Software and Storage
The easier your environment is to reproduce, the easier it is to trust the results. That mostly comes down to two things: loading the right software and keeping data in the right place.
Software modules
Software on the cluster is provided through environment modules. The common commands are:
module avail
module list
module load <module>
module unload <module>
module purge
If a job behaves differently from one session to the next, checking which modules are loaded is a good place to start.
Storage
Storage layout may change over time, but this is the general rule of thumb:
| Location | Purpose | Notes |
|---|---|---|
/home/<user> | personal files, scripts, small configs | not for large datasets or heavy output |
/projects/<project> | project-shared files | use for shared project data |
Keep large datasets and job output out of /home whenever you can. Project storage is a better fit for shared work, and temporary files should be cleaned up once a job ends.
Node-local files are temporary, so do not rely on them for anything you need after the job is finished.