Configuration for cluster/supercomputers

The motivation is to provide a flexible way to install new modules for the dynamicmodules, a set of scripts very common on HPC clusters. dynamicmodules has to be installed first before going any further.

Preamble: The new configuration method for administrators consists in a new python configure script. You should avoid editing files and/or symlinks by hand except when it is mentionned explicitly.

User notes

Installation

To load the modules config environment:

1. Add the following lines in your favorite system shell script (.bashrc, ...)

   source /path/to/feelpprc.sh
   

2. Reload your shell to update your environment.
3. Verify that the config is loaded (The command echo $HPCNAME should return a non-empty string. If nothing is returned, please verify first that you have correctly set the path to the script. Otherwise please contact your administrator.

NB: In general, the HPCNAME is set to the frontal hostname.

Usage

1. Now modules should be available. Print all available modules

   module avail
   

   Feel++ profiles and new modules should appear at the bottom of the printed list. If it is not the case go back to installation section step 1. .

2. To load/unload a module just type

module load <modulename>
module unload <modulename>

3. Administrators provide profiles to load a list of modules compatible with the Feel++ library. Profiles should appears during step 1. (at the bottom).
4. Administrators guaranty Feel++ compatibility only with existing profile! Profile can be loaded like any module

   module load <profname.profile>
   ```.
   
   

Administrator notes

Recommendation

We recommend to compile and install libraries using the following directory convention

<prefix>/library_name/library_version/

NB: Usually the prefix path is "/usr/local/". If you are not a system administrator, libraries can be compiled in the home directory, for example /home/toto/mylibcompiled/tool/paraview/5.5.0.

Tree

This repository follows UNIX-like representation.

Directory

Directory	Description
etc/	configuration scripts
etc/feelpprc.d/	configuration per cluster
modules/	all modules scripts
modules/files/	library modules
modules/files/src/	modules scripts sources
modules/files/$HPCNAME/	symlink to module scripts per machine
modules/profiles/	profile modules
modules/profiles/$HPCNAME/	profiles per machine

Files

File	Description
etc/environment	all environment variables
etc/feelpprc.sh	shell script to source to load modules

Installation

A python configure script is provided to simplify the first environment setting and modules installation.

1. Run the configuration script.

./configure

2. Use the menu (1) to set the cluster name $HPCNAME and the prefix path to library installation (default /usr/local/feelpp/).
3. Use the menu (2) to select in the list all modules that are compiled and installed. If the library version is not available, go to create new modules section.
4. Exit the configure script.
5. A set of symlinks has been created for the current $HPCNAME machine. You have still to complete (by hand) the predefined path in the new configuration script etc/feelpprc.d/$HPCNAME.sh.

Update installation

Just run the configuration script and make your changes.

WARNING: Be careful when you deselect modules! The corresponding module VARIABLE will be removed from the cluster configuration script $HPCNAME.sh (not the module script) once validated!

Create new modules

Create new module only if it is not listed in the configuration script menu (2).

Module files are tcl scripts. To create a new module,

1. Create a new file in modules/files/src/ directory respecting the file/directory naming convention (Just copy/paste the an existing module).

• By convention, the name of the module is the version of the library (e.g "1.0.0")
• By convention, the directory name is the name of the library (You should sort library by type) (e.g. paraview software module file modules/files/src/tools/paraview/5.0.0).

2. Edit the new module script. You have to set two tcl variables in the script:

• The library version

• The library environment variable path. A module specific environment variable must be defined. By convention, it corresponds to the upper case file name prefixed by FEELPP, and suffixed by PATH. Example:

  File	Environment variable
  totolib/1.4.0	FEELPP_TOTOLIB140_PATH
  totolib-1.4.0	FEELPP_TOTOLIB140_PATH (deprecated)

3. Create the dynamic module. We recommend to mimic the next following example (For advanced usage, see the official documentation).

4. You are done! Go back to section Installation to select your new module.

Remarks:

• Also, avoid punctuation in naming.

Example:

touch modules/files/src/tools/foolib/1.0.5

Edit the file "1.0.5"

#%Module1.0#####################################################################
###
### Foolib 1.0.5 module
###
proc ModulesHelp { } {
    global version prefix

    puts stderr "\ttools/FooLib/1.0.5 - loads FooLib 1.0.5 and its environment"
}

module-whatis   "Loads FooLib 1.0.5 and its environment"

#----------------------------
# CUSTOMIZE HERE
set version     1.0.5
set prefix      $::env(FEELPP_FOOLIB105_PATH)
#----------------------------

prepend-path CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH $prefix
prepend-path PATH $prefix/bin
prepend-path LD_LIBRARY_PATH $prefix/lib
prepend-path LD_LIBRARY_PATH $prefix/lib/paraview-5.0
prepend-path PYTHONPATH $prefix/lib/paraview-5.0/site-packages

Appendix.

Environment variable

The configure script set automatically several environment variables written in the file "etc/environment". You should not edit this file.

Variable name	Description
FEELPP_MODULE_PATH	Absolute path to config/modules directory
FEELPP_SHARE_PATH	Prefix absolute path to library install directory
FEELPP_CONFIG_PATH	Absolute path to the config/ directory
MODULEPATH	Dynamic module path (Updated with local modules $HPCNAME path)
FEELPP_HPCNAME	Name given to the cluster (By default, frontal hostname)