About the Triton Affiliates and Partners Program (TAPP)
TAPP is the SDSC program for accessing its non-TeraGrid research computing systems. TAPP encourages campus participation, allowing researchers to use time and storage space on SDSC computing and data resources. Participating campuses purchase blocks of time or storage which researchers may then request from their TAPP campus administrators.
TAPP supports users at any level, and welcomes individual PIs and affiliated projects to purchase compute time, in the form of Service Units or SUs, if their needs exceed the availability of their campus allocation.
Below are described the levels of user access currently defined by TAPP. These are guidelines only, and are subject to change as demand for Triton grows. All potential users are encouraged to inquire, and the TAPP Manager seeks to accommodate as many users as possible while maintaining the goals of high availability, a streamlined allocation process, and short wait times.
TAPP Account Classification Guidelines
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Trial User
At this time, any potential user, UC or non-UC, can be granted a 1000-SU trial account free of charge. Trial accounts are granted for the purpose of evaluating the Triton Resource prior to purchasing compute time. Requests are subject to approval by the TAPP manager. The requestor should provide name, affiliation, email address, and if non-UCSD, a public ssh key for remote login. -
SDSC Staff or Affiliate
SDSC staff are those whose home department is SDSC. SDSC affiliates are those whose home department is not SDSC but who have a grant or contract administered by the SDSC Business Office. SDSC staff and affiliates are covered by a separate policy not described here. Those who are unsure if they are covered by this classification should request the TAPP Manager to make an individual determination of their case. -
Central Campus TAPP
For one of the central campuses (UCR, UCSB, UCB) that have made purchases in the current fiscal year, researchers and faculty on that campus may be eligible to receive a sub-allocation — it is up to each campus to decide how to administer its purchased SUs, and each may manage them differently. When inquiries come to the TAPP Program Manager from PIs on other campuses or the Triton Discussion List, they can be answered on a case-by-case basis. -
Individual PI or Departmental Purchases
Individual PIs may purchase SUs from grants or other funds; campus departments may purchase them from their operating funds or other sources; and outside companies and government agencies may purchase capacity by entering into a service agreement with UCSD. The purchasers decide how to allocate their purchased SUs. They can either sub-allocate to individual users or allow multiple users to draw from a single project.
Allocation of SUs to Individual User Accounts
Several mechanisms support individual users' access to allocated or purchased SUs.
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SUs can be assigned to one username
In the case of an individual trial account, a unique username is created and 1000 SUs allocated to that account. This model also applies to individual PIs who purchase time for their exclusive use. -
SUs can be assigned to a project from which multiple usernames can draw
A campus TAPP committee might make allocations to labs or projects with multiple researchers. Project XYZ can be created, and a block of SUs allocated to it. The PI for XYZ can then indicate what users should have access to it, and the respective usernames are authorized to draw on that project. -
SUs can be sub-allocated from a master account to individual usernames
For a central campus TAPP project, a master project is created and assigned the purchased allocation for that project. Then the TAPP administrator at that campus can indicate a specific number of SUs to be sub-allocated to an individual user, say, 10,000 SUs to the individual account abc. Then the abc account can be created and allocated 10,000 SUs, and the campus master account decremented by 10,000.
Please contact your campus administrator for the status of your campus's membership; or contact the TAPP Program Manager for more details about the program.
