Quick Links Get an Account Account Lifetime Charges Deleting an Account What can I do with an account

NIH HPC accounts are restricted to NIH employees and contractors as determined by inclusion in the NIH Enterprise Directory (http://ned.nih.gov/search/).

Users must each have their own account; no shared accounts are allowed. In addition, as per NIH Password Policy, users are prohibited from sharing passwords with each other and each user must have a separate, unique password.

HPC users, including NIH Volunteers, Guest Researchers, and Fellows, can maintain Helix/Biowulf accounts for the duration of their NIH status.

To access any of the NIH HPC resources (e.g. Biowulf or Helix) you need an NIH HPC account. As of 29 March 2016, the process for obtaining an account has changed, and is detailed below.

1. Users who want an account should start the process by filling out the account request form at
   https://hpcnihapps.cit.nih.gov/auth/accounts/account_request.php
   This form is only accessible from the NIH network or VPN, and you will need to log in with your usual NIH authentication.

   Users will need to select their IC and PI on this form.

2. The PI will get an automated email requesting approval of this account. The PI can approve the account either using the link provided in the email, or by replying to the email message.

3. CIT will identify the account sponsor and obtain approval to charge the HPC monthly fee to the appropriate IC.

4. The account will be created, and the user will receive an email notification with login instructions.

An NIH HPC account will stay active as long as

• the user is listed in the NIH Enterprise Directory.
• the account is renewed each year and approved by the PI.
• the PI or user do not request deletion of the account.

There is a charge of $40.00 per month for an NIH HPC account. This gives the user access to all of the NIH HPC systems and associated services (i.e. Biowulf, Helix, hpcdrive).

There are no additional charges for CPU or storage usage on Biowulf, Helix, or any of the HPC Systems.

Users or PIs who no longer have a need for the HPC account can have the account deleted by opening a ticket with the NIH Service Desk (301-496-4357).

An NIH HPC account gives you access to the scientific applications and databases on all the NIH HPC systems. The different systems are intended for different purposes.

• Biowulf (https://hpc.nih.gov/systems/) is the main NIH HPC compute resource. It is a large Linux cluster for parallelized scientific applications or large numbers of independent simultaneous jobs. It is designed for batch processing.
• Helix is a shared interactive system that is intended for data transfer jobs and file management.
• Web-based applications are scientific tools that do not require command-line access. Some of these tools are limited to NIH users.

A set of Biowulf accounts is available for use during classes taught by the HPC staff and other NIH personnel. More information on this page (NIH only)