User Support SIG Report

At CUG 2008, we have returned to a SIG structure, which is aligned with functional interests, rather than the product line structure that CUG had used in recent years. The User Support SIG has historically seen relatively modest attendance - the 2008 User Support SIG had roughly 20 attendees, including representatives from the CUG sites, Cray, and vendor partners.

One of the primary points of discussion during the SIG was communication - how to best communicate with our users, and how Cray can assist us in this area. Nola Van Vugt of Cray described a number of upcoming changes that Cray is working on such as the rolling out of CrayPort - the centralized document repository and the introduction of user forums hosted by Cray. Nola also distributed a survey to try to gauge both current customer satisfaction and future needs in the area of Cray documentation. Responses give through this questionnaire will help Cray focus its efforts on the documentation forms users most frequently make use of.

It was suggested that Cray provide easy-to-use mechanisms for users to annotate Cray- authored documents. This would allow users to give feedback that is visible to other users even if the document is not immediately updated. With Cray's discussion of upcoming Cray forums, there was significant discussion of the best ways to encourage use of these forums. The migration of Cray to a more open and community-oriented information sharing company was a theme that was raised in other sessions, including the 100-on-1 session with Pete Ungaro and a lively discussion about the future of customer access to bug reports and documentation during and after Dan Shaw's presentation on that subject.

Facilitating information sharing among Cray users is highly desired - not only for Cray-provided tools and system, but for third-party applications as well.

The question of how to best communicate with new users was discussed, given many users aversion to reading any documentation whatsoever. Sandia has a 10 minute “new  user” video that they provide online to their users - viewing this video is compulsory before a user account is created. Other sites, including CSC, echoed the effectiveness of on- demand video as a tool for new users, with some offering a series of videos for new user familiarization.

New users need support not only for the Cray systems, but for the applications as well. Application-specific documentation targeted to new users is needed. Another mechanism to make HPC applications accessible to users with limited computing knowledge is the use of web portals, but there are concerns with the flexibility and level of support effort in maintaining them.

Finally, there was some SIG discussion about problem tracking systems used by CUG sites. There were multiple sites using RT (Request Tracker), while NERSC is using RNW (RightNow Web). Multiple sites had moved away from Bugzilla to RT or RNW.

Cray and CUG member sites are interested in broadening the user base for Cray HPC systems. To do this, providing good support and documentation for novice users of these systems is essential. This is likely to be a theme that we will revisit at future User Support SIGs.

At this time, I am serving as the interim Chair for the User Support SIG. Anyone interested in serving as either the Chair or Deputy Chair for the User Support SIG are encouraged to contact me or the CUG Board.

Jim Glidewell (BOEING)
SIG Chair