Cray User Group Directory of User-submitted Software

Title CpuQuota
Revision July, 1991
Purpose Part of SDSC CPU-time quota SW;monitors usage, holds jobs
Package type set of programs and a few mods
Application area Operating System
Abstract This software, combined with the SDSC Resource Management Utilities, provides a real-time, CPU-time quota system for UNICOS. "Principle Investigators" and their groups are awarded specific amounts of Service Units (essentially CPU time). The PI then suballocates the allocation to the people in his/her group. The CpuQuota daemon maintains a database and monitors CPU usage, debiting the allocation. When a user or group run out of time, the NQS jobs are held (and killed it not holdable) and the interactive processes are killed.
Submittor Wayne Schroeder
Contact Wayne Schroeder
Phone (619) 534-5065
Email schroeder@sdsc.edu
Company/
Institution
San Diego Supercomputer Center
CUG Site Code SDSC
Distribution method contact: schroeder@sdsc.edu
URL
Distribution restrictions UNICOS sites only
Copyright licensed, not-for-resale, was developed as a joint SDSC/CRI project.
License required yes
License fee $200
Hardware Cray Y-MP
Operating System UNICOS 5.1
Compiler(s) pcc
Program support On a continuous basis. For an additional $4,000 fee, we will provide consulting to assist a site with an installation.
Documentation README file, Makefile, man pages, programmer documentation
Portability to other UNIX systems Would require substantial changes, not allowed by license (SDSC retains rights)
Additional comments Requires SDSC Resource Management Software (see related entry), includes mods to login, you must remove the 'newacct' utility so that users cannot switch accounts after loging in. For most users, the CPU Quota Daemon charges at the initial nice value of the job; at SDSC we've set up NQS queues to run at different priorities and nice values.
This is not an easy package to install and use but we have found it to be a very important addition to UNICOS at SDSC. CTSS (which we were running before we switched to UNICOS in December of 1989) had a feature something like this.
We are working on a Kernel version of this which would be simplier, somewhat more efficient and would allow users to change their account after login.
CRI is looking at implementing something like this, probably based on some of this software, for UNICOS 8.0.
We have been running this at SDSC since the summer of 1990. Its quite reliable although, once in a great while, we have to restart the daemon.
The CPU Quota Enforcement system was a joint project between the San Diego Supercomputer Center and Cray Research, Inc. under the auspices of the University Research and Development Grant Program.
A description of the initial SDSC CPU quota system was presented at the April, 1990 (Toronto) CUG. The paper, "Implementation of the UNICOS CPU Quota Enforcement System" by Thomas E. Hutton is in the proceedings and may be consulted for further background information.

Back to the CUGDUS home page
Copyright © 1998 by Cray User Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Last update: April 28, 1998