Hi Eric,
On 10/05/18 23:35, Eric F. Alemany wrote: > I know this might sounds as a very basic question: where in > the cluster should I install Python and R? > Headnode? > Execute nodes ? I don't think there is a fixed rule for a question like this and it depends on the compromise between what's easier for you (as the system administrator) and your users. We began by install it on every node using Ubuntu's apt-get facility. In fact, I'm sure Python is already installed since it is required software for many of Debian/Ubuntu's software. However, we then had users with different requirements. For example, user A might have started on a research project that lasted a couple of years and wants the software version "frozen" as much as possible. User B starts a new project a year after user A and understandably doesn't want to be tied down by user A, so s/he wants the latest version installed. It was impossible to satisfy all users. Of course, if it's a bug fix or a security patch, we should apply it. But I do understand that some users want programs "frozen" since doing research using a tool that updates regularly is difficult. What we ended up doing now is to not install any software, except those required by the system. And then ask users to install Miniconda/Anaconda in their home directories (which is on an NFS share). Then they look after the software themselves. For us, it's the only solution that worked... There is duplication of software, but the duplication of a binary file is better than trying to have to satisfy multiple users. At least we no longer have to make a decision about which user to follow... Your department's research is in cancer? Then you might have heard of Galaxy which *can* integrate with SLURM. But for the same reasons as above, we found it didn't work so well. I guess what I've said isn't directly relevant to SLURM. Sorry for going off on a tangent! Ray
