Haars0011: IA migration §6: split Filesystems /lustre + node-local sections into Compute Storage (via create-page on MediaWiki MCP Server)

2026-06-18T11:35:49Z

IA migration §6: split Filesystems /lustre + node-local sections into Compute Storage (via create-page on MediaWiki MCP Server)

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For active compute work, use the Lustre parallel filesystem rather than your [[Home Directory|home directory]]. Lustre is large and fast: it serves files from multiple redundant servers over the fast Omnipath network, which is what you want when many jobs or many nodes read and write at once.

== Lustre layout ==

Lustre is mounted at <code>/lustre</code> and organised by group:

/lustre/[tier]/[partner]/[unit]

for example:

/lustre/backup/WUR/ABGC/

It is divided into several tiers, each with a different backup guarantee and cost:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Path !! Purpose !! Backup
|-
| <code>/lustre/nobackup</code> || The default working area. Cheaper, because the data is stored only once. || None — data cannot be recovered if it is lost.
|-
| <code>/lustre/backup</code> || Working data that needs a safety net. Stored a second time on a separate machine. || Disaster-recovery copy only. It may help revert a mistake if you report it very quickly, but there is no guarantee.
|-
| <code>/lustre/scratch</code> || Temporary working data. || None. Files may be removed once the filesystem gets too full (typically after 30 days) — tidy up yourself when work is done.
|-
| <code>/lustre/shared</code> || Truly shared data that isn't tied to a single person. || Same as <code>/lustre/backup</code>, but publicly readable. See [[Shared Storage]].
|}

See [[Backup Policy]] for the full picture and [[Quotas]] for limits.

== Node-local storage ==

Each worker node also offers fast storage that is local to that node and exists only for the lifetime of your job:

* <code>/tmp</code> — local disk for temporary caching. Clean up after yourself so your files don't get in the way of other users. You can request a node with enough free space in your sbatch script:
<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
#SBATCH --tmp=<required space>
</syntaxhighlight>

* <code>/dev/shm</code> — a virtual filesystem that lives directly in memory, for extremely fast access. Anything you put here counts against your job's memory, but it is the fastest storage available.

== See also ==
* [[Storage Systems Overview]]
* [[Home Directory]]
* [[Shared Storage]]
* [[Backup Policy]]
* [[Quotas]]

Compute Storage - Revision history

Haars0011: IA migration §6: split Filesystems /lustre + node-local sections into Compute Storage (via create-page on MediaWiki MCP Server)