Funding, News and Announcements

ACENET's winter training sessions are kicking off! For a full listing of the training available, see the website. All ACENET sessions are online unless otherwise indicated.

Basics of Computers
19 January, 1300-1500hrs Atlantic / 1330-1753hrs NL
Most of us have experience using a computer, whether for school, work, or entertainment, but how many of us have actually had an expert teach us how to use it? It doesn't need to be (quite) this way. This talk won't teach you how to troubleshoot everything, but will give you insight to how media, programs and data are encoded and used by computers, so you can make more sense of why computers behave the ways they do, and solve some of your problems with greater efficiency and less frustration. We will provide an approachable overview of how a computer works, by both looking at their history and breaking one down to explain individual components, before highlighting some of the trade-offs to consider when buying a computer. We will provide practical, simple, and actionable advice on digital security and show you a few "pro tips" on how to make the most of your workstation, phone, or whatever device you happen to use. Whether you have a lot or a little experience using your digital technology, if you want to learn how to use your devices more effectively, this workshop is for you! DETAILS & REGISTER

Introduction to High Performance Computing (HPC)
23 January, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic / 1030-1200hrs NL
What is High Performance Computing (HPC) and what can it do for me? How can ACENET help? Used by researchers across many disciplines to tackle analyses too large or complex for a desktop, or to achieve improved efficiency over a desktop, this session takes participants through the preliminary stages of learning about high performance computing (HPC) and computing clusters, and how to get started with this type of computing. It then reviews software packages available for applications, data analysis, software development and compiling code. Finally, participants will be introduced to the concept of parallel computing to achieve much faster results in analysis. This session is designed for those with no prior experience in HPC, and are looking for an introduction and overview. DETAILS & REGISTER

Introduction to Linux
24 January, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic / 1030-1200hrs NL 
Linux is the terminal interface used to enable you to use supercomputing clusters from your desktop. It's the tool you need to get your data on the clusters, run your programs, and get your data back. In this session, learn how to create and navigate directories for your data, load files, manage your storage, run programs on the compute clusters, and set file permissions. This workshop is designed for those with no prior experience in working with a terminal interface.  DETAILS & REGISTER

Introduction to Shell Scripting
25 January, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic / 1030-1200hrs NL
Shell scripting helps you save time, automate file management tasks, and better use the power of Linux. You’ll learn how to use the command line to carry out repetitive tasks, extract information from files quickly, combine commands in powerful ways, learn about job scripts, shell variables and looping commands, and capture a workflow so you can re-use it easily. Save time, reduce errors, and use Linux more effectively. This workshop is designed for either new High Performance Computing (HPC) users who are familiar with working in a Linux environment, or for experienced users seeking to get more out of shell scripting. It is one of the core courses to help users get up and running on ACENET and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada systems. Prerequisite: ACENET Basic Series Introduction to Linux, or previous experience with Linux.  DETAILS & REGISTER

Job Scheduling with Slurm
26 January, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic / 1030-1200hrs NL
The national systems use a job scheduler called “Slurm”. In this session you will learn how Slurm works and how it allocates jobs, helping you to: minimize wait time by framing reasonable requests; ask for only the resources you need to improve efficiency; increase throughput; run more jobs simultaneously; and troubleshoot and address crashes. This workshop is designed for new HPC users, or for experienced users either transitioning to Slurm or seeking to improve efficiency with the scheduler. Prerequisites: Completion of Introduction to Linux and Introduction to Shell Scripting, or prior experience with both.  DETAILS & REGISTER

Big Data Analysis with Spark
20, 22 February, 1300-1600hrs Atlantic / 1330-1630hrs NL
Apache Spark is a user-friendly open-source platform for large-scale data processing, analytics and for parallel-computing. Using Apache Spark and Python (PySpark), this workshop is aimed at analyzing data sets that are too large to be handled and processed by a single computer. With hands-on guided examples, the workshop covers the basics of Spark and Resilient Distributed Datasets (RDD) high-level architecture. The examples are mainly written in Python, hence the APIs covered are the ones available in PySpark, including Spark Core API (RDD API), Spark SQL, and Pandas on Spark. Participants learn how to import data, use functions to transform, reduce and compile the data, and produce parallel algorithms that can run on Alliance clusters. Prerequisites: ACENET Basics or equivalent, and how to write functions in Python.  DETAILS & REGISTER

More training sessions can be viewed from our partners at Calcul Québec, Compute Ontario, and for research data management, the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.

Interested in Learning Quantum Computing?

Only 3 Spots Left!

The Quantum Algorithms Institute, in collaboration with Canada’s Digital Supercluster, is funding 10 placements for ACENET researchers in their D-Wave Quantum Computing Training. This is a self-paced and instructor supported one-week online course, followed by one-month of unlimited access to the D-Wave Leap Quantum Cloud Service.

Prior expertise in quantum computing is not necessary. We are seeking individuals interested in practical applications of quantum computing who possess enough relevant programming and disciplinary experience to make the most of this opportunity.

Please review the program description and prerequisites and then indicate your interest in one of the ACENET placements by filling out this short form. This opportunity is open to faculty, research staff, and students at Atlantic post-secondary institutions. 

Cluster Allocation for Classroom Use

Would you like to incorporate computing into one of your courses but don't have sufficient resources? Reserve an ACENET training cluster by completing and submitting this form.

This service is available to faculty members of Atlantic Canadian post-secondary education institutions. Approval is granted on a case-by-case basis following an internal review of course feasibility and resource availability. 

ACENET Community Survey

We've extended the deadline to respond to our ACENET strives to provide high quality resources and support to our users.

Please provide us with input on your needs, ideas for training and support services, and feedback on what we are doing well and areas where we can improve. 

We're looking for feedback from all current users, as well as those considering digital research tools for their project.

The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. 

You may complete the questionnaire anonymously, but to thank you for your time, we are randomly drawing for a $100 gift card for an online retailer of your choice (some conditions apply) among all completed surveys that provide contact information.