How do I apply for a new XSEDE allocation?

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Requirements

To apply for an allocation on the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), the principal investigator (PI) must be a researcher or educator at a US-based institution, including federal research labs and commercial organizations (additional information may be needed from researchers not affiliated with academic or non-profit research institutions). In general, XSEDE follows guidelines described in the National Science Foundation Grant Proposal Guide. Researchers with support from any funding source, not just NSF, are encouraged to apply. If your institution is not a university or a two- or four-year college, special rules may apply.

Potential principal investigators must use the XSEDE User Portal to submit new requests for allocations on XSEDE high-performance and high-throughput compute systems, scientific visualization systems, and data storage systems, and for Extended Collaborative Support Services.

Preparations

To prepare for the allocation request process:

Principal investigators must request XSEDE User Portal accounts; see What is the XSEDE User Portal, and how do I create an account?
Principal investigators should determine which types of allocations and which digital services best suit the needs of their projects; see:
- What types of XSEDE allocations are available?
- Where can I find information about available XSEDE services?
Note: Allocations on SDSC Projects Storage, NICS HPSS, the Data Supercell (PSC), Ranch (TACC), the XSEDE-Wide File System (XWFS), and Mason (IU) are available only to those making Research allocation requests. Research allocation requests are reviewed four times a year by the XSEDE Resource Allocations Committee (XRAC). For deadlines, see What are the deadlines for submitting an XSEDE Research allocation request? Requests for Startup, Educational, and Campus Champions allocations are accepted throughout the year. Only submit a Campus Champions request if you've been identified by your institution as its representatives. For more about the Campus Champions program, see the Overview and How It Works pages.
You should have available a current copy of your curriculum vitae (CV) in either Microsoft Word (.doc), HTML, PDF, or PostScript format.

The first time you log into your new account on the XSEDE User Portal, you will need to read and accept the terms of the user responsibility agreement. (To view those terms now, see Usage Policy in the XSEDE User Portal.) Once you've digitally signed the acceptance statement, you can begin the process of requesting an XSEDE allocation.

Submitting your allocation request

To submit a request for a new XSEDE allocation:

If you aren't logged in already, log into the XSEDE User Portal, and then, on the Allocations tab, click Submit/Review Request. The Submit/Review Request link is also available at the bottom of any XSEDE User Portal page, under "Allocations".
Alternatively, go directly to the System for XSEDE Allocation Requests and log into the XSEDE User Portal from there (in step 2 under "To submit an allocation", click Login).
Click Click to Enter or View a Request.
On the Submission Home page, choose the type of allocation you would like to request. To do so, click either:
- Submit Research Request
- Submit Startup Request
- Submit Educational Request
- Submit Campus Champions Request
On the submission form, fill out all required pages. Steps and fields marked with an asterisk ( * ) are required.
Note: The information you enter will be saved whenever you click Save Progress (on the left) or move to another page. To review your submission at any time during the process, on the left, click Submission Summary. Once your information is saved, you can leave the system and return at a later time to finish your submission. When you return, you'll see your submission request(s) listed with allowed actions (Edit, View, and Delete) in addition to the options for requesting new allocations. To finish an incomplete submission, click Edit.
On the Resource Request page, answer the job-related questions, and then, under "Available Resources", click the name of the digital service you are requesting:
- For a compute or visualization system: In the selected system's "Service Units" field, enter the number of SUs you're requesting. For Startup, Education, and Campus Champions SU limits for each system, see the SU Limits per Resource table on the Allocations Overview in the XSEDE User Portal. Requests for Research allocations don't have SU limits, but you must supply a detailed plan that justifies the need for the requested resources.
- For a storage system: In the selected system's "Gigabytes" field, enter the storage capacity you are requesting (in gigabytes).
  Note: Ranch (TACC) is the only storage system allocable as a stand-alone digital service (i.e., not requiring an accompanying allocation on an XSEDE compute or visualization system). If you try saving a storage resource request without requesting service units on a required companion compute or visualization system, you'll see a pop-up telling you to request service units on the appropriate companion system, for example:
  
  "PSC Persistent disk storage (Data Supercell) cannot be requested alone. Please enter an amount for PSC SGI Altix UV (Blacklight)".
To request Extended Collaborative Support Services (to enhance the effectiveness and productivity of your project), under "XSEDE Extended Collaborative Support", use the text boxes to provide:
- An estimate of how long you'll need collaborative support
- Answers to the questions that justify your request (to view the questions, plus instructions and example answers, see ECS Justification in the XSEDE User Portal)
On the Documents Upload page, upload the required documents. For a description of required documents, see Research Request Documents on the Allocations Policies page.
After completing all required fields and uploading all required documents, to submit your request for review, click Finalize Request.
The system will scan your submission for missing information, and return a list of any required fields left empty. If all required information is present, the "Submission Status" field on the left will change from Incomplete to Submitted, and a pop-up summarizing your submission will open.

After the allocations committee reviews and approves a request, it notifies the principal investigator via email. Once your allocation request is approved, you can use the XSEDE User Portal to add project members to your allocation, access your allocated resources, transfer files, and begin running jobs. For more, see Get Started in the XSEDE User Portal.

Additional information

For more on requesting an XSEDE allocation, see the following XSEDE User Portal pages:

If you need help or have questions, contact the XSEDE Help Desk.

This document was developed with support from National Science Foundation (NSF) grant OCI-1053575. 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.

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Last modified on March 21, 2013.