Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)¶

This page collects common questions from users of the Precision Medicine Computing & Storage Platform.

If your question is not answered here, please contact support.

General questions¶

Who can use the platform?¶

The platform is intended for:

Professors, researchers, PhD students, and postdoctoral researchers of the University of Bologna
Master’s degree students of the University of Bologna involved in thesis projects (HPC access only)
Research groups within the University of Bologna working with biomedical and clinical data
Authorized external collaborators participating in approved research projects with the University of Bologna

Access is granted on a project basis following formal approval.

How do I request access?¶

Access must be requested through the official access request procedure.

See: - Access request

Approval is required before using any service.

How long does it take to get access?¶

Provisioning times depend on:

Completeness of the request
Required approvals (e.g. ethical or legal)
Project characteristics

Typical timelines range from a few days to a few weeks.

Can I use the platform for teaching or training?¶

The platform may be used for training activities related to research, such as thesis projects.

Use for formal teaching activities (e.g. courses or classroom exercises) is not supported.

Training use is subject to:

A clearly defined scope
Approval from platform administrators
Use of appropriate datasets (non-sensitive data)

Please contact support to discuss your use case.

HPC questions¶

No.

Login nodes are intended only for:

Editing code
Compiling software
Submitting and monitoring jobs

All computational workloads must be submitted via SLURM.

Users are expected to minimize resource usage on login nodes and avoid running intensive tasks.

Why is my job pending for a long time?¶

Jobs may remain pending because:

Requested resources are not available
Requested resources exceed configured limits
Other jobs have higher priority

This is expected behavior on shared systems.

See Monitoring and debugging jobs for details.

Can I use containers (Apptainer / Singularity)?¶

Yes.

Containers are recommended for:

Reproducibility
Complex software environments

Follow platform guidelines when using containers.

Storage questions¶

What is the difference between WORK and S3 storage?¶

WORK: project-level filesystem optimized for computational workflows
S3 storage: object storage designed for data management and controlled sharing

Use WORK during computations and S3 for structured data storage and sharing.

Can I mount S3 as a filesystem?¶

No.

S3 storage must be accessed using S3-compatible tools
(recommended: rclone).

How much storage do I get?¶

Storage quotas depend on:

Project approval
Available resources
Project duration

Contact support if you require additional storage.

Security and compliance questions¶

Can I upload medical or sensitive data?¶

Only if:

Your project has been formally approved
All required legal and ethical approvals are in place
Data usage is consistent with the approved project scope

Sensitive data must not be uploaded without prior authorization.

Are my activities monitored?¶

Relevant access events and system activities are logged and monitored for:

Security
Compliance
Audit purposes

This includes user authentication, access to services, and system-level activity tracking.

Logs are used to ensure system integrity and are handled in accordance with institutional policies.

What should I do if I make a mistake?¶

If you accidentally:

Upload data to an incorrect location
Expose credentials
Suspect a security issue

Contact support immediately.

Prompt reporting helps mitigate potential risks.

Support¶

For support, please contact:

📧 Email: dei.hpc-precision-medicine@unibo.it

Please include your project name and relevant details in your request.

Still have questions?¶

If your question is not listed here:

Review the documentation sections
Contact support for clarification

We are here to help you use the platform safely and effectively.