March 30, 2016

Writing and Submitting a Successful XSEDE Proposal - Bridges

Ken Hackworth

Overview •  References&Terms•  GuidelinesforXSEDEResearch(XRAC)Request•  OtherDocuments•  ReviewCriteria•  OverviewofProposal(Request)TypesandAcDons•  XSEDEAwards(AllocaDons)•  XSEDESystems(Resources)•  ProceduresforsubmiFngAllocaDonrequest•  Whyrequestsarereduced?•  Metrics

Terminology

•  Startup Development/tes,ng/por,ng/benchmarking

•  EducaDon Classroom,Training•  Research Produc,onwork

•  PI PrincipalInves,gator•  XRAS XSEDEResourceAlloca,onsSystem•  XRAC XSEDEResourceAlloca,onsCommiDee•  SU ServiceUnit=1Core-hour

Allocation Request Types

3 Types of XSEDE Projects

“Traditional” v. Community

•  XRACproposalsareacceptedinthreegeneralcategoriesofresearchacDviDes– SinglePrincipalInvesDgator– LargeresearchCollaboraDons– CommunityServices(e.g.,XSEDEGateways)

•  Thegeneralrequirementsforproposalsofalltypesremainlargelythesame.– WhetherrequesDngcompute,storage,visualizaDon,orextendedcollaboraDvesupportorsomecombinaDon

General Proposal Outline I.  ResearchObjecDvesII.  ComputaDonalmethodology(ApplicaDons/Codes)III.  ApplicaDonefficienciesIV.  ComputaDonalResearchPlanV.  JusDficaDonforSUs(TB)requestedVI.  AddiDonalconsideraDons

Note:Sec,onsIIIandIVareoLenintegrated.

I. Research Objectives •  TradiDonalproposals

–  DescribetheresearchacDviDestobepursued•  Communityproposals

–  DescribetheclassesofresearchacDviDesthattheproposedeffortwillsupport.

•  Keepitshort:YouonlyneedenoughdetailtosupportthemethodsandcomputaDonalplanbeingproposed.

•  TIP—Reviewersdon’twanttoreadtheproposalyousubmi^edtoNSF/NIH/etc.,buttheyneedtoseeifyouhavemerit-reviewed(grant)funding.

II. Computational Methods (and Applications/Codes used) •  VerysimilarbetweentradiDonalandcommunityproposals.•  Forcomputerequests

–  DescribetheApplicaDonsandcomponentsyouwilluse.–  Describethemethods/algorithmsemployedinyourcomputaDonal

research–  Describecodedevelopment/features/advances‘home-grown’codes.

•  Forstoragerequests–  ProvidedescripDonofdatatobestored(organizaDon,formats,

collecDonmechanisms,permissionsgrantedorreceived)–  Describetheamountandexpectedgrowthofdatatobestored.

III. Application Efficiencies •  VerysimilarbetweentradiDonalandcommunityproposals.•  Forcomputerequests

–  ExplainwhyyouchosespecificresourcesforyourapplicaDons.–  Provideperformanceandscalingdetailsonproblemsandtestcases

similartothosebeingpursued.(Whatistheappropriatescaleforyourproblem?)

–  Ideally,provideperformanceandscalingdatacollectedbyyouforthespecificresource(s)youarerequesDng.Mandatorydocument!

•  Forstoragerequests–  Explaintheefficiencyofyourstoragealgorithmsandprotocols.–  DescribeandesDmatetheexpectedcostsofscalingtolargerdatasets

andalargernumberofclients.

IV. Computational Research Plan •  TradiDonalproposals

–  Explicitlydescribetheproblemcasesyouwillexamine•  BAD:“…adozenorsoimportantproteinsundervariouscondiDons…”•  GOOD:“…7proteins[listedhere;includescienDficimportanceoftheseselecDonssomewhere,too].Eachproteinwillrequire[X]numberofruns,varying[x]parameters[listedhere][inveryspecificandscienDficallymeaningfulways]…”

•  Communityproposals–  Explicitlydescribethetypicaluse-case(s)thatthegatewaysupports

andthetypeofrunsthatyouexpectuserstomake–  Describehowyouwillhelpensurethatthecommunitywillmake

scienDficallymeaningfulruns(ifapplicable)•  BAD:“…thegatewayletsusersrunNAMDonXSEDEresources…”•  BETTER:“…userswillrunNAMDjobson[biologicalsystemslikethis]…”•  BETTERSTILL:“…thegatewayallowsuserstorunNAMDjobsonupto128processorsonproblemsizeslimited[insomefashion]…”

V. Justification of SUs, TBs

•  TradiDonal,Researchproposals–  Ifyou’vedonesecDonsII,IIIandIVwell,thissecDonshouldbeastraighmorwardmathproblem

–  Foreachresearchproblem,calculatetheSUsrequiredbasedonruns(baseunits)definedinIVandtheDmingsinsecDonIII,brokenoutappropriatelybyresource

•  ReasonablescalingesDmatesfromtest-caseDmingrunstofull-scaleproducDonrunsareacceptable.

–  ClearpresentaDonherewillallowreviewerstoawardDmeorstorageinaraDonalfashion

–  AnalogouscalculaDonsshouldapplyforstoragerequests

V. Justification of SUs, TBs •  Community(gateway-type)proposals

–  Thefirstbigtrick:CalculaDngSUswhenyoudon’tknowthepreciserunstobemadeapriori.

–  InYear2andbeyond•  StartwithanesDmateoftotalusagebasedonprioryear’susagepa^ernsandesDmateforcomingyear’susagepa^erns.

•  FromthisinformaDon,alongwithdatafromsecDonsIVandIII,youcancomeupwithatabulaDonofSUesDmates.

–  Year1requiresbootstrapping•  PickconservaDvevalues(andjusDfythem)forthesizeofthecommunityandrunstobemade,andcalculateSUs.

•  TIP—Startmodestly.Ifyouhave~0users,don’texpectthereviewerstobelievethatyouwillgetthousands(orevenhundreds)nextyear.

–  AnalogouscalculaDonsforTBsofstorageneeded

VI. Additional Review Considerations !  Abilitytocompletetheworkplandescribed

(moresignificantforlargerrequests)–  Sufficientmerit-reviewedfunding–  Staff,bothnumberandexperience

!  LocalcompuDngenvironment!  SpecialNeeds!  OtheraccesstoHPCresources

–  (e.g.,Campuscenters,DOEcenters,etc.)

VI. Additional Considerations Community(gateway)proposalsthesecomponentscanprovidekeydetails:–  CommunitySupportandManagementPlan

•  Describethegatewayinterface—intermsofhowithelpscommunityburnSUsoraccessTBs.

•  Describeplansforgrowingtheusercommunity,“graduaDng”userstoResearchallocaDonawards,regulaDng“gatewayhogs”

–  Progressreport•  Theactualusercommunityandusagepa^erns•  Manuscriptsthankingthisservice,orlistarDclesreferencingXSEDE.

–  LocalcompuDngenvironment–  OtherHPCresources

Renewals require a Progress Report

•  ForResearchProjectRenewalandSupplementRequests–  SummaryofScien,ficDiscoveries– AccomplishmentsofComputa,onPlan

•  Usage•  AchievementsoftheComputaDons(moredetailthansummary).

–  Specifythenumberofpublica,ons,conferences,reportsthatresultfromXSEDEsupport.

–  Contribu,onstootherresearchefforts.(experimental/computaDonal/instrumental,etc.).

Other Documents:

Required:•  CVsforPIsandCo-PIs(2pages)•  AddingpublicaDonsintheXRASsubmissionformpullingfrom

portalprofileOpDonal:–  SpecialRequirements–  References(Iftheywon’tfitinMainDoc.)–  Other

Review Criteria •  AppropriatenessofMethodology

–  ApplicaDons,methods,algorithmsandtechniquesreasonablydescribedandmoDvated?

–  Datausageandaccessmethodsclearlydescribed?

•  AppropriatenessofResearchPlan–  AreresearchobjecDvesexplainedandhowtheywillbeachieved?–  DoproposedcomputaDonslistsimulaDonparametersthatareneededto

obtainresults?–  Detailsofhumanresourcesdevotedtoaccomplishthesetasks?

•  EfficientUseofResources–  Areresourcesselectedbeingusedefficientlyaspossibleandinaccordance

withtherecommendeduseguidelinesoftheresources?–  Isperformanceandscalingdatepresentedfortheresourcerequested?–  AretheredetailsoftheeffortstoimprovetheopDmizaDonand/or

parallelizaDonoftheapplicaDons?

XSEDE Projects AnXSEDEProjectislikeabankaccountforallocaDons.

–  Itispermanent,onlyoneperPI.–  Itholdsayear’sworthofallocaDon(on1ormoresystems)–  PI’srequestanallocaDonrenewaleachyearthereaqer.–  AnAllocaDonawardedtoaNewRequestcreatesanXSEDEProject.

API’sComputaDonalProjectsevolveovertheyears.–  ComputaDonalProjectsbegin,endandextend.–  InsubsequentyearssuccessfulRenewalRequestsprovideallocaDonsfornewComputaDonalProjectsunderthesameXSEDEProject.YourXSEDEProjectremainsthesame.

–  ARenewalRequestsisjustlikeNewRequest,butmustcontainaProgressReportoflastyear’sComputaDonalProjectsandlistofpublicaDonsfrompastyear’sallocaDon.

Eligibility

•  PrincipalinvesDgator(PI)mustbearesearcheroreducatorataU.S.-basedinsDtuDon,includingfederalresearchlabsorcommercialorganizaDons,(Commercialrequestsmustguaranteethattheirresultsarepublicallyavailable,andworkmustbeincollaboraDonwithanopenscienceorganizaDon.)

•  ApostdoctoralresearcheriseligibletobeaPI.

•  AqualifiedadvisormayapplyforanallocaDonforhisorherclass;butahighschool,undergraduateorgraduatestudentmaynotbeaPI.

Overview: Research Request

•  Webforms:InvesDgator,Grants,ResourceRequest,…•  RequiresMainDoc.=“proposal”(pdfupload)&CV•  ReviewedbyexpertsinsameFieldofScience•  2.5monthsfromdeadlinetoawardavailability•  Details:

–  Alloca,onSize:Unlimited–  Reviewed: Quarterly–  Deadlines: 15thofOctober,January,April,July–  AwardsBegin:1stofJanuary,April,July,October

portal.xsede.org "Allocations"Submit/Review Request **

Overview: Startup/Education Requests

•  Webforms:InvesDgator,ResourceRequest,…•  RequiresonlyanabstractandCV•  ReviewedbyaXSEDEStaff(StartupAllocaDonsCommi^ee)•  2weeksfromsubmissiontoawardavailability•  Forcodedevel/performanceeval/small-scalingcomputa,ons/

classroom&traininginstruc,on•  Details:

–  Requestlimit: 200,000SUstotalorcombina,onofallresourcesrequested–  Reviewed:within2weeksofsubmission–  Deadlines:None–  AwardsBegin:within2weeksofsubmission

portal.xsede.org "Allocations"Submit/Review Request **

Proposal Document(s)

Keytoasuccessfulreview:•  Adheretopagelimits!•  “JusDfy”allocaDonrequest.

https://www.xsede.org/web/xup/allocation-policies**

PageLimit ProposalDocument3 Progressreport10 NeworRenewal15 Over10MillionSUs

Pg. limit: DOES NOT INCLUDE FIGURES & TABLES.

•  CV(s)requiredforallrequests.•  Abstractforstartup/educaDonrequest

(informs,orasaPDFdocument)•  Proposal“MainDocument”forResearchrequest

(renewals/supplements)

The Award = Allocation •  OneperPI(generally)•  1-yearduraDon•  UnusedSUsareforfeitedatthe

endofanawardperiod•  Progressreportrequiredfor

renewalrequests.•  AdduserstoagrantviaXSEDE

UserPortal4 quarters = 1 yr allocation period

Submission Review Award

Advance

Time to renew

The Resources: Compute https://www.xsede.org/resources/overview

HPC Systems: (Bridges(PSC), Comet(SDSC), Gordon(SDSC), Stampede(TACC), SuperMIC(LSU) and Wrangler(TACC), Xstream(Stanford)) Large Memory Systems: (Bridges(PSC) and Comet(SDSC)) VMs: (Jetstream(IU/TACC)) Advanced VIS Systems: (Maverick(TACC)) HTC Systems: (OSG) Storage Systems: (Data Oasis(SDSC), Jetstream(IU/TACC), Pylon(PSC), Ranch(TACC)) *Ranch is the only storage resources that can be requested without compute resources.

The Resources: Extended Collaborative Support(ECS)

•  Dedicated,butlimited,XSEDEstaffassistance•  5QuesDonswhicharepartofresourcerequestsecDonof

applicaDon•  ReviewersrateneedforECS

https://www.xsede.org/ecss

Login at portal.xsede.org

Example Form: New Project

Example Form: Getting Info in order

Example Form: PI entry page, populating with Portal information

Example proposal submission: Personnel/Roles

Example proposal submission: Title/Abstract/FOS

Example proposal submission: Resource request

Example proposal submission: Resources request

Example proposal submission: Resource Request

Example proposal submission: ECS

Example proposal submission: Uploading documents

Example proposal submission: Uploading documents

Example proposal submission: Uploading documents

Example proposal submission: Supporting Grants

Example proposal submission: Supporting Grants

Example proposal submission: Supporting Grants

Example proposal submission: Publications

Example proposal submission: Saving and Final Submission

Example proposal submission: Successful submission

Pending Request

Notification of successful submission

Requesting an Advance

Why a Research Request may be reduced or rejected: •  PoorornoScaling/CodeperformanceinformaDon•  Scaling/CodeperformanceinformaDonnotfromresourcebeingrequested

•  Non-disclosureofaccesstootherresource(s)•  DisclosureofaccesstootherHPCresource(s)butnodetailsofdifferenceofresearch

•  MulDplerequestsfromsameresearchlab•  Pagelimits•  PoorjusDficaDonforresources•  LackofdescripDonofresearchteam•  LowproducDvityfrompriorXSEDEResearchawardwithnodetailsinprogressreport

Example Proposals

Interesting Facts

•  ~800researchrequestsperyear•  ~1,200otherrequests•  ~4.0BSUsrequested(3.7Bareresearchrequests)

•  ~1.4BSUsawarded(1.0Bareresearchawards)

Questions?

•  AskingforHelphelp@xsede.org