OS for use on your laptops or desktops. However, simply because we are a very small group, administering, maintaining, or troubleshooting your systems is largely beyond our capacity.
=> To know more details about our Linux Support service, checkout this page: Linux Support

Please note that support for these “non-HPC” needs is offered on a best-effort basis due to our limited human resources.