Training Course Descriptions

Supercomputing

Introduction to Pawsey

General overview of resources and expertise offered by Pawsey, suited to all researchers. After completing the session, the attendee will:

• Understand what Pawsey is and offers
• Know some scenarios for researcher use of Pawsey services
• Know how the attendee can benefit from Pawsey services
• Know how to get access to Pawsey resources

Introduction to Linux

Attendees who are not familiar with Linux should attend this introductory session before attending other courses. After completing the Linux training session, the attendee will be able to:

• Understand background and relevance of Linux
• Use a set of the most useful Linux commands
• Use a text editor to a basic level (vi)

Introductory Supercomputing

This introductory course will introduce users to using a supercomputer. Topics include: Parallel computing concepts, queuing systems and batch scripts, running jobs, job accounting, tips and etiquette. After completing the training session, the attendee will be able to:

• Understand basic parallel computing concepts and workflows
• Understand the high-level architecture of a supercomputer
• Use a basic workflow to submit a job and monitor it
• Understand a resource request and know what to expect
• Check basic usage and accounting information

Intermediate Supercomputing

This course builds on the material in Introductory Supercomputing, enabling the user to compile code and use the machine more efficiently and effectively. Topics include: the Lustre file system, compiling codes, mathematical and I/O libraries, job accounting, more complicated workflows After completing the training session, the attendee will be able to:

• Compile and run code on a Cray XC30 supercomputer
• Understand how to get good performance out of the filesystem
• Develop and use advanced jobscripts
• Explore current and past jobs.

Introduction to Supercomputer Technology

This course establishes the foundation for parallel programming and performance optimization concepts. This is essential for later courses. Topics include: CPU and accelerator architectures, memory hierarchies, network architectures, distributed memory, parallel programming models. After completing the training session, the attendee will be able to:

• Understand the components of a supercomputer
• Identify the impact of hardware components on performance
• Relate supercomputer architecture to parallel programming models

Optimising Serial Code

• Choose an algorithm for good performance
• Choose a language for good performance
• Understand the importance of standard conformance
• Write code that can be optimised for a modern CPU
• Locate bottlenecks in a serial code and address them
• Know about common math libraries instead of do it yourself

Parallelising Your Code

• Introduction to Parallel programming
• Writing programs for shared memory architecture using OpenMP
• Writing scalable programs for distributed memory architecture using Message Passing Interface standard
• Making use of debugging and profiling tools in design and development of a parallel program.
• Writing distributed applications to maximise throughput.

Developing with MPI and Open MP

This course will cover the basics of using Message Passing Interface (MPI) and OpenMP to parallelise code. These are the most common forms of parallelisation on supercomputers. After completing the training session, the attendee will be able to:

• Understand the concepts behind parallel programming
• Have a basic knowledge of calls in MPI and OpenMP
• Modify code to use MPI and OpenMP
• Compile code and submit jobs
• Have an understanding of hybrid approaches mixing MPI and OpenMP

Using Development Tools on the Cray XC40

This course will cover the use of debugging, profiling and parallelization tools from Cray and Allinea on the Cray XC30 supercomputer. Topics include: Allinea DDT (debugger), Allinea MAP (profiler), CrayPat (profiler), and Cray Reveal (parallelization tool). After completing the training session, the attendee will be able to:

• Launch DDT and use it to debug a code
• Profile a code with MAP, and go back and forth between MAP profiling and DDT debugging
• Use CrayPat to do an in-depth profiling of a code, and analyze the performance of their code
• Use Cray Reveal to parallelize a code with OpenMP directives

Epic to Magnus Migration

There are a number of differences between the Cray and other machines that you need to be aware of to use Magnus efficiently (or at all). This session assumes that attendees have experience with running code on supercomputers.

Course content will include key points from:

• Introduction
• Cray XC40 Overview
• Essential Information
• Filesystems
• Batch System
• Programming Environment
• Scientific Libraries
• Cray MPI Environment
• Debugging
• Profiling

Data

NeCTAR Research Cloud Training

This training workshop will provide attendees with an introduction to the available NeCTAR Research Cloud resources at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre. At the end of the workshop attendees should feel confident in applying and experimenting with this exciting new technology. The workshop will aim to provide an introduction to using the Infrastructure as a Sevice - IaaS capability of the NeCTAR Research Cloud.

The workshop will include:

1. Introduction to the Unix shell.
2. The NeCTAR Dashboard basics of key generation, configuration and launching a Cloud instance.
3. Managing and Maintenance of your Cloud instance.
4. Moving data to/from the Cloud.
5. Introduction to git (time permitting).

Scientific Workflows on NeCTAR – An Introduction to SaaS

A hands-on workshop were we will work through the procedures of configuring a basic NeCTAR Cloud instance to be able to meet unique research requirements. Attendees are expected to have current NeCTAR projects.

• Using the package management tools.
• Efficiently handling your data with Volume Storage.
• Advanced scripting to automate workflows.

At the end of the workshop attendees should feel confident in modifying their instances and developing custom workflows with this exciting new technology.

Visualisation

3D printing and data visualisation: A technology brief

3D printing is an exciting technology whereby a digital representation of data is converted into a physical object that can be held and explored in the same way as we normally study physical objects in everyday life. The technology has been around for some time in the engineering disciplines where it is generally referred to as Rapid Prototyping. Developments in more recent time have removed some of the previous limitations, which in turn have created a range of new application areas.

This seminar will present how 3D printing may be employed as part of the visualisation process, both as a way of studying datasets as well as conveying a sense of that data in teaching and public outreach. As an attendee of this seminar you will gain an appreciation of the current state of the technology, it’s strengths, and it’s limitations.

You will be equipped to judge when 3D printing may be an appropriate means of visualising data, and how to go about creating optimal digital models. You will also see a number of examples of the use of 3D printing from researchers in various diverse fields such as medicine, geology, mathematics and archaeology.

Content Creation for Dome Displays. Part 1

Please accept our invitation to the the presentation 'Content creation for dome displays'. Domes are an exciting way of surrounding the viewer in a digital environment, filling their entire visual field of view. This introduction to dome displays will provide a comprehensive overview of the advantages and challenges of creating content for this particular style of immersive environment. Unlike flat single surface displays or multiple wall displays there are some fundamental differences when it comes creating content for smooth hemispherical surfaces. The seminar will draw upon the presenter's extensive experience of using a range of hemispherical dome configurations, these include large scale planetarium-orientated domes to the small personal front facing iDomes. Content will include photography, fisheye and 360 degree video, realtime applications and simulators using game engines.

Application examples will cover science visualisation across a number of fields, education and public outreach through exhibitions in museums or art galleries. At the end of this seminar the audience should understand the opportunities and requirements for creating content for a dome environment.

Content Creation for Dome Displays. Part 2 - Technology Workshop

This workshop is a follow-up to the one hour Content Creation seminar run by Paul Bourke at the HIVE in June. Dome displays have unique characteristics that provide a very immersive experience, however a unique display also requires unique content development techniques. This three hour workshop will provide in-depth guidance on the actual process of developing content for dome displays. Content types include 360° panoramas, 360° videos, and virtual environments. The HIVE and Pawsey have a range of content capture equipment available to allow you to capture compelling dome content. Dome displays are also becoming more widely available. The workshop will provide specific step-by-step guidance on how you can turn your imagination into a dome experience. In the afternoon we will also offer an optional opportunity to capture some content suitable for displaying on dome displays, and time for extended Q&A on dome content capture, and perhaps discussion of content production ideas.

In order to reduce repetition of content we ask that everyone attending this workshop has either attended the earlier one hour seminar (“Content Creation for Dome Displays”) or watched the video recording of the talk. This video will be made available on request.

3D printing and data visualisation

3D printing is an exciting technology whereby a digital representation of data is converted into a physical object that can be held and explored in the same way as we normally study physical objects in everyday life. The technology has been around for some time in the engineering disciplines where it is generally referred to as Rapid Prototyping. Developments in more recent time have removed some of the previous limitations, in turn creating a range of new application areas.

This workshop will demonstrate how 3D printing may be employed as part of the visualisation process, both as a way of studying datasets as well as conveying a sense of that data in teaching and public outreach. Attendees of the workshop will gain an appreciation of the current state of the technology, its strengths and limitations, as well as be equipped to judge when 3D printing may be an appropriate means of visualising data and how to go about creating optimal digital models. A number of examples of the use of 3D printing from researchers in various diverse fields such as medicine, geology, mathematics and archaeology will be presented.