As the transition to our new Data Centre in Bologna is approaching its final phase and we are getting closer to the decommissioning of the data centre in Reading we would like to update you on the remaining migration steps and any action you might need to take:  

• The Atos system, replacing both the Cray HPCF and ecgate, is still awaiting formal acceptance but is providing a full parallel service, reliably supporting the IFS Cycle 47r3 Release Candidate Phase. As we are getting closer to the switch of the operational forecast, the system support will be heightened from the current ‘social hours’ to 24/7. From 1 November usage of the operational Atos HPC service (hpc-login) will be charged against SBU allocations. The Atos ECS service (ecs-login) which replaces ecgate will remain free of charge.
• All users are invited to migrate their workload to the Atos at their earliest convenience.
• From 1 November ecgate, the Cray HPCF, and all attached filesystems will no longer be available. The Cray HPCF will be immediately shutdown by the vendor and the decommissioning of the Reading data centre will start. Please copy all Cray and ecgate files you need to keep to the Atos before that date.
• The DHS Move, expected to cause 5-6 weeks of reduced MARS and ECFS service, will start on 8 September.
• The switch of ECMWF’s operational forecast (Cycle 47r3) to the Atos is scheduled for 18 October and Release Candidate test data has been available since 19 July.
• Time-critical option 1 framework has been set up on the Atos (HPC and ECS) and events are being triggered by the ECMWF operational suite run on the Cray HPCF. Jobs can also be triggered by a smaller number of events linked to the availability of the Release Candidate test data being produced on the Atos HPC. At present, these events can be used for testing.  We will inform users when the time-critical workflow can be moved to the Atos HPC and jobs running on ecgate or the Cray can be stopped.
• Owners of Time-critical option 2 suites should start testing their workflow on the Atos HPC. Operational versions of the suites should continue to run on the Cray until further notice.  We will inform owners when suites can be moved to the Atos HPC.
• The ECaccess Web Toolkit services, such as job submission, file transfers and ectrans have been set up on Atos HPCF with the new ECaccess gateway boaccess.ecmwf.int. Remote ECaccess Web Toolkits should be able to interact with this new gateway. However, we are still working on the interoperability with other ECaccess gateways. Remote sites may need to install new gateway versions.
• To prepare for the migration of ECPDS (the ECMWF Production Data Store) to Bologna all real-time dissemination users are invited to participate in tests to receive Release Candidate test data from Bologna, scheduled for September.

The information above is based on current expectations. For more details and to get notified about further updates and changes, please “watch” the relevant migration pages and the Atos documentation.  

To support users with their migration we are offering Atos expert sessions. Please see the event page for more details and to register.  

Thank you for your patience and continued co-operation during this significant migration to our new Data Centre.