ARC 2024 Summer School Program 8-11 July, 2024

Introduction to High-Performance Computing and Data Storage

In the age of big data and complex computational challenges, the ability to efficiently process and store vast amounts of data is crucial across many disciplines. This workshop is designed for UBC researchers who are interested in using high-performance computing (HPC) and large-scale data storage solutions to facilitate their research projects. Participants will gain hands-on experience and deepen their understanding of the latest technologies and methodologies in HPC and data storage.

Prerequisite:  Basic knowledge of computer systems and data processing is recommended.

Instructors:  Jerry Li, Michael Nesrallah, Roman Baranowski

SWNG 221

Risky Research - Securing Your Secrets and Yourself

Have you ever been stumped by questions on applications regarding your research’s risk for ethics, data access and funding and wondered how you can address these?  Join us for this three-part workshop and feel confident in responding to these questions.  

Prerequisite:  None

Please note:  This session runs from 1:00 - 4:00 PM.

Instructors:  Jessica Galo, Luc Letarte, Scott Baker

SWNG 221

Introduction to REDCap Flex

REDCap Flex is a powerful digital data collection platform that can not only facilitate the collection and organization of your research data, but can help manage teams’ access and permission, automate the emailing of survey invitations, allow participants to “e-consent”, create reports to monitor data as it’s being collected, allow survey respondents to switch between languages, and much more. In this two-hour workshop we’ll cover the basics of how to set up a REDCap project in the first-half before moving into more advanced topics in the second.

Prerequisite:  None

Please note:  This session runs from 1:00 - 4:00 PM.

Instructor:  Gabriel Smith

SWNG 222

Building Containers to Simplify Software Stacks on HPC and Cloud – Session I

Join us for the first part of an all-day workshop on creating software stacks in a containerized environment. For the morning we will be exploring the basics of containers and will utilize Spack to help build a simple software stack within a container. We will also look at what is needed to write a definition file to create a new container. 

Prerequisite:  None

Instructors:  Jacob Boschee and Ken Bigelow

SWNG 221

Building Containers to Simplify Software Stacks on HPC and Cloud – Session II 

Join us for part two of an all-day workshop on creating software stacks in a containerized environment. In the afternoon session we will begin to cover more advanced topics. This session will look at three common advanced cases for HPC: Virtual Environment, GPU software, and multi-node workflows using MPI.

Prerequisite:  Basic knowledge of Linux command-line operations; prior experience with containers OR have attended Building Containers to Simplify Software Stacks on HPC and Cloud Session I.

Instructors:  Jacob Boschee and Ken Bigelow

SWNG 221

Introduction to the Commercial Cloud

Through the new UBC Hybrid Cloud Service, researchers can now access the commercial cloud without needing to set up their own accounts or billing. Platforms supported include Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, with support for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) coming soon. If you are interested in learning how this service can support your use of the public cloud (e.g., cost management, data security) in your research and how you can get started, this is the session for you.

Prerequisite: None

Instructors: Sanja LeBlanc, Brent Dunington, Michael Tang

SWNG 222

Running Jobs on HPC – Session I

Join us for an engaging two-hour workshop designed to introduce the fundamentals of using SLURM, the leading job scheduler, for managing batch jobs in a high-performance computing (HPC) environment. This workshop is ideal for participants who have little to no prior experience with HPC or SLURM but wish to take advantage of the system and the computing resources for their research projects.

Prerequisite:  None

Instructor:  Jerry Li

SWNG 221

Introduction to the Digital Research Alliance of Canada

The Digital Research Alliance of Canada (“the Alliance”) is a non-profit funded by the Government of Canada that serves Canadian researchers, with the objective of advancing Canada’s position as a leader in the knowledge economy on the international stage.  This session explores the various HPC and cloud computing resources available via the Alliance, how to gain access to and use these resources for your research projects, and how to apply for the annual Resource Allocation Competition (RAC). 

Prerequisite:  None

Instructor: Venkat Mahadevan

SWNG 222

Running Jobs on HPC – Session II

Designed for a diverse group of professionals, researchers, and students, this workshop offers an invaluable opportunity to learn how to utilize HPC resources more effectively. Participants will gain hands-on experience with array jobs, explore the depths of MPI for intricate parallel processing tasks, and unlock the powerful capabilities of GPUs for computationally demanding applications. Whether you're a scientist running complex simulations, a data analyst dealing with big data, or an IT professional managing HPC infrastructures, this workshop will equip you with the practical skills and knowledge to elevate your computational projects. Engage with expert instructors, collaborate with peers, and step into the world of high-performance parallel computing to transform the way you process and analyze data. Join us to harness the power of HPC and advance your computational endeavours!

Prerequisite: Previous experience with HPC

Instructors: Jacob Boschee, Roman Baranowski

SWNG 221

Introduction to Cloud and Virtual Machines

What is Cloud? What are Virtual Machines? Join us in the morning for an introduction of the cloud and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada community cloud. In this session, you will learn about the resources available to Canadian researchers and how the cloud can help advance your research. In the afternoon, participants will have the opportunity to have hands-on experience launching virtual machines and other resources in the community cloud.

Prerequisite:  None

Instructor:  Michael Tang

SWNG 221

Parallel Computing with MATLAB Parts 1 & 2

Part 1:  we will introduce parallel and distributed computing in MATLAB with a focus on speeding up application codes and offloading compute. By working through common scenarios and workflows using hands-on demos, you will gain a detailed understanding of the parallel constructs in MATLAB, their capabilities, and some of the common hurdles that you'll encounter when using them. 

Part 2: During this hands-on workshop, we will show users how to best submit MATLAB jobs to an HPC cluster.

Instructor:  Raymond Norris

SWNG 222