My First Months Working on Viper

My First few months working on Viper have offered me great insight into the world of HPC, from system administration to coding.

When I was first introduced to Viper I was wowed by its size and the noise from the cooling fans, it is essential to wear ear defenders if you’re in the room for any length of time! When working on a PC in the command line, it’s easy to feel detached from the fact that code/jobs are running on Viper!

The team consist of 6 members, they have been very friendly and inclusive providing training and inviting me to participate in training users and also meeting suppliers.

It has been immensely satisfying working with the users helping to solve their issues. I am learning many new skills and I was pleased to be asked to conduct a revamp of the HPC website and even more pleased with the positive feedback I received.

A particular highlight for me was the Viper launch event, where I was able to interact with numerous users, finding out how Viper has transformed their very interesting and various research.

I had fun acting as photographer for the event, the images of folks enjoying the food, drink and learning about and sharing Viper experiences were displayed on twitter helping to spread the word that Viper is here.

We have also had a good response to the informal drop in session that we held recently in the Nidd Mezzanine. Biscuits and beverages, help and shared experiences were enjoyed by all who attended. I’m sure there will be more in the future (perhaps mince pies next time). All are welcome to come along and find out more, perhaps see if Viper could help your research.

Next on my agenda and something I am very much looking forward to is a two-day training course with Clustervision the suppliers of Viper. I’m hoping to gain skills and knowledge to further my growing experience in the exciting world of HPC.

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