[Completed] ASPIRE 2A and ASPIRE 2A+ Scheduled System Maintenance from 29 May 2025, 1pm to 2 Jun 2025, 1pm

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Dear ASPIRE 2A+ Users,
 
We are pleased to announce that the ASPIRE 2A+ scheduled system maintenance has been completed. You may proceed to use the systems as per usual.
 
Should you have any questions or need assistance, please contact our Helpdesk via the Service Desk Portal or email us at [email protected].
 
Thank you for your understanding and patience.
 
Warm regards,
The NSCC Team

Dear ASPIRE 2A+ Users,
 
As additional time is needed to verify system stability, please be informed that the scheduled maintenance for the ASPIRE 2A+ system has been extended to 2 June 2025 (Monday), 5:00 PM (SGT).
 
If you have any questions, please contact our Helpdesk via the Service Desk Portal or email us at [email protected].
 
We appreciate your understanding and patience during this essential maintenance. These updates are part of our ongoing efforts to enhance your experience and ensure the highest level of security.
 
Warm regards,
The NSCC Team
 
Dear Users,
 
Please note that the ASPIRE 2A and ASPIRE 2A+ systems will be undergoing a scheduled system maintenance from 29 May 2025, 1pm to 2 June 2025, 1pm​. The scheduled system maintenance is to ensure long term reliability, uptime and stability of the systems. 
 
Do take note of the following dates. 

ASPIRE 2A Maintenance activities:
  1. GPFS Storage Upgrade.
  2. PBS Pro Version Upgrade to 2025.2.
  3. Faulty Hardware Replacement.
  4. CDU Coolant Maintenance.
  5. Bug Fixes on the Utility Tools.
  6. System Health Check.
ASPIRE 2A+ Maintenance activities:
  1. Lustre Parallel Filesystem Storage Firmware Update.
  2. DCGMI Permission Change.
  3. Nvidia GPU Driver Patch.
  4. Hardware Firmware Upgrade
  5. PBS Pro Version Upgrade to 2025.2.
  6. System Health Check.

Thank you.

Warm regards,

The NSCC Team

 

Changes to the ASPIRE 2A+ System from 2 Jun 2025

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Dear ASPIRE2A+ Users,
 
We would like to inform you of upcoming changes to the ASPIRE 2A+ system, effective 2 June 2025. These updates are part of our ongoing efforts to improve resource management, performance monitoring, and user experience.
 
What’s Changing?
 
1.PBS Queue Structure Update
Starting 2 June 2025, all jobs submitted to the normal queue will be automatically routed to one of the following new queues based on the job’s characteristics:
  • aidev Queue – For development and interactive workloads
    • Max Walltime: 12 hours
    • GPU Limit: Up to 8 GPUs
    • Ideal for: Testing, debugging, and short interactive sessions.
  • aiq1 Queue – For small batch jobs
    • Max Walltime: 24 hours
    • GPU Limit: Up to 7 GPUs
    • Ideal for: Short production runs and low-GPU batch jobs.
  • aiq2 Queue – For large batch jobs
    • Max Walltime: 120 hours (5 days)
    • GPU Requirement: Minimum of 8 GPUs
    • Ideal for: Long-running, resource-intensive jobs.
 
What You Need to Do:
Continue submitting jobs to the normal queue as usual. The system will automatically route your job to the appropriate queue based on the requested GPU count and walltime. We encourage reviewing your job scripts to ensure that they align with the new queue definitions.
 
2.Change in dcgmi Access Permissions
From 2 June 2025, the dcgmi (NVIDIA Data Center GPU Manager) tool will no longer be executable by regular users.
 
 
This change is necessary to ensure the accuracy of system-wide, system-level GPU performance monitoring. If your workflows rely on dcgmi, please contact the our Helpdesk for alternative solutions or assistance.
 
Summary of Actions
  1. Review and adjust your job scripts to align with the new queue definitions.
  2. Avoid using dcgmi in user applications or scripts.
  3. Reach out to the Helpdesk if you need help adapting to these changes.
 
Please contact our Helpdesk via the Service Desk Portal or email us at [email protected] if you have any questions.
 
Thank you.
 
Warm regards,
The NSCC Team

[Follow-up for NSCC VPN Users] Update to NSCC VPN Server URL – Effective from 9 May 2025, 6:00 PM

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Dear NSCC Users,
 
Please be informed that the NSCC VPN server URL for accessing NSCC services has been updated.
 
New VPN Server URL: vpn1.nscc.sg
Effective Date and Time: 9 May 2025, 6:00 PM
 
We advise all users to update their VPN configuration to use the new URL as soon as possible to ensure smooth access to NSCC resources. The previous VPN server URL will be phased out soon.
 
For assistance with updating your VPN settings, please refer to the relevant guide below:
 
Alternatively, you may contact the NSCC Helpdesk via the Service Desk Portal or email us at [email protected] if you have any questions.
 
Thank you for your attention and cooperation.
 
Warm regards,
The NSCC Team 

[Completed] Urgent Scheduled Maintenance for NSCC VPN Service on 9 May 2025, 3PM to 6PM

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Dear NSCC Users,
 
We are pleased to announce that the urgent scheduled system maintenance on the NSCC VPN Service has been completed.
 
Impact to NSCC VPN Users:
  • There is a change to the VPN server URL for users accessing the HPC system. Kindly refer to the follow-up email for more information.

    Should you have any questions or need assistance, please contact our Helpdesk via the Service Desk Portal or email us at [email protected] if you have any questions.

    Thank you for your understanding and patience.

    Warm regards,
    The NSCC Team

    Urgent Scheduled Maintenance for NSCC VPN Service on 9 May 2025, 3PM to 6PM

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    Dear NSCC Users,

    We wish to inform you of an upcoming urgent scheduled system maintenance for NSCC VPN Service to enhance its long-term reliability, uptime, and stability.

    Maintenance Details:

    • Start: 9 May 2025 (Monday), 3:00 PM SGT
    • End: 9 May 2025 (Monday), 6:00 PM SGT
    • Duration: 3 hours

    Purpose:

    • To perform SSL Certificate renewal on NSCC VPN Server.

    Impact During the Maintenance Period:

    • During this period, VPN users may experience slight disruption on the NSCC VPN connection.

    We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding. Should you have any questions or need assistance, please contact our Helpdesk via the Service Desk Portal or email us at [email protected] if you have any questions.

    Thank you for your understanding and patience.

    Warm regards,
    The NSCC Team

    ASPIRE 2A and ASPIRE 2A+ Scheduled System Maintenance from 29 May 2025, 1pm to 2 Jun 2025, 1pm

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    Dear Users,
     
    Please note that the ASPIRE 2A and ASPIRE 2A+ systems will be undergoing a scheduled system maintenance from 29 May 2025, 1pm to 2 June 2025, 1pm​. The scheduled system maintenance is to ensure long term reliability, uptime and stability of the systems. 
     
    Do take note of the following dates. 

    ASPIRE 2A Maintenance activities:
    1. GPFS Storage Upgrade.
    2. PBS Pro Version Upgrade to 2025.2.
    3. Faulty Hardware Replacement.
    4. CDU Coolant Maintenance.
    5. Bug Fixes on the Utility Tools.
    6. System Health Check.
    ASPIRE 2A+ Maintenance activities:
    1. Lustre Parallel Filesystem Storage Firmware Update.
    2. DCGMI Permission Change.
    3. Nvidia GPU Driver Patch.
    4. Hardware Firmware Upgrade
    5. PBS Pro Version Upgrade to 2025.2.
    6. System Health Check.

    Thank you.

    Warm regards,

    The NSCC Team

     

    Update on Cybersecurity Enhancement: Implementation of Security Intelligence Filtering on 21 Feb 2025

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    Dear Users,

    NSCC has received numerous requests regarding access restrictions to Hugging Face services and URLs due to our recently implemented Security Intelligence Filtering. In response, we have reviewed the matter and whitelisted access to Hugging Face services.

    Users can now access the Hugging Face services and URLs without restriction from the HPC system. If you continue to experience any access issues, please contact our Helpdesk via the Service Desk Portal or email us at [email protected] for assistance.

    Thank you for your patience and understanding as we enhance our cybersecurity measures.

    Warm regards,

    The NSCC Team

    [Completed] Urgent Scheduled Maintenance for ASPIRE 2A+ on 7 March 2025, 3PM to 6.30PM

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    Dear ASPIRE 2A+ Users,

    We are pleased to announce that the ASPIRE 2A+ urgent scheduled system maintenance has been completed. You may proceed to use the systems as per usual.

    Should you have any questions or need assistance, please contact our Helpdesk via the Service Desk Portal or email us at [email protected] if you have any questions.

    Thank you for your understanding and patience.

    Warm regards,

    The NSCC Team

    Dear ASPIRE 2A+ Users,

    We wish to inform you of an upcoming urgent scheduled maintenance on the ASPIRE2A+ system. This maintenance is essential to ensure the continued reliability and performance of our services.

    Maintenance Details:

    • Start: 7 March 2025 (Friday), 3:00 PM SGT
    • End: 7 March 2025 (Friday), 6:30 PM SGT
    • Duration: 3.5 hours

    Purpose:

    • To perform a service failover activity on the system.

    Impact During the Maintenance Period:

    • During this period, you may experience a slight disruption in service. Specifically, you may not be able to submit jobs for a short period while the system is being normalised.

    We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding. Should you have any questions or need assistance, please contact our Helpdesk via the Service Desk Portal or email us at [email protected] if you have any questions.

    Thank you for your understanding and patience.

    Warm regards,

    The NSCC Team

    Urgent Scheduled Maintenance for ASPIRE 2A+ on 7 March 2025, 3PM to 6.30PM

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    Dear ASPIRE 2A+ Users,

    We wish to inform you of an upcoming urgent scheduled maintenance on the ASPIRE2A+ system. This maintenance is essential to ensure the continued reliability and performance of our services.

    Maintenance Details:

    • Start: 7 March 2025 (Friday), 3:00 PM SGT
    • End: 7 March 2025 (Friday), 6:30 PM SGT
    • Duration: 3.5 hours

    Purpose:

    • To perform a service failover activity on the system.

    Impact During the Maintenance Period:

    • During this period, you may experience a slight disruption in service. Specifically, you may not be able to submit jobs for a short period while the system is being normalised.

    We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding. Should you have any questions or need assistance, please contact our Helpdesk via the Service Desk Portal or email us at [email protected] if you have any questions.

    Thank you for your understanding and patience.

    Warm regards,

    The NSCC Team

    Cybersecurity Enhancement: Implementation of Security Intelligence Filtering

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    Dear Users,

    As part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing cybersecurity, we have implemented a new security measure – Security Intelligence Filtering. This enhancement is designed to automatically filter and block traffic from our HPC system to known malicious websites and domains on the internet, helping to safeguard our infrastructure and users.

    With this implementation, you may experience access restrictions to certain websites or domains that are categorized as potential security risks. This may include some well-known platforms such as Hugging Face.

    If you encounter access issues and believe a website or domain has been mistakenly blocked, please do not hesitate to contact our helpdesk via the Service Desk Portal or email us at [email protected]. for further clarification and verification.

    Thank you for your cooperation and understanding as we continue to strengthen our security measures.

    Warm regards,

    The NSCC Team