The Systems-Facing track of the People Network will focus on aspects relevant to the execution of research computing and data systems.
Topics include:
- Architecture (hardware solutions, cloud integration, VMs, container integration, …)
- Storage systems (file systems, SAN, NAS, NVMe, Burstbuffer, …)
- Networking (data transfer solutions, Infiniband, campus-wide, …)
- Cluster management and configuration (scheduling, accounting and reporting, …)
- Accelerators (GPU, FPGA, …)
- Security (auditing, compliance, policies, procedures, …)
- User environment (Modules, CUDA, …)
- Trending Tech (AI, CXL, …)
We connect via monthly calls, on slack and an email list.
Join Us!
Join Us! Create a membership profile to let us know who you are and what you’re interested in. You can add other People Network Tracks at the same time.
Monthly Calls
Monthly calls are on the third Thursday of the month, 1PM ET / 12PM CT / 11AM MT / 10AM PT. Connection information and links to any materials are distributed via email.
Previous Call Documents Folder Link
Previous Systems-Facing Recordings on YouTube Link
Upcoming Call(s)
June 26th, 2025 – Kickstarting Your Research Computing and Data Career
This session will explore avenues for finding success in systems-focused Research Computing and Data (RCD) roles. Through sharing personal stories and practical guidance, this panel will touch on the diverse ways that one can navigate a career in high performance computing, storage, and research infrastructure operations. The talk will provide an overview of typical systems-focused journeys from professionals who have started and grown into impactful roles managing and supporting research computing systems. We will also explore the often misunderstood tracks of growing into an experienced systems professional vs transitioning into a management role and how to tell which path may be right for you.
Speakers: Dan Voss (Corewell Health), Nathan Wells (Kansas State University), Jenett Tillotson (NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research)
Track Coordination
Track Coordinators (sf-coordinators@carcc.org):
- Brian Haymore, Sr IT Architect – HPC, Center for High Performance Computing, University of Utah
- Matthew Smith, Manager – Research Systems, Advanced Research Computing, University of British Columbia
Steering Committee Members:
- John Blaas, HPC Operations Manager at Lambda and Vice Chair for ACM SIGHPC SYSPROS
- Nick Eggleston, Cyberinfrastructure Engineer, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
- Jim Leous, Office of the Associate CIO for Research, Penn State
- Ben Nickell, HPC Systems Administrator at Idaho National Laboratory
- Dori Sajdak, Senior Systems Administrator at University at Buffalo
- Nathan Wells, Systems Administrator, Kansas State University
We also wish to thank persons who have previously lead and contributed to the System-Facing track:
Former Track Coordinators:
Alan Silver, IT Professional, UW-Madison
Troy Baer, Senior HPC Systems Engineer, Ohio Supercomputer Center
Betsy Hillery, Director, Research Computing, Purdue University
Former Steering Committee Members:
Betsy Hillery, Director, Research Computing, Purdue University
Matthew Smith, Manager – Research Systems, Advanced Research Computing, University of British Columbia
Jason Wells, Founder, Builder, Admin, Research Computing Architect and Data Management Lead at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Sai Pinnepalli, Chief Technologist, Center for Computation and Technology, Louisiana State University
Previous Calls
| 05/15/2025 | Accessibility Tools for Linux System Administrators | Doc |
| 04/17/2025 | Software Installation Strategies Panel | Doc |
| 03/20/2025 | NodeMan, a Node Management tool for HPC | Doc |
| 02/20/2025 | Openstack Operators Discuss Life With Openstack | Doc |
| 01/16/2025 | Container Adoption in Campus High Performance Computing | Doc |
| 10/01/2024 | NSPM-33 – Not a Type of Sun Lotion | Doc |
| 09/19/2024 | On-Premises Storage Solutions and Growth Projection in Research Computing | Doc |
| 08/15/2024 | PEARC ’24 Recap – Combined call with Researcher-Facing Track | Doc |
| 06/20/2024 | Debian GNU/Linux for Scientific Research | Doc |
| 04/18/2024 | Supply Chain Challenges & Strategy Discussion | Doc |
| 03/21/2024 | AI Support Community Discussion | Doc |
| 02/15/2024 | Overview of the Georgia Tech Rogues Gallery Testbed | Doc |
| 01/18/2024 | Navigating PBS to Slurm Migrations in Production Environments | Doc |
| 10/19/2023 | Containerizing HPC | Video Doc Slides |
| 09/21/2023 | CaRCC Systems Facing Roundup Session | Video Doc Slides |
| 08/17/2023 | Cluster Resource Management software and solutions | Video Doc Slides |
| 06/15/2023 | Cluster Resource Management software and solutions | Video Doc |
| 05/18/2023 | Introduction to Universal Design | Doc Slides |
| 04/04/2023 | Dealing with New Cloud Storage Limits | Video Doc Slides |
| 03/16/2023 | Chilling Out: Building, Operating, and Updating a Modern Data Center | Video Doc Slides |
| 02/16/2023 | Towards a Data Commons at Harvard | Video Doc Slides |
| 01/19/2023 | Deploying Web-Based Software for Researchers on the Commercial Cloud | Video Doc Slides |
| 10/20/2022 | Identifying “core/common” Skills a Novice RCD Systems Focused IT Professional Should Prioritize | Video Doc Slides |
| 09/15/2022 | Open XDMoD/ColdFront/Open OnDemand HPC Toolset Overview | Video Doc Slides |
| 08/18/2022 | Identifying Requirements for Early Career PT/FT RCD Systems Focused It | Video Doc Slides |
| 07/20/2022 | No S-F Call, PEARC22 | |
| 06/16/2022 | A Case for a Notebook-Centric Analysis Platform Around Jupyter Ecosystem | Video Doc Slides |
| 05/19/2022 | Operating a Research Computing Environment for a Large University | Video Doc Slides |
| 04/21/2022 | Cloud Solutions Panel Discussion (Request Access) | Doc |
| 03/17/2022 | Integrating Cloud Storage into Research Workflows (Wrong Doc Attached | Doc |
| 02/17/2022 | Post CentOS 8 Era: Community Discussion (Request Access) | Doc |
| 01/20/2022 | Real-World RoCE: Architecture and Implementation | video Doc Slides |
| 10/21/2021 | Network Troubleshooting: Techniques and Approaches | video Doc Slides |
| 09/16/2021 | Managing an NVIDIA DGX Superpod at UF | Doc |
| 08/19/2021 | PEARC21 Recap and Community Discussion | video Doc |
| 06/17/2021 | Two Unique Approaches to Developing CUI Compliant Systems | video Doc |
| 05/20/2021 | Clusters in the Sky: How Canada is Building Beyond laaS Cloud with Magic Castle | video Doc Slides |
| 04/15/2021 | Experiences and Advice for Large and Small Data Centers (cooling) | video Doc Slides |
| 03/18/2021 | Enabling Science Collaborations with Secure and Flexible Service Deployment | video Doc Slides |
| 02/17/2021 | Geddes Composable Platform | video Doc Slides |
| 01/21/2021 | OURRstore: Big Data on a Small Budget | video Doc |
| 10/17/2020 | Basic Cloud Bursting with Azure and VMWare | video Doc Slides |
| 09/17/2020 | Overview of HPC File Systems and One Site’s Experience | video Doc |
| 08/20/2020 | Multi-Track: Service Models for Research-Purchased Computing and Data | video Doc Slides |
| 07/16/2020 | OURRstore: Big Data on a Small Budget | video Doc Slides |
| 06/18/2020 | Introduction to Metrics Collection with Prometheus and Visualization with Grafana | video Doc Slides |
| 05/20/2020 | Multi-Track: Student Workers | video |
| 04/16/2020 | Direct to the Cip Warm Water Cooling HPC System at OSC | video |
| 03/19/2020 | Visualize and Analyze your Network Activities using OSU INAM | video |
| 02/20/2020 | UC San Diego Health’s approach to meeting HIPAA compliance in AWS | video |
| 01/16/2020 | HIPPA-Aligned Data and Public Cloud Platforms | video |
| 12/05/2019 | Cornell’s Data Finder Tool | video |
| 10/17/2019 | HTCondor’s, Philosophy of High-Throughput Computing | video |
| 09/19/2019 | Providing a Unified Software Environment for Canada’s National Advanced Computer Centers | video |
| 08/15/2019 | Storage and Data Management for Mid-Scale Research Data Set | video |
| 07/18/2019 | Racktables, Graphical HPC Cluster Mangement | video |
| 06/20/2019 | Open Discussion | video |
| 05/16/2019 | Globus, Installation and Configuration | video |
| 04/18/2019 | Charliecloud, Unprivileged Containers for a User-Defined Software Stack | video |
| 03/21/2019 | Ceph, A Campus Storage Solution (block and object) | video |