ACCESS Allocations

The Open Storage Network provides S3 storage to researchers through the NSF’s ACCESS program. The ACCESS program helps researchers and educators use advanced computing systems within the United States. ACCESS allocates many types of research computing resources at no cost to researchers, including OSN storage. The following sections will guide you through how to request ACCESS allocations for OSN storage.

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Institution-owned pod allocations

If your institution owns an OSN pod, contact your institution’s OSN representative for specific policies and procedures. If you need help getting in contact, please send a ticket to help@osn.mghpcc.org.

Overview of ACCESS for OSN

Researchers can request OSN project allocations between 10 and 50 Terabytes (TB) through the ACCESS allocation proposal process. If your project needs more than 50 TB of OSN storage, please contact us at help@osn.mghpcc.org for options, including purchasing an OSN pod for your institution.

ACCESS allocates resources using a “credit” system. The general process for this is as follows:

The researcher submits an ACCESS allocation request. This request includes a number of credits and how ACCESS resources would help their project.
The researcher redeems the credits to one or more ACCESS resource providers (RPs), including OSN.

Researchers can redeem ACCESS credits for OSN storage at a rate of 1 ACCESS credit per 1 GB of OSN storage. To get started, make a request for the minimum OSN project allocation, 10 TB (10,000 ACCESS credits). If you need more space, once you near your quota you can make supplemental storage requests up to a maximum of 50 TB. For a step-by-step guide on how to prepare for and request an ACCESS allocation, continue to the following sections.

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ACCESS Campus Champions may request 1 TB of storage (1,000 ACCESS credits) for testing. Please include that you are a Campus Champion in your exchange request.

Prepare for your ACCESS allocation request

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If you’re not familiar with the ACCESS process or haven’t created a project before, ACCESS’s helpful Get Your First Project Guide walks you through the whole process.

ACCESS allocation proposal requirements vary depending on the scale of resources requested. When you submit an ACCESS allocation request, consider what your project needs from any ACCESS Resource Provider you intend to use, including OSN. ACCESS provides a summary table for project types and requirements and detailed proposal requirements for each project type.

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We’ll only address the small to medium “Explore ACCESS” and “Discover ACCESS” project types in this guide. The two large project types, “Accelerate ACCESS” and “Maximize ACCESS,” have more strict proposal requirements and require a panel review. If you have questions about incorporating OSN into your large ACCESS allocation projects, please submit a ticket to help@osn.mghpcc.org.

Small projects or first projects

Submit an “Explore ACCESS” proposal type for requests up to 400,000 credits. If you’re not sure how much of each resource you need, “Explore ACCESS” is an ideal way to get a small ACCESS allocation for test cases and benchmarking.
Requirement: A project abstract and minimal justification for the resources requested.

Medium projects with established resource requirements

Submit a “Discover ACCESS” (up to 1.5 million credits) proposal.
To estimate how many credits you need, first determine how much of each requested resource your project requires, then use the credit exchange calculator to convert to ACCESS credits.
Requirement: A one-page proposal outlining your project’s goals and your need for the specific resources requested.

After you decide on proposal type and ACCESS credit requirements, prepare your proposal materials according to the ACCESS proposal guide.

Request an ACCESS allocation

To request an ACCESS allocation, use the following instructions.

Log in to the ACCESS portal.
Navigate to Allocations > My Projects > Request New Project > Request a <project type> project.
Complete the form with the information and documents you gathered in the “Prepare for your allocation request” section.

Exchange your ACCESS credits for OSN storage

Once your project has been awarded ACCESS credits, you can transfer those credits for OSN storage and other resources. To exchange your credits, use the following instructions.

Go to the ACCESS allocations page.
Click the project you want to exchange credits for to expand the information window.
In the Credits & Resources tab, find the Add resource to your exchange field and select OSN.
Enter the amount of OSN storage you need in TB (minimum 10 TB).
Enter the reason for the exchange. Include detailed information for each resource you’re requesting, including OSN. For small projects, it’s acceptable to explain that you want to evaluate OSN for your project.

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Your first OSN project allocation exchange should be 10 TB of storage. After you demonstrate need and usage, you can request supplements up to 50 TB.

After you submit your project, the OSN team and teams from any other requested resources will evaluate your request and approve your project. After you get an email notification that your project has been approved, you’re ready to log into the OSN portal and request your buckets.

Why use OSN?The OSN Portal