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How to Get Access

This page explains how to request and obtain access to the XLence HPC cluster.

Eligibility

Access to the XLence cluster is free for members of the Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences (DiSFeB).

Access Prerequisites

1. INDACO Registration (Required)

Before accessing XLence, you must be registered on the INDACO platform:

Register at: https://www.indaco.unimi.it/index.php/registrazione-unimi/

Follow the registration procedure and wait for the confirmation email from INDACO.

2. XLence Account Activation

Once you receive your INDACO confirmation email:

  1. Send your INDACO username to the cluster administrators: Uliano Guerrini (uliano.guerrini@unimi.it) or Omar Ben Mariem (omar.benmariem@unimi.it)

  2. The administrators will enable your access to XLence and notify you when your account is ready

What Access Provides

When you are granted access to XLence, you receive:

Personal Home Directory

  • Your own home directory on the cluster
  • Storage space for your personal files and scripts
  • Accessible from all cluster nodes

Access to NGS Data

Research Groups and Job Submission

Group Membership Required for Computing

Important: To submit computational jobs to the cluster queue, you must be a member of a research group.

Group Structure

Each research group has:

  • Group Leader (PI/Lab Head):
  • Must be registered on both INDACO and XLence
  • Responsible for the group

  • Manages group membership

  • Group Members:

  • Have access to a shared group directory
  • Can exchange files within the group
  • Use the group name as the account for job submission

Group Directory

The group directory provides: - Shared workspace for collaborative projects - File sharing between group members - Persistent storage for group data

Usage: Submit jobs using your group account name in Slurm scripts.

Storage Policy

Storage Quotas

Currently: There are no hard storage quotas enforced on the cluster.

We rely on the good sense and mutual respect of users to avoid implementing strict quotas in the future.

Please: - Use storage responsibly - Clean up unnecessary files regularly - Discuss large storage needs with administrators

Important Storage Limitations

⚠️ CRITICAL: The cluster storage is designed for computational work, NOT for long-term data archiving.

The XLence storage system has NO BACKUP: - This includes the main storage (50 TB) - This includes NGS data storage (10 TB) - Even though the NGS storage uses RAID6 with 2 spare drives for redundancy, this is NOT a backup

Your Responsibility: 1. Download and backup your important data to external storage 2. Keep critical data in your own secure backup systems 3. The cluster is for active computations, not permanent archives 4. RAID provides hardware redundancy, but does NOT protect against: - Accidental deletion - Data corruption - Software errors - System failures

Data Lifecycle: - Upload data for analysis - Run computations - Download results - Remove data from cluster when analysis is complete

Getting Started

Once your account is activated:

  1. Connect to the cluster: See How to Connect
  2. Learn about available software: See Software and Modules
  3. Submit your first job: See Job Scheduling with Slurm
  4. Join or create a research group: Contact administrators

Support

For questions about access, groups, or account setup:

Last Updated: October 2025

Note: Additional details will be added to this page as the access procedures are refined.