On the TeraGrid, what is a Roaming allocation?

A Roaming allocation gives you access to a large subset of TeraGrid compute resources as part of one TeraGrid allocation. Roaming allows a research team to take advantage of multiple compute resources via grid-based software and services, and is useful for porting code, evaluating different architectures, and conducting multi-site, multi-resource runs. For more, see the Roaming Allocations page in the TeraGrid User Support documentation.

Available Roaming resources

All users with an account on a Roaming allocation can submit and run jobs on any resources that are available for Roaming (note that not all TeraGrid resources allow Roaming access). Resources currently supporting Roaming access are noted as "TeraGrid-Wide ROAMING" in the Resources Catalog.

Note: New resources that come online are not automatically made part of an existing Roaming allocation. To request the addition of any or all new Roaming resources to an existing allocation, the principal investigator (PI) should email  help@teragtrid.org .

Requesting Roaming access

A Research allocation request can include a request for Roaming access, but you must justify how Roaming is appropriate for your project. For Research allocations, there is no limit to the number of service units (SUs) that can be allocated as Roaming SUs.

A Startup allocation request can include a request for up to 50,000 SUs of Roaming access, giving researchers the opportunity to evaluate a wide variety of architectures.

Calculating Roaming SUs

Roaming allocations are awarded in SUs, which are subject to local site and resource interpretation. Additionally, site-specific policies and job queues may apply locally defined charge factors that affect the SU calculation (e.g., a premium is charged for use of high-priority queues). For help converting SUs on one platform to the equivalent amount on another platform, use the SU Conversion Calculator in the TeraGrid User Support documentation.

This document was developed with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. 0503697 to the University of Chicago and subcontracted to Indiana University. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.

Also see:

• How do I apply for a new TeraGrid allocation?
• Roaming rules for TeraGrid resources at NCAR, ORNL, and PSC