Our first ever ‘hands on’ JASMIN workshop

Posted on June 27, 2019 (Last modified on October 19, 2023) • 2 min read • 372 words

On Wednesday 26th June, we welcomed 28 JASMIN users to our first ever hands-on interactive training event. The workshop consisted of a short introduction, followed by nine scenario based exercises that encourage good practice for using JASMIN. Participants left the day with a set of common examples of how to use JASMIN efficiently which allows for easy adaptation to suit their individual workflows as appropriate. 

The day was jam-packed with content; exercises were presented by Matt Pritchard (JASMIN Operations Manager), Fatima Chami (JASMIN User Support) and Ag Stephens (Head of Partnerships), whilst a range of other members of the JASMIN team were also on hand to provide 1-1 support with the exercises. All participants had access to a laptop so they could try out the exercises for themselves - which could have been a recipe for disaster! Luckily, the team was well equipped to deal with any difficulties faced on the day.  

We have received lots of positive, constructive feedback from the participants and will incorporate this into the current notes and worksheets. These resources, created for this workshop, will be shared freely as soon as possible over the next few weeks and via future workshops. You can see the exercise titles below: 

• Exercise 1: Accessing JASMIN “sci” machines & how to use them
• Exercise 2: Copy data to JASMIN to share with collaborators
• Exercise 3: Processing on the scientific analysis servers
• Exercise 4: A script to extract 1 variable from a file in the ERA-Interim dataset
• Exercise 5: Batch running the extraction script on LOTUS
• Exercise 6: Managing a multi-step workflow
• Exercise 7: Building your own Python 3 environment
• Exercise 8: Compiling and running parallel Fortran code to run on LOTUS
• Exercise 9: Optimising storage usage on JASMIN (scratch/GWS/tape)

We also intend on running this workshop regularly at RAL in the future, with the initial aim being quarterly. We may also take it ‘on tour’ to our partner organisations (such as NCAS-Leeds, Met Office, CEH), so please do let us know if this is something you would be interested in. 

Thanks to all who supported and attended our first hands on event - here’s to many more! 

Image: Fatima Chami introducing one of the exercises to a classroom full of attendees.