Purdue University

ITaP Research Computing will host a two-part introductory workshop this fall for students, staff and faculty looking to enhance their skills in using UNIX-based high-performance computing systems like Purdue’s Community Cluster Program supercomputers.

Part one, UNIX 101, will cover topics ranging from logging in, files and directories (including compressing, transferring and backing up files), to permissions, pipelines and basic scripting. The workshop, which will include a number of hands-on exercises, will be from 9 a.m. to noon on Sept. 19 and 21, in Beering Hall, Room B286. New material will be covered at each class, so participants should attend both days. No previous UNIX experience is required.

There is no fee to attend, but those who are interested in attending should register for UNIX 101 at https://www.eventreg.purdue.edu/training/CourseListing.aspx?master_id=5622&master_version=&course_area=1079&course_number=110&course_subtitle=00.

Part two, UNIX 201, will cover topics ranging from regular expressions and UNIX programs grep, AWK and sed to introductory Bash scripting including variables, branches and loops, input and output. This part of the workshop will take place from 9 a.m. to noon on Oct. 3 and 5, in Beering Hall, Room B286 and will also include hands-on exercises. As with UNIX 101, the second day of the workshop will build on the previous day and participants should attend both days. Attendees should register for UNIX 201 at https://www.eventreg.purdue.edu/training/CourseListing.aspx?master_id=5656&master_version=1&course_area=1079&course_number=111&course_subtitle=00.

Participants are welcome to attend either or both UNIX 201 or UNIX 101, although it is suggested that those taking 201 also attend 101. Lab PCs will be available for all, but you are welcome to bring your own computer. If you will be using your own Windows machine, you will need to download a terminal emulator like PuTTY, a free, full-featured SSH client that is a small download. If you have problems installing this, arrive 15 minutes before the workshop for assistance.

Eric Adams, who coordinates training for ITaP Research Computing, says that the skills covered in these workshops will be essential for anyone who plans to utilize Purdue’s high-performance computing resources, such as the community clusters, in their research.

ITaP Research Computing will also present a hands-on Clusters 101 workshop designed to give current and potential community cluster users an overview of the high-performance computing resources available at Purdue and explain how to use those resources efficiently. That session will take place from 9 a.m. to noon on each of Oct. 17 and 19 in Beering Hall, Room B286. Knowledge of basic UNIX commands is necessary, and those who have little previous UNIX experience should take both UNIX 101 and UNIX 201 first.

For more information about any of these workshops, email rcac-help@purdue.edu.