User Policies

All account holders on OSU High Performance Computing Center (HPCC) facilities are subject to all OSU IT policies listed here. In particular, all HPCC users should read and understand:

• The appropriate computer use policy.

• The user password policy.

  1. Minimum of 8 characters in length

  2. At least one upper-case character

  3. At least one lower-case character

  4. At least one number

  5. Cannot be based on your username

  6. Cannot be based on a dictionary word

  7. Should not be similar to a previously used password

  8. Should not be known by anyone other than the account holder

Additional policies required for using HPCC facilities:

• Users are forbidden to share account information (i.e., username and password) with others.  Additionally, no individual is permitted to work from an account not belonging to him/her at any time.

• Users are solely responsible for the security of their programs and data. Users are responsible for backing up critical data. File systems are generally reliable, however, data can be lost or damaged due to accidental deletion, media failures, software bugs, hardware failures, environmental disasters, and many other problems. Users understand that OSU HPCC systems are not backed up and that OSU HPCC staff are not to be held responsible for any form of data loss or system unavailability experienced by users.

• Users who have not accessed their accounts in six months will have their login account inactivated for security reasons.  Inactive accounts are subject to deletion of all files owned by the account user. These files are permanently deleted and will not be recoverable at any time.

• Logins to OSU HPCC computers will be by secure shell (SSH).

• OSU HPCC facilities are a shared resource. All jobs must be submitted to the job scheduling system. Jobs that leave entire nodes idle will be terminated by OSU HPCC staff. Users' disk space is subject to quotas for fair distribution of resources.

• OSU HPCC resources are to be used exclusively for non-profit, academic research.  Each user must provide an institutional e-mail address (from an academic or other non-commercial research institution) in his/her account request.

• The use of export controlled software on OSU HPCC systems is strictly forbidden.  Use of regulated or sensitive material, such as classified data, data containing PII, HIPAA regulated data, etc., are also strictly prohibited.

• Users should contact an OSU HPCC administrator regarding any changes to their contact information.

• Users are required to notify OSU HPCC of any presentation or publication that results entirely, or in part, from the use of OSU HPCC resources.

• Users are asked to include the following line as acknowledgment of the OSU HPCC facility use: "This work was completed utilizing the High Performance Computing Center facilities of Oklahoma State University at Stillwater."