When BlueBEAR is not able to meet the research needs of a member of the University there is the option to use regional or national HPC services. In all cases registration on the University services and demonstration that these alternative resources are required is a pre-requisite for IT Services to advise on and support access to these resources.
As the University is a consortium partner, researchers at the University can apply to us for access to:
An introduction to this system is included below with more detailed information about this system is available on the linked websites.
Sulis
Sulis (HPC Midlands+) is a Tier 2 HPC platform for ensemble computing. This system provides access to both CPU-only nodes and GPU nodes and is ideal for larger MPI jobs and workflows. See the Sulis documentation for further information.
Substantial Project Proposals
On Sulis there are fixed accounting periods, usually lasting for six months. There is no carryover of allocated compute resources between periods. The current accounting period is April 2026 to September 2026. A final six month, October 2026 to March 2027, accounting will follow.
Pilot Project Proposals
As Sulis is near the end of life, we are not currently accepting pilot projects for this system.
Accounts on Sulis
Users on Sulis are managed using SAFE. The PI of approved projects will be asked to confirm the users that should have access to the project. Only users on approved projects will be allowed access to Sulis. To become a member of a Sulis project:
- If you do not already have one, create an account on SAFE
- If you do not already have an account on Sulis, then in the 'Projects' menu select 'Request access' and apply for access to the 'su002: Birmingham' project, creating an account on Sulis using the 'Request machine account' option
Once you have an account on Sulis this will be added to the relevant project.
Support
To request support, or information, about using Sulis please open a Other BEAR Request. In this request, make sure to say that the support is required for Sulis.
Acknowledging the use of Sulis
Publications, and other research output, should acknowledge the use of Sulis. The suggested acknowledgement text is available on the Sulis policies page.