Upon logging into the cluster, users are presented with a default environment that offers limited software availability, serving as a basic and minimal foundation. To effectively manage and activate software packages as needed, the module system is employed. In order to utilize the software installed on the HKUST SuperPOD, it is imperative to load the corresponding software module first. By loading a module, the system automatically configures and adjusts the user environment variables accordingly, thereby granting access to the GPU-optimized software package associated with that specific module. For instance, the modification of the $PATH environment variable ensures the availability of necessary executables required by the respective software package. This systematic approach ensures seamless utilization of software resources within the cluster environment.

Module Usage 

Here the list of usage of Lmod command:

Module command	Description
module list	List loaded modules in current environment
module avail	List available software
module apropos Anaconda	Search for particular software, e.g, Anaconda
module whatis apptainer	Display information about a particular module, e.g, apptainer
module load Anaconda	Load a particular module.
module unload Anconda	Unload a particular module,
module swap cuda11.8/toolkit/11.8.0 cuda12.2/toolkit/12.2.2	Swap modules, e.g, replace cuda11.8 tookit with cuda12.2
module purge	Remove all modules

 

 

Module List

From cluster manager: 

apptainer	gcc/13.1.0	mariadb-libs	boost/1.81.0
gcc/64/4.1.7a1	slurm/slurm/23.02.6	cluster-tools/10.0	ipmitool/1.8.19
freeipmi/1.6.10	python39	Anaconda3/2023.09-0	cm-pmix3/3.1.7
cm-pmix4/4.1.3	cuda11.8/blas/11.8.0	cuda11.8/fft/11.8.0	cuda11.8/toolkit/11.8.0
cuda12.2/blas/12.2.2	cuda12.2/fft/12.2.2	cuda12.2/toolkit/12.2.2	gdb/13.1
hdf5_18/1.8.21	hpl/2.3	hwloc/1.11.13	hwloc2/2.8.0
mvapich2/gcc/64/2.3.7	nvhpc-byo-compiler/23.11	nvhpc-hpcx-cuda11/23.11	nvhpc-hpcx-cuda12/23.11
nvhpc-hpcx/23.11	nvhpc-nompi/23.11	nvhpc-openmpi3/23.11	nvhpc/23.11
openblas/dynamic/0.3.18	openmpi/gcc/64/4.1.5	openmpi4/gcc/4.1.5	ucx/1.10.1

 

Examples

Going to load Anaconda python module for Python code development

To check all available modules:

$ module avail
------------------------------------------------ /cm/local/modulefiles -------------------------------------------------
apptainer/apptainer.module  cmd              gcc/13.1.0       mariadb-libs  null      shared
boost/1.81.0                cmjob            gcc/64/4.1.7a1   module-git    openldap  slurm/slurm/23.02.6
cluster-tools/10.0          dot              ipmitool/1.8.19  module-info   python3   use.own
cm-bios-tools               freeipmi/1.6.10  luajit           modules       python39

------------------------------------------------ /cm/shared/modulefiles ------------------------------------------------
Anaconda3/2023.09-0      cuda12.2/fft/12.2.2      hwloc2/2.8.0              nvhpc-openmpi3/23.11
cm-pmix3/3.1.7           cuda12.2/toolkit/12.2.2  mvapich2/gcc/64/2.3.7     nvhpc/23.11
cm-pmix4/4.1.3           default-environment      nvhpc-byo-compiler/23.11  openblas/dynamic/0.3.18
cuda11.8/blas/11.8.0     gdb/13.1                 nvhpc-hpcx-cuda11/23.11   openmpi/gcc/64/4.1.5
cuda11.8/fft/11.8.0      hdf5_18/1.8.21           nvhpc-hpcx-cuda12/23.11   openmpi4/gcc/4.1.5
cuda11.8/toolkit/11.8.0  hpl/2.3                  nvhpc-hpcx/23.11          ucx/1.10.1
cuda12.2/blas/12.2.2     hwloc/1.11.13            nvhpc-nompi/23.11

 

You now could do “module load” and run the code respectively. When no version number is provided, system default is loaded.

$ module load Anaconda3
$ module list
Currently Loaded Modulefiles:
 1) slurm/slurm/23.02.6   2) Anaconda3/2023.09-0

 

If you want specific module to be loaded every time during login do this:

$ module initadd Anaconda3

And you could run the following command to check if the list was updated:

$ module initlist
bash initialization file $HOME/.bashrc loads modules:
        slurm Anaconda3/2023.09-0

To remove module from being load in advance:

$ module initrm Anaconda3