Compute server / Rekenserver GW-W-EEGFMRI

If you want to do large computations without your own computer humming away for days, you can use one of the compute services on offer to researchers at the ILS labs. These allow you to “set and forget” large computations remotely which you can come back to later once they’re finished.

These are the two main options:

1. The ILS Labs Compute Server GW-W-EEGFMRI (a.k.a. ‘Rekenserver’)
2. Various High Performance Computing offerings from UU Research Engineering

1. ILS Labs Compute Server / Rekenserver

This is a remote Windows server managed by the DH-IT backoffice. It offers a variety of software commonly used by researchers at the ILS labs, and is conveniently attached to the O: drive. Its performance is decent and it has 16GB of RAM. Primarily, it’s a convenience offering that is easily accessible to ILS researchers and suitable for most computations.

Available software

Installed are:

• R (several versions)
• Matlab R2019a
• MLwin
• BrainVision Analyzer 2.2.2
• Python 3.9 (you can install Anaconda in your own user profile D:\users\yourSolisID and then create environment(s), with other Python versions if needed)

Installing other software and versions is possible, consult with DH-IT and lab support.

How to get access

ILS affiliated staff members can request access by sending an email to DH-IT. Please include your solisID in the email (or, if you are requesting access for a student of yours, their solisID).

How to connect to the server

1. Make sure you have completed the steps for your operating system to setup solisworkspace.
   https://manuals.uu.nl/en/a-z/?_tags=solisworkspace
   Also make sure to use the Google Chrome browser.
2. Login to https://solisworkspace.uu.nl
3. Open the “Remote Desktop Connection” application.
   If you don’t have the “Remote Desktop Connection” available on solisworkspace send an email to DH-IT to request it.
4. Fill in “gw-w-eegfmri.soliscom.uu.nl” in the “computer” field and press “connect”
5. Enter your solis password to connect to the server

How to use the server and access your data

R packages can be installed under your own profile on the server.

The O-Drive is not available automatically; you can mount the O-drive yourself to do your computations on your data there.

Alternatively, you can save data locally on the server under D:\users\yourSolisID (in this location it cannot be accessed by other users of the server).

For any questions and/or problems, please contact labman.gw@nulluu.nl.

2. UU Research Engineering

At the university level the Research Engineering team of RDMS offers a variety of High Performance Computing options. There are many tiers of computing power available, and the team will happily consult with you on what options are most suitable for your problem set.

One such option is a tailored Virtual Research Environment that allows you to install the exact software versions you need and also collaborate with other researchers within that environment. These VRE’s offer a variety of persistent cloud storage options (SURF Research Drive, YODA) but do not have direct access to the O:-drive.

Contact RDMS for a compute solution if you require any of the following:

• Very high performance or lots of RAM
• Custom software versions or Linux compute
• Collaboration
• Something else the Rekenserver doesn’t have (They can probably do it)

And if you do use an RDMS option, please let us know what you think!