Research Data Rapids

ACER’s new Lakeshore Cluster launched in 2024 includes a 3 Pb high performance GPFS storage system named "Research Data Rapids" intended for active research projects on the cluster. All researchers who have accounts on the new infrastructure will be with provided 100GB of storage space in their home directories. In addition, 1 TB of free project storage is provided to all research groups who have purchased nodes on the HPC Cluster. On a case-by-case basis researchers may purchase project storage space for non-HPC uses when high IO speeds are necessary for their research. Additional project storage space can be procured at a per-terabyte (TB) rate on 5 year terms. Current pricing is $44/TB per year. To request please complete the Research Data Rapids storage request form.

HPC Project Storage Configuration

Within the /projects/ filesystem, each allocation has a directory with the same name as the affiliated computational allocation (generally of the format dept_NetID/ or dept_group/). Each allocation directory contains by default:

  • NetID/ directory for each sponsored user within the allocation
  • a common/ directory for file sharing

For department or college-wide shared HPC allocations, PIs affiliated with an allocation can request a subdirectory for individual research projects from either the allocation sponsor, allocation technical delegate, or ACER support staff. Please email acer@uic.edu to request subdirectories in shared project space.