The Cambridge Service for Data-Driven Discovery (CSD3) serves as the HPC (High-Performance Computing) platform for Cambridge University, granting thousands of users access to substantial computing power.
The service offers two standard service level tiers: SL3 (free tier) and SL2 (paid tier), which allow users to run jobs for up to 12 hours or 36 hours, respectively.

While these time limits are adequate for most tasks, certain bioinformatic applications require longer runtimes.
Notable examples include metagenomic applications, de novo genome assembly, and routine tasks like short-read mapping on very large genomes.

To cater to such scenarios, CSD3 provides a specialized 'Long Jobs' partition/queue, which allows for extended runtimes of up to 7 days.
However, access to this partition is restricted and granted only upon request.
The objective of this training session is to facilitate access to the 'Long Jobs' queue by discussing its appropriate usage.

During the session, we will explore various use cases that demonstrate how and when to divide jobs into smaller tasks, efficiently manage lengthy pipelines, and take advantage of 'checkpoint-and-restart' approaches.
Additionally, we will address the potential issues that arise from misusing the long queue and offer insights into testing your code to increase the likelihood of successful execution for long jobs.

The session aims to foster interactivity between instructors and participants, encouraging an exchange of experiences.
Participants will be encouraged to share examples from their own work where access to the long queue would have been advantageous, allowing for practical and relevant discussions.

By the end of the training, attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of leveraging the 'long jobs' queue effectively, maximizing the potential of the CSD3 HPC service for their bioinformatic tasks.

These sessions are only for Cambridge University staff with a Raven account.

Staff from the School of Biological Sciences and School of Clinical Medicine can attend this training for free.

All participants wishing to attend this course or access the long-jobs register should click the "Register Your Interest" button on the left hand side of this page. You will then be contacted as course places become available

Additional information

• Our courses are only free for registered University of Cambridge students. All other participants will be charged according to our charging policy.
• Attendance will be taken on all courses and a charge is applied for non-attendance, including for University of Cambridge students. After you have booked a place, if you are unable to attend any of the live sessions, please email the Bioinfo Team.
• Further details regarding eligibility criteria are available here.