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Terms and Conditions#

Panthera as the Panthera#

Panthera is an exclusive compute cluster available for use by all IUT and Non-IUT faculty members and also external companies related to industry zones.

Info

The Panthera Cluster is not suitable for course work, class assignments or general-use training sessions.
Users interested in using computing resources in such contexts are encouraged to use IUT Cloud Hosting environment, which is primarily intended for supporting coursework.

Usage Policy#

Access violation

Please note that your use of this system falls under the "Computer and Network Usage Policy", as described in the IUT Administrative Guide. In particular, sharing authentication credentials is strictly prohibited. Violation of this policy will result in termination of access to Panthera.

Data risk classifications#

One of the most difficult parts of working with data is knowing the restrictions on that data. When classifying restricted data, certain terms are used to describe when and how information can be shared. NHPCC has classified its information assets into one of four risk-based categories (None, Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3) for the purpose of determining who is allowed to access the information and what security precautions must be taken to protect it against unauthorized access. It is the data and service owner’s responsibility to ensure appropriate security measures are taken depending on the risk classification.

  • Level 1

    Data and systems are classified as Level 1 if they are not considered to be Level 2 or 3, and:

    • The data is intended for public disclosure, or
    • The loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the data or system has:
      • No impact on NHPCC’s mission and at most a minimal risk to reputation
      • No impact on NHPCC’s finances,
      • No risk to the security of other systems protecting data
      • No risk to life safety

  • Level 2

    Data and systems are classified as Level 2 if they are not considered to be Level 3, and:

    • The data is not generally available to the public, or
    • The loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the data or system has:
      • No impact on NHPCC’s mission and potentially a moderate risk to reputation
      • At most a mild impact on NHPCC’s finances
      • At most a mild risk to the security of other systems protecting data
      • No risk to life safety

  • Level 3

    Data and systems are classified as Level 3 if:

    • Protection of the data is required by law/regulation, or
    • NHPCC is required to self-report to the government and/or provide notice if the data is inappropriately accessed, or
    • The loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the data or system has:
      • A potential impact on NHPCC’s mission or significant risk to reputation
      • A potential significant impact on NHPCC’s finances
      • A potential significant risk to the security of other systems protection data
      • A potential risk to life safety

  • None

    Applications are classified as None if they do not inherently store data and:

    • The underlying data is stored on a NHPCC endpoint or server, and
    • The application requires human interaction, can not run autonomously, and
    • Security is managed by the endpoint or server, which must implement the minimum security standards appropriate for the Level of data being protected.


Use the examples below to guide the determination of which risk classification is appropriate for a particular type of data. When mixed data falls into multiple risk categories, use the highest risk classification across all


Data Risk Classification Examples

  • Examples (Level 1)

    • De-identified research data NOT sourced from Protected Health Information (PHI)
    • Anonymous research data
    • NHPCC email address
    • NHPCC mailing address
    • Student data classified as directory information
    • Information authorized to be available on or through a NHPCC website without authentication
    • Policy and procedure manuals designated by the owner as public
    • Job postings
    • University contact information not designated by the individual as "private" in the online Directory
    • Information that is publicly known or generally available
    • Publicly available campus maps
    • IP addresses

  • Examples (Level 2)

    • De-identified research data NOT sourced from Protected Health Information (PHI)
    • Limited Dataset
    • Personally Identifiable Information (PII) collected for research
    • NHPCC username
    • Course Membership
    • Faculty/staff employment applications, personnel files, benefits, salary, personal contact information
    • Export Administration Regulations (EAR) controlled technical data subject to a NHPCC-issued control plan
    • Non-public NHPCC policies and policy manuals
    • Non-public contracts
    • NHPCC internal memos and email, non-public reports, budgets, plans, financial info
    • University and employee ID numbers
    • Project/Task/Award numbers
    • Engineering, design, and operational information regarding NHPCC’s infrastructure

  • Examples (Level 3)

    • Identifiable Protected Health Information (PHI)
    • Personally Identifiable Information (PII) collected for research that meets the following criteria: Information that has the potential to cause significant damage to an individual’s reputation, employability, financial standing, educational advancement, or place them at risk for criminal or civil liability.
    • Banner ID
    • International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) controlled technical data
    • Government Furnished Information (GFI)
    • Covered Defense Information (CDI)
    • Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)
    • Student data
    • Data regulated under Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS)
    • Any combination of information likely to result in identity theft, including, but not limited to:
      • Social Security Number
      • Driver's license number
      • Passport or visa number
      • Mother’s maiden name
      • Date of Birth
    • Financial account identifiers (e.g., external bank or investment account numbers)
    • Donor contact information and non-public gift information
    • Lab monitoring equipment which, if it were to fail, would pose a potential risk to life


  • None

    • Desktop software, i.e. Microsoft Word, FileZilla, web browsers
    • Software for operating scientific equipment

Desktop, Laptop, Mobile and Other Endpoint Devices Risk Classification and Standards#

An endpoint is any device, not classified as a server, regardless of ownership, that has been used to store, access, or transmit NHPCC data. These devices are most often directly accessed by users and include, but are not limited to desktops, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets, whether purchased by NHPCC or personally.

The risk classification of endpoints is determined by accessing the most sensitive data either stored or transmitted by an endpoint. If only Level 1 data is stored or transmitted by an endpoint, then it is classified as Level 1. If both Level 2 and Level 3 data is stored or transmitted by an endpoint, then it is classified as Level 3. Based on the risk classification of the endpoints, they are subject to the Minimum Security Standards for Desktop, Laptop, Mobile and Other Endpoint Devices 🔒.

Server Risk Classification and Standards#

A server is a computer program or device that provides dedicated functionality to clients. They are normally managed by professional information technology (IT) practitioners. In most cases, clients are Endpoints, but may be other servers.

The risk classification of a server is determined by accessing the most sensitive data either stored or transmitted by a server. If only Level 1 data is stored or transmitted by a server, then the server is classified as Level 1. If both Level 2 and Level 3 data is stored or transmitted by a server, then the server is classified as Level 3. Based on the risk classification of the server, they are subject to Minimum Security Standards for Servers 🔒.

Tip

If you have any questions or need help, please reach out to the Information Security Group office@hpc.iut.ac.ir.

Purchasing nodes#

We don't have any purchase option at the moment.

Scaling the cluster#

Our approach in updating the infrastructural resources of the NHPCC is based on a sustainable development. For this reason, we have always tried to improve Pantera's environment as much as possible, simultaneously with the growth of technology.

The network structure of Penthra cluster consists of a heterogeneous network of different types of processors and graphics cards, which has a wide variety of uses and of course, the important thing is that you should know which architecture you want to use when compiling a software.

The panthera cluster's network infrastructure is such that it is currently possible to increase up to 64 more compute nodes to the fabric. And when more than 90% of the fabric ports are assigned to processing nodes, we will include a short interval to add a new fabric.

According to the plan, our plan is to develop the infrastructure of the cluster every 5 years. And therefore, this may include software parts such as the architecture of login servers, storage infrastructure, or even fundamental changes in the working model of the cluster scheduler.

Maintenance and upgrade#

Our approach regarding the upgrade of software installed in the cluster is that new versions of each software are installed every 6 months and up to two previous versions of each software are kept.

Info

As often as possible, maintenances will take place on the first Tuesday of every month, from 08:00 to 12:00 Tehran time (noon), and will be announced 2 weeks in advance, through the usual communication channels.

In case an exceptional amount of work is required, the maintenance window could be extended to 10 hours (from 08:00 to 18:00).

During these times, access to Panthera will be unavailable, login will be disabled and jobs won't run. A reservation will be placed in the scheduler so running jobs can finish before the maintenance, and jobs that wouldn't finish by the maintenance window would be pushed after it.

Common questions#

Q: Why doing maintenances at all?

A: Due to the scale of our computing environment and the increasing complexity of the systems we deploy, it is prudent to arrange for a regular time when we can comfortably and without pressure fix problems or update facilities with minimal impact to our customers. Most, if not all, major HPC centers have regular maintenance schedules.

Q: Why Tuesdays 08:00-12:00? Why not do this late at night?

A: We have observed that the least busy time for our services is at the beginning of the week in the morning hours. Using this time period should not interrupt most of our users. If the remote possibility of a problem that extends past the scheduled downtime occurs, we would have our full staff fresh and available to assist in repairs and quickly restore service.

Q: I have jobs running, what will happen to them?

A: For long-running jobs, we strongly recommend checkpointing your results on a periodic basis. Besides, we will place a reservation in the scheduler for each maintenance that would prevent jobs to run past it. This means that the scheduler will only allow jobs to run if they can finish by the time the maintenance starts. If you submit a long job soon before the maintenance, it will be delayed until after the maintenance. That will ensure that no work is lost when the maintenance starts.