Completed: Quarterly Cluster Maintenance August 2025 | Center for Research Computing and Data

Dear CRCD Users,

Thank you for your patience and understanding with our extension of this quarterly cluster maintenance.
The maintenance is complete, and the cluster is now back online running RHEL 9.

Working in this new environment, we still require your help in testing to ensure everything runs smoothly.

1.
Test resubmission of your normal workflows:
*
We recommend running a short test job to validate your workflows and software availability.
Our software stack has been rebuilt, and module names/versions have changed.
The queue prior to maintenance was purged of all jobs, so please resubmit your normal jobs after testing.
2.
Potential ominous warning when logging in
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If you see the warning below when ssh to the login nodes:

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
@ WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED! @
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SOMEONE IS DOING SOMETHING NASTY!
Someone could be eavesdropping on you right now (man-in-the-middle attack)!
It is also possible that a host key has just been changed.

Please see the FAQ<https://crc-pages.pitt.edu/user-manual/faq/> for an explanation and a solution.

1.
Psych
*
We are still working on restoring access to the psych.crc.pitt.edu web portal and will be prioritizing this tomorrow morning.
2.
New JupyterHub
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The JupyterHub portal has been upgraded and will now run exclusively on the TEACH cluster for classroom use. Research workflows should transition to Jupyter on OnDemand.
Key updates include:
*
Latest JupyterHub and Python versions
*
New user interface with CPU/GPU partition profiles
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Ability to select or provide virtual environments and load modules
*
Faculty may request class environments preloaded for students or create their own. Please note custom environments must be created following the upcoming knowledge article (which will be added to our user manual shortly) and sessions will not start if the environment was created in any other way.
3.
New MPI cluster
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As was announced in the July Newsletter<https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcenterforresearchcomputing.cmail19.com%2Ft%2Fj-e-whjdktt-l-r%2F&data=05%7C02%7Ccrc-users%40list.pitt.edu%7C10d72d8732ee4f70cf0d08dde03ded52%7C9ef9f489e0a04eeb87cc3a526112fd0d%7C1%7C0%7C638913278753520520%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=JBY8r9aufvRZKgDmmVMeVZxKjOaVvpb%2BNX1YaQacD%2BM%3D&reserved=0>, the new MPI cluster is operational.
4.
Report Issues
*
If you encounter any problems with software, modules, or job submissions, please submit a support ticket<https://services.pitt.edu/TDClient/33/Portal/Requests/TicketRequests/NewForm?ID=yXkHi62rHa8_&RequestorType=Service> as soon as possible. Your reports are essential for us to quickly identify and resolve any lingering issues.

We anticipate receiving many help tickets and plan to address them as quickly as possible.
Thank you again for your patience and cooperation.

Sincerely,

The CRCD Team