Creating and Managing Allocations and Accounts

DSAI is accessible only to users and research groups with an approved allocation or user account.

Allocations and user accounts are managed through the Coldfront Portal. All users—whether internal or external—must request access through this system.

Note

All users should review the Good Citizen guidelines before requesting an allocation or account.

Requesting an Allocation

Johns Hopkins Principal Investigators (PIs) may request projects and resource allocations using the Coldfront Portal. Once an allocation is approved, users may request accounts. PIs or their designated proxies are responsible for adding users to the appropriate allocations once it is created.

A video walkthrough is available here: Portal Navigation

Key features of the portal include:

  • Requesting new projects and allocations (PIs)

  • Managing users and adding them to allocations

  • Uploading publications, grants, and ROI reports

  • Assigning proxy account managers

  • Monitoring usage across groups and allocations

Requesting User Accounts

Non-PI users can request accounts through the DSAI Coldfront Portal. However, user accounts will only be activated after the user has been added to an existing project by a PI with an approved allocation on the DSAI Cluster.

  • All Johns Hopkins users must use their JHED ID (e.g., jsmith123) when requesting an account. Failure to use your JHED ID may delay account approval and will prevent access to Globus, which requires JHED-based authentication.

User accounts can be requested at any time, and the portal also allows users to:

  • Submit requests for user accounts

  • Reset account passwords

  • Monitor utilization and core-hour usage

  • View current allocations and associated projects

  • Add users (if PI or proxy)

Note

By requesting an account on DSAI, you are automatically subscribed to the DSAI Users mailing list: dsaiusers@lists.jh.edu. This list is used to distribute important cluster announcements, including scheduled maintenance, outages, and policy updates.

Unsubscribing from this mailing list will result in account deactivation, as it is the primary channel for operational communication.

Storage Allocations

DSAI provides multiple file systems, each with different purposes and default quotas:

Default Storage Quotas

File System

Default Quota

Description

/home/<userid>

50 GB

Personal files and small software packages

/scratch/<PI-userid>

20 TB

Short-term scratch space for active jobs

➡️ For more details on performance, usage policies, and file retention, see the Filesystem Overview.

Password Management

Resetting Your DSAI Password

If you forget your password or need to reset it, visit the Coldfront Portal and use the Reset Password option. You’ll need to enter the email address associated with your account. A secure link will be emailed to you to complete the reset process.

Password Requirements

Your DSAI password must:

  • Be at least eight characters long

  • Contain characters from at least three of the following categories: - Lower-case letters - Upper-case letters - Digits - Special characters (excluding ‘ and “)

  • Be different from your last three passwords

  • Remain private — your password must never be shared

Note

Users are strongly encouraged to reset their password at least once per year.