System News

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• Blue Waters Notice: Software and Maintenance

  Created by: jenos 2020-06-11 12:12:35 (Channels: scheduledoutages|systemnotices|softwareupdate)

  Blue Waters Partners:

  Summary:

  1. Globus command line interface issue is resolved.
  2. Shifter software upgrade on 6/18/2020
  3. Reminder: Portal dynamic data interruption on 6/12/2020

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  1. The Globus issue experienced when using the command line interface provided by bwpy/2.0.2 has been resolved without a need for any local updates, as changes performed by Globus outside of Blue Waters resolved the issue.

  2. On Thursday, June 18, 2020, we will be updating Shifter module from version 16.08.3 to 18.03.4. The new version will provide a number of stability improvements and enables local user images.  When complete, the "shifter" GRES specification will remain valid, but shifter16 will be disabled.

     Documentation will be updated at that point to reflect the changes.

     https://bluewaters.ncsa.illinois.edu/shifter

     Shifter jobs that are already running at that time are unlikely to encounter issues, but it is possible in some circumstances.  If this happens, you can resubmit the job using the "shifter" GRES as documentation will reflect once the change is performed.

  3. A reminder that on Friday June 12 at 2 PM CT, maintenance will be performed on a backend database supporting dynamic system information presented in the Blue Waters portal.  The hardware maintenance should complete in less than an hour. During this timeframe, updated dynamic data regarding Blue Waters system status may not be available. The Blue Waters system is expected to continue to operate normally during this maintenance.

  Please notify help+bw@ncsa.illinois.edu with any questions.

  -Blue Waters project

   

  
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  Blue Waters Partners: Summary: Globus command line interface issue is resolved. Shifter software upgrade on 6/18/2020 Reminder: Portal dynamic data interruption on 6/12/2020 The Globus issue experienced when using the command line interface provided by bwpy/2.0.2 has been resolved without a need for any local updates, as changes performed by...
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• Blue Waters Notice: Globus command line interface issue

  Created by: gbauer 2020-06-01 10:50:46 (Channels: softwareupdate)

  Blue Waters partners;

  The version of the Globus command line interface (CLI) provided by bwpy/2.0.2 is out of date and will not work properly with Globus Online. 

  Locally installed versions of globus-cli (such as via pip or virtualenv) might need to be updated depending on the version installed. 

  Please follow the "self-deploy the Python-based Globus CLI" steps available at https://bluewaters.ncsa.illinois.edu/data-transfer-doc#gcli for the time being to install a local instance of the globus-cli.

  We will update you once the version of globus-cli in bwpy has been updated.

  -Blue Waters project

  
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  Blue Waters partners; The version of the Globus command line interface (CLI) provided by bwpy/2.0.2 is out of date and will not work properly with Globus Online.  Locally installed versions of globus-cli (such as via pip or virtualenv) might need to be updated depending on the version installed.  Please follow the "self-deploy the Python-based Globus...
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• Blue Waters Notice: update to bwpy Python module post-upgrade

  Created by: gbauer 2018-07-17 21:37:42 (Channels: softwareupdate)

  Blue Waters partners;

  We would like to inform you that the default bwpy has been changed to version 1.2.4. This version fixes some internal linking problems introduced by the recent system and programming environment update.

  This release contains several fixes and additional packages from bwpy/1.2.0 that was released July 5th including: pygpu for Theano (bwpy/1.2.3), VTK and MayaAVI (bwpy/1.2.2). bwpy/1.2.1 was a bug fix release.

  Once it is released, bwpy/2.0.0 will support CUDA 9.1 and gcc/6.3.0.

  For questions or comments please email help+bw@ncsa.illinois.edu.

  
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  Blue Waters partners; We would like to inform you that the default bwpy has been changed to version 1.2.4. This version fixes some internal linking problems introduced by the recent system and programming environment update. This release contains several fixes and additional packages from bwpy/1.2.0 that was released July 5th including: pygpu for...
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• Blue Waters Scheduled Maintenance: Return to Service

  Created by: gbauer 2018-07-16 19:43:38 (Channels: scheduledoutages|systemnotices|softwareupdate)

  Blue Waters Users,

  Blue Waters has been returned to service after a security update and programming environment update. CUDA 9.1 is now available as the default cudatoolkit but with gcc/4.9.3 remaining as the default GNU compiler. The default programming environment otherwise did not change to allow for an extended transition to the newer programming environment.

  For a complete discussion of the changes to the Programming Environment please see the Programming Environment (PE) Changes  portal page.

  This is an extensive programming environment update and as such there will be issues we did not discover in advance. Please report issues to help+bw@ncsa.illinois.edu.

  -Blue Waters Project

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  A new Programming Environment was installed as a non-default and will be made default after a test period and subsequent announcement.

  CUDA notes: XK nodes will receive CUDA update (and associated driver) to version 9.1.  CUDA 7.5 will still be available as non-default.  CUDA 7.5 binaries have tested successfully in the CUDA 9.1 environment, but it may be necessary to recompile.  sm_20 and compute_20 are deprecated in any build or makefile setup.  People should use sm_35 and/or compute_35 to best match our Kepler K20x GPUs.

  
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  Blue Waters Users, Blue Waters has been returned to service after a security update and programming environment update. CUDA 9.1 is now available as the default cudatoolkit but with gcc/4.9.3 remaining as the default GNU compiler. The default programming environment otherwise did not change to allow for an extended transition to...
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• Rescheduled: Next Blue Waters User Call Tuesday, July 17th at 1PM Central

  Created by: gbauer 2018-07-15 21:50:26 (Channels: general|softwareupdate)

  The July User Call has been rescheduled for Tuesday, July 17th at 1PM Central in order to better communicate the changes that will take place during the maintenance on Monday, July 16th; at which time CUDA 9.1 and a new Programming Environment will be installed.

  During the rescheduled call we will discuss: 

  1. Recent Events
  2. Recent Changes
     1. CUDA 9.1 
     2. New Programming Environment
  3. Utilization, Usage, and other metrics.
  4. Upcoming Opportunities. 

  Slides will be posted to https://bluewaters.ncsa.illinois.edu/past-webinars before the meeting starts. 

  Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/250788601

  Or iPhone one-tap :

      US: +16699006833,,250788601#  or +16465588656,,250788601# 

  Or Telephone:

      Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location)

          US: +1 669 900 6833  or +1 646 558 8656 

      Meeting ID: 250 788 601

      International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=8NTXBpyVyQT5nZx0AwfuY8UYmKzDUNuq

  
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  The July User Call has been rescheduled for Tuesday, July 17th at 1PM Central in order to better communicate the changes that will take place during the maintenance on Monday, July 16th; at which time CUDA 9.1 and a new Programming Environment will be installed. During the rescheduled call we will discuss:  Recent Events Recent Changes CUDA...
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• Blue Waters Scheduled Maintenance Update

  Created by: jenos 2018-07-13 11:57:54 (Channels: scheduledoutages|systemnotices|softwareupdate)

  Blue Waters Users,

  Please note the following scheduled maintenance update:

  The scheduled maintenance for CUDA 9.1 deployment on Blue Waters has been expanded to a near full system service outage that will span 13 hours on Monday July 16th, from 9am to 10pm. This adjustment will eliminate the need for an additional scheduled maintenance period. To maximize availability, login nodes and filesystems will remain in service during the maintenance. The expanded activities include hardware maintenance, operating system software update roll ups, and some preventative maintenance to maximize future stability. Major changes are still the Programming Environment and CUDA 9.1 depoloyments originally planned.

   

  ---

  A new Programming Environment will be installed as a non-default and will be made default after a test period and subsequent announcement.

  CUDA notes: XK nodes will receive CUDA update (and associated driver) to version 9.1.  CUDA 7.5 will still be available as non-default.  CUDA 7.5 binaries have tested successfully in the CUDA 9.1 environment, but it may be necessary to recompile.  sm_20 and compute_20 are deprecated in any build or makefile setup.  People should use sm_35 and/or compute_35 to best match our Kepler K20x GPUs.

  Interim updates will be posted on the Blue Waters System News

   

  Please plan accordingly.

  Availability details: 

  Subsystem / Services	Projected Duration	Availability
  Compute	9am - 10pm	Unavailable
  Login / Filesystem		Available
  Scheduler	9am - 10pm	Unavailable
  Globus online endpoint (ncsa#BlueWaters)	9am - 10pm	Unavailable
  Globus online endpoint (ncsa#Nearline)	9am to 12pm (3 hours)	Unavailable

  
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  Blue Waters Users, Please note the following scheduled maintenance update: The scheduled maintenance for CUDA 9.1 deployment on Blue Waters has been expanded to a near full system service outage that will span 13 hours on Monday July 16th, from 9am to 10pm. This adjustment will eliminate the need for an additional...
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• Blue Waters XK (GPU) resource and HPSS Nearline resources will be unavailable from 9am to 12pm on Monday July 16th

  Created by: kingda 2018-07-09 09:08:10 (Channels: scheduledoutages|systemnotices|softwareupdate)

  Blue Waters Users,

  Blue Waters XK compute resource and HPSS ncsa#Nearline resource will be undergoing maintenance Monday (July 16th) morning beginning at 9 AM. The XK compute nodes are anticipated to be unavailable for up to 3 hours. The login nodes and XE compute resource will remain in service.

  A new Programming Environment will be installed as a non-default and will be made default after a test period and subsequent announcement.

  CUDA notes: XK nodes will receive CUDA update (and associated driver) to version 9.1.  CUDA 7.5 will still be available as non-default.  CUDA 7.5 binaries have tested successfully in the CUDA 9.1 environment, but it may be necessary to recompile.  sm_20 and compute_20 are deprecated in any build or makefile setup.  People should use sm_35 and/or compute_35 to best match our Kepler K20x GPUs.

  Interim updates will be posted on the Blue Waters System News

   

  Please plan accordingly.

  Availability details: 

  Subsystem / Services	Projected Duration	Availability
  XK Compute	9am to 12pm (3 hours)	XK Unavailable
  XE Compute		Available
  Login / Filesystem		Available
  Scheduler		Available
  Globus online endpoint (ncsa#BlueWaters)		Available
  Globus online endpoint (ncsa#Nearline)	9am to 12pm (3 hours)	Unavailable

  
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  Blue Waters Users, Blue Waters XK compute resource and HPSS ncsa#Nearline resource will be undergoing maintenance Monday (July 16th) morning beginning at 9 AM. The XK compute nodes are anticipated to be unavailable for up to 3 hours. The login nodes and XE compute resource will remain in service. A new Programming Environment will be installed...
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• Blue Waters Notice: updates to bwpy Python module

  Created by: gbauer 2018-06-22 14:48:49 (Channels: softwareupdate)

  Blue Waters partners;

  On Tuesday June 26th the default module version for bwpy will change from 1.1.0 to 1.1.1. This is a minor release change to address:

  • Fixes for Jupyter notebook's python3 kernel
  • Add XML::LibXML to make bwpy's Perl more compatible with the system Perl
  • Add Horovod for testing (unstable).

  A new version of bwpy/1.2.0 is now available for testing. This version will become the default for bwpy on July 5th.

  • New packages: torchvision
  • Upgrades to various packages
  • Details can be found at /sw/bw/bwpy/package-changes-1.1.1-1.2.0.txt
  • To test: module load bwpy/1.2.0

  These changes should be transparent to the user.

  For questions or comments please email help+bw@ncsa.illinois.edu.

  
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  Blue Waters partners; On Tuesday June 26th the default module version for bwpy will change from 1.1.0 to 1.1.1. This is a minor release change to address: Fixes for Jupyter notebook's python3 kernel Add XML::LibXML to make bwpy's Perl more compatible with the system Perl Add Horovod for testing (unstable). A new version of bwpy/1.2.0 is now available for...
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• Blue Waters notice: Container software re-enabled on Blue Waters

  Created by: gbauer 2018-05-09 16:25:31 (Channels: systemnotices|softwareupdate)

  We are pleased to announce that the container software package Shifter and its associated service have been re-enabled on Blue Waters.

  Shifter was checked for vulnerabilities and none were found. To avoid concern, a patch was applied, and Shifter has been updated and re-enabled.

  Please see the Shifter page on the portal for updated documentation. 

  Please contact help+bw@ncsa.illinois.edu with your comments or questions.  

  
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  We are pleased to announce that the container software package Shifter and its associated service have been re-enabled on Blue Waters. Shifter was checked for vulnerabilities and none were found. To avoid concern, a patch was applied, and Shifter has been updated and re-enabled. Please see the Shifter page on the portal for...
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• Blue Waters Notice: Updates to bwpy Python module

  Created by: gbauer 2018-03-30 17:25:09 (Channels: softwareupdate)

  The Blue Waters Python module, bwpy, has just received a major update.

  • The default python has been changed from python2 to python3. All scripts which are not compatible with both major versions should explicitly use python2 or python3. See https://python3statement.org/ for information on major package developer support timelines.
  • The pypy and pypy3 interpreters are now able to support numpy, scipy, and mpi4py. Some codes may benefit from the jit compilation these interpreters provide.
  • Tensorflow has been updated from 1.3.0 to 1.4.1
  • Python3.6 has been added as the non-default python3 compiler. As not all modules supported by 3.5 are installed for it, Python3.5 remains the default.
  • Numpy, scipy, and other modules which use BLAS routines now use Intel MKL rather than Cray libsci. DO NOT LET PIP INSTALL UPDATES TO THESE MODULES. The OpenBLAS versions installed by pip are significantly slower. Check your ~/.local/lib/*/site-packages and your virtualenvs and delete any versions pip installed. When using pip `install`, it is recommended to use `--upgrade-strategy only-if-needed`
  • A note on virtualenvs: When a virtualenv is created, the version is written into the wrapper script according to the BWPY_VERSION environment variable. If created using bwpy/latest-stable, the virtualenv will always use the "default" image. If created using bwpy/1.1.0, it will always load the 1.1.0 image. This value can be manually changed by editing the wrapper script [virtualenv]/bin/python.
     

  For more information please see the Python page on the Blue Waters portal.

  Please contact help+bw@ncsa.illinois.edu with issues or comments.

   

  
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  The Blue Waters Python module, bwpy, has just received a major update. The default python has been changed from python2 to python3. All scripts which are not compatible with both major versions should explicitly use python2 or python3. See https://python3statement.org/ for information on major package developer support timelines. The pypy and pypy3 interpreters are...
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