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Home Migration

ICER is migrating to a new HPCC home file system ffs24, an all flash system that will enable fast access to files in your home spaces, and a significantly better working environment overall. Along with the migration, we are increasing the default home space size from 50 GB to 100 GB which will be a hard limit going forward to ensure that usage of home spaces is aligned with their intended purpose. To help accommodate these changes, we are increasing the maximum free research space per principal investigator from 1TB to 3TB. This move toward more research space storage will also enhance collaboration amongst your team.

On this page, we have compiled a list of tips and questions that you may encounter throughout the transition.

New file system tips

Snapshots

Snapshots of your home directory will be taken periodically, and you now have the capability to restore your own files. To see all available snapshots of a directory, change to the .snapshots directory within any directory with the command

1
cd .snapshots

Note that this directory will not show up using ls, and does not count against your quota. You can copy any file from a given snapshot wherever you would like.

Migration specifics

Timeline

  • Week of January 20th: we will begin migrating users with less than 100 GB of home directory usage to the new ffs24 storage. Users will be notified before and after the migration.
  • Later this semester: we will reach out to users above 100 GB with further tools and processes to help migrate. These users will receive a usage report showing their home directory usage. PIs will also receive team and research group usage.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my access to the HPCC disabled during migration?

Your home directory is being migrated to a completely new storage. We need to be absolutely sure no new files are created during this process.

How long will my access be disabled during migration?

Your access will be disabled early morning on your given time slot. Your home directory will be 1 of many being migrated. We will batch the migrations all at once. While we expect that final sync to take only a few hours, it could take most of the day. We will do our best to keep the time frame short and you will receive a confirmation email when your home directory migration is complete.

Do I need to do anything to migrate?

If you are currently using less than 100GB in your home directory, you will not need to do anything, and the transition should appear seamless to you. If you are using more than 100GB, you will need to reduce your usage to be moved to the new ffs24 system. We will reach out with further tools and processes later this semester to assist with the transition.

I think I am missing files.

We are taking every precaution possible to prevent this. While this is extremely unlikely, it is possible an error was made. Create a ticket and we can look deeper.

I need to use the HPCC on the day I was selected to migrate.

That is fine. Respond to the automated message and we will move you down the list for a different day or you can select one.

Why do I need to lower my quota?

The new ffs24 system is more performant, but does not have as much space as the current home system. To accommodate reduced quota in home directories, we are encouraging users to move excess files to research spaces which will have the maximum free space per PI raised from 1TB to 3TB.