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Guide to Getting Started at the CHPC

Welcome to the Center for High Performance Computing (CHPC) at the University of Utah, the university's central hub for research computing and data. This page provides a simple, step-by-step guide designed specifically for new users who want to leverage CHPC's diverse computing resources to advance their research. Whether you're new to high-performance computing or just new to CHPC, this guide will help you get started.

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Environments

The CHPC has a few main environments, which are separated by the type of data that is allowed in each environment:

  • General Environment: for projects that do not involve sensitive/regulated data
  • Protected Environment: for projects involving Protected Health Information (PHI) or Personally Identifiable Information (PII) (HIPAA Compliance)
  • Regulated Environment: for projects and data requiring NIST SP 800-171 Rev 2 compliance (e.g. for human genetics data - dbGaP) 
    • Includes Linux Environment  Citadel and a Windows Server

A full list of resources that CHPC offers is available here.

  If you have any questions on which environment is best suited for your data, please contact the CHPC at helpdesk@chpc.utah.edu

Accounts

To use CHPC systems, you first need a CHPC account. New PIs can apply for an account and new group creation using the 'Add Group' form on the CHPC Portal. Non-PIs (students, researchers, …) create their CHPC account by accepting an invitation from their PI to join their CHPC group.

  Note: You must be provisioned a valid, active uNID (University of Utah ID number) at the University of Utah in order to be provisioned an account at the CHPC. Visit our Accounts page for more information on obtaining a uNID and managing your account.

Logging in

After creating your account, connect to an HPC cluster. Here are a few ways to log in:  

  • Open OnDemand
    • Open OnDemand, which works in your web browser, includes many commonly used graphical applications; this is a great way to interact with the CHPC’s resources, especially if you are not yet comfortable with using a terminal.
  • SSH
    • SSH is a common method for logging into a Linux system if you are familiar with using a terminal.
  • FastX
    • FastX can support graphical software in a web browser. It can also be installed on your computer.

For more information, visit our Accessing CHPC Resources page.

Storing files

Most CHPC users will be interested in the following storage options:

  • Home directories. By default, every CHPC user has 50 GB of home directory space. Research groups may purchase home directory space, which includes backups to archive storage.
      Home directories are not backed up by default. Only purchased home directory space includes backups to the VAST storage system. More information about purchasing space and backups is available on our Storage page.
  • Group space. Group storage is available for purchase at CHPC for both General and Protected Environments. Shared storage, like the home directory space, is not designed for running jobs like the scratch space.
  • Scratch space. Scratch space is available to all users; there is no cost to use it. Scratch space is used for the storage of intermediate files while a job is running. Files are removed if they have not been accessed within 60 days. The scratch space is not backed up.

CHPC has dedicated data transfer nodes so you can transfer data at high speed.

Here are examples of different methods you can use to transfer data through the data transfer nodes:

  • Rclone. Command-line tool that lets you easily transfer and sync files between your computer and various cloud storage services, such as Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, and S3-compatible providers.
  • Globus. Provides tools for efficient and secure data transfers, enabling parallel, load-balanced, and fault-tolerant data movement.
  • SCP. Linux command-line tool used to securely transfer files on CHPC's interactive nodes or on a Data Transfer Node (DTN).

Accessing software

The CHPC manages thousands of different software installations to enable researchers to access the required software for their research needs. Most software is packages into modules  - allowing you to load or unload software into your environment without needing to manage the complexity of software installation and software dependencies.

The CHPC also allows researchers to install their own software. Environment management systems, such as Miniforge (a replacement for conda), Python Virtual Environments, Apptainer/Singularity, and Spack can be used to install and manage software environments.

The CHPC also provides access to a variety of AI tools and AI agents. Claude, Codex, and OpenCode are installed as CHPC modules and are available in the General Environment. 

  AI assistants and agents are not allowed in the Protected Environment nor Citadel at this time.

Details on available software and usage instructions are available on our software page. 

Running a job with Slurm

Slurm is the cluster's job scheduling system. All computational workloads are submitted to and managed through Slurm. From the command line, you can use the command mychpc batch to see what Slurm resources you have access to.

Access our Slurm documentation to learn how to request computational resources from our clusters.

Options when submitting jobs

To conduct computational research on CHPC-owned resources on the granite, notchpeak, and redwood clusters, an allocation is required. To find out what resources you can access, type mychpc batch command in your terminal after logging in to a cluster. Older clusters (kingspeak and lonepeak) in the General Environment do not require allocation.

Research groups can also purchase nodes to add to a CHPC-managed cluster.

  Try using our tool that helps users find which accounts, partitions and qualities of service you can use when submitting jobs on Center for High Performance Computing systems.

Training and support

We understand that our users come from different academic backgrounds and have different levels of experience with research computing. Regardless of whether you’re an undergraduate student participating in your first research experience or a faculty member already familiar with computational research—or if you find yourself anywhere in between—we’re here to support you.

  The Center for High Performance Computing hosts virtual office hours with its research computing facilitators at 1:00 p.m. MT most Fridays. Please see the events page for details. You are also welcome to reach out to helpdesk@chpc.utah.edu for assistance.

For more information, visit our FAQ page.

Last Updated: 5/5/26