Running on the Altix (Newton)

Interactive Work

Newton currently has 4 processors set aside for interactive work and it is expected that any computationally intensive work will be submitted through the batch queues. The interactive area is intended to be used for lightweight tasks such as the use of text editors, transferring files, submitting and monitoring batch jobs and compilations.

Since the interactive area is limited to 4 processors, any parallel jobs which are run in this area will have a severe impact on other users and will put a large strain on the operating system. Any parallel development work should be carried out using the development queue.

There is a 60 minute CPU time limit imposed on all interactive sessions in order to discourage people from attempting to run parallel jobs in the interactive area. Note that this restriction is NOT a wall clock time limit (i.e. this does not limit the amount of time for which you may remain logged into the machine) and will therefore not normally impact on interactive work, but for very large compilation jobs it may be necessary to use the batch queues.