HPC2N
High Performance Computing Center North
Since October 2016 we are using a set of tools called EasyBuild and Lmod to install and manage software packages and their accompanying modules.
This results in a different naming of the modules themselves and also a completely different module layout, compared to how it was done with Tcl modules.
The modules are installed hierarchically in such a way that not all modules are visible initially.
To set up your environment for using a particular (set of) software package(s), you can use the modules that are provided centrally.
Interacting with the modules is done via Lmod, using the module command or the handy shortcut command ml.
This page is assuming you use bash or another shell in the Bourne family of shells. Most of the informtation will be correct for other shells as well, but the examples cannot be assumed to be.
HPC2N recommends using bash, since it is the only shell that is fully supported by the batch system.
Environment variables are a set of dynamic named values, generally meant to make your life easier. Some are built-in, some are set by loading various modules, and you can also define extra to help yourself.
These environment variables are available on most Swedish HPC resources (formerly SNIC centres), so they are set as default for all users at HPC2N. They can be used in e.g. job scripts, and it is preferred that the variables are used instead of the absolute value.
Here follows a short description of the variables:
There are many environment variables. Some will be set automatically at login and some which you can change if needed. Many of the environment variables will be related to paths and storage locations, but there are also some which are set for specific applications (like compilers). These environment variables willl be set when you load the 'module' for the application in question. (Read more about modules in the section about them.)
The systems at HPC2N predominantly run various versions of Linux. If you have no experience with that, there are several good online sources that can be used to familiarize yourself with the basic commands.
