Introduction

Before you can gain access to any of the SURFsara computer systems an administrative procedure has to be followed. On this page we will tell you how you can apply for access to Cartesius. Once access is granted, you can have a look at the second part where we explain how you can access Cartesius from your laptop or desktop computer.

How to get an account

Affiliates of one of the Dutch Universities or Grand Technology Institutes can submit an application for computing capacity on the Cartesius system to NWO. Furthermore, several universities have a direct contract with SURFsara enabling access in a more direct manner.

Access via NWO

The procedure is the following:

1. Go to Funding page for NWO grants. Fill in the word "computing" in the search field and for the results
2. Choose one of the following pages:
   • "Access to the National Computing Facilities"
   • "Access to the National Computing Facilities for Pilot Projects"
3. Currently (March 2016) the limits for a Pilot Project are 500,000 SBU for Cartesius and 100,000 SBU for Lisa. For the most recent limits please read the "Call for Proposals" document at the bottom of the page "Access to the National Computing Facilities for Pilot Projects".
4. Choose the button "Apply Electronically"
5. Log in to the ISAAC system (in case you have not yet a login name, follow the instructions to get one).
6. Fill in the summary on this page
7. Download and fill in the Application Template form.
8. Please download the form anew for every new request and don't reuse previously downloaded forms, because they are subject to change.
9. Convert the filled in application form into PDF, upload it and complete the application in ISAAC.

After NWO has received your form, the NWO office will read through your application and check it on ommissions. Please make sure that all information is there, especially in sections 7 and 9. In case information is missing, this will slow down your application, since NWO will have to ask you for it by email.

If the information is complete, the following will happen:

• In case your application is a pilot application for a small amount of SBUs, the NWO office will judge your application, and will most likely provide you with the requested amount of SBUs. In general, within one or two weeks, the granting letter will be sent to you, including additional paperwork (to be discussed hereafter). This will need to be confirmed at the next scientific committee meeting (WGS), which has been mandated by the NWO board to grant CPU time.
• In case your application is larger than a pilot request, your application will be submitted to referee(s). The number of referees depends on the actual amount of computing time you apply for. NWO may ask you for clarification of your request, based on comments of the referee(s). During the following WGS meeting, a granting decision will be taken, and you will be informed about that with a (granting) letter, with additional paperwork (to be discussed hereafter). This procedure takes 4-8 weeks, since referees and a meeting of the WGS are involved. The NWO office (to be confirmed by the WGS) is in general able to provide you with a preliminary amount of computing time, which is around 10-20% of what you applied for.

My application has been accepted, what's next?

After acceptance of the application together with the granting letter you will receive:

1. Download the NWO User Form Cartesius. It contains administrative information. Fill out and send to SURFsara together with a copy of the granting letter. Please note that you have to send both documents to SURFsara each time you get a new grant, even for preliminary grants.
2. Download the Usage Agreement Dutch HPC resources. The applicant and each individual user listed in the User form have to fill in, sign and send to SURFsara a separate copy of this document in which they state that they will comply to the rules set out in the document. Please note that you only have to send this once for each user.
3. Report template. You have to use this when you have to report back to NWO after your project (one year) has finished. More information can be found on the website of NWO, in particular at the following pages:

• General information,

In case of further questions, contact NWO (rekentijd@nwo.nl) or the SURFsara helpdesk.

Access to Cartesius directly

Several universities have a direct contract with SURFsara, please check the list here to check whether your institution already has such a contract.