Interactive Job Submission on the Bamboo Cluster

Batch processing is the preferred method to use on a shared cluster. However, there are times when a user needs to run interactive tools, such as idl, matlab, rstudio, etc. To run these interactive processes you can request a dedicated compute node for that job. The following example will show you how to request a compute node for an interactive job process:

Make sure the appropriate modules are loaded:

[jreese@bamboo ~]$ module add maui

[jreese@bamboo ~]$ module add torque

Submit the job:

[jreese@bamboo ~]$ qsub -I

qsub: waiting for job 4350916.bamboo.cm.cluster to start

qsub: job 4350916.bamboo.cm.cluster ready

This will result in a new prompt on the free compute node, and you can now submit your workflow:

[jreese@bamboo-036 ~]$

Once you are finished you can simply exit the node:

[jreese@bamboo-036 ~]$ exit

logout

qsub: job 4350916.bamboo.cm.cluster completed

If you want to start a graphical program on a compute node (ie. matlab) you will need to use the -X option with qsub and make sure you are connected to the headnode via ssh -X

For example (from a linux desktop)

$ ssh -X jreese12@bamboo.essic.umd.edu

[jreese12@bamboo ~]$ qsub -I -X

qsub: waiting for job 1021.bamboo to start

qsub: job 1021.bamboo ready

[jreese12@bamboo-006 ~]$ matlab

MATLAB is selecting SOFTWARE OPENGL rendering.