Frequently Asked Questions about the CCDB

CCDB basics

What does CCDB stand for?

Compute Canada DataBase. It is a database of researchers who wish to use the Advanced Research Computing (ARC) facilities provided by Compute Canada.

What is the purpose of the CCDB?

There are six consortia providing ARC facilities in Canada. All are funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). CFI expects the consortia to work together to provide researchers access to the computing power they need. To do this, and to make it easier for users to gain access to computing facilities across Canada, we have set up the CCDB. The CCDB web site provides one access point for all the Compute Canada Federation facilities.

What can I do on the portal?

• register
• manage personal information and roles
• link to consortium sites to apply for accounts
• apply for the Resource Allocations Competitions (RAC)
• manage RAP information and membership

What is a CCI and why would I want one?

A CCI (Compute Canada Identifier) is a unique personal and national identifier. This is the identity you are required to bring to any of the regional HPC consortia when you apply for a local account. Your CCI is different from the local usernames given to you by the regional consortia. When you register at https://ccdb.computecanada.ca a CCI is created for you.

Who is eligible to get a CCI?

In order to register with the CCDB you must

• be a faculty member at a Canadian university that is registered with the CCDB, or
• be sponsored by a faculty member at a Canadian university that is registered with the CCDB.

People who can be sponsored include graduate students and research staff that report to the sponsoring faculty member.

What is a role?

A role is an identifier that represents the combination of a person's position (eg. faculty, graduate student, postdoctoral fellow, etc.), institution, and sponsor. In order to access Compute Canada resources one must have a valid and up-to-date role. A Compute Canada Role Identifier (CCRI) is associated with each role and uniquely identifies it. Most people will only have one role at a time, but when you change institution, sponsor, or position you will need to apply for a new role rather than update the old one. We ask you to do this so we can maintain accurate records for usage reporting to our governmental funding agencies.

What is a CCRI?

Your CCRI is the unique identifier for your role (see "What is a Role?"). Since one person may have multiple roles over time, one CCI may be associated with more than one CCRI. Every job that runs on a Compute Canada HPC system is attributed to a CCRI.

What is a RAP?

RAP is short for Research Allocation Project. Researchers are usually working on at least one research project. For reporting purposes, we need to be able to provide statistics on how our facilities are used, but the word “project” is too ambiguous, therefore we use a name which does not have any implicit meanings. Also, computing resources are not allocated to individuals, they are allocated to groups of researchers. The RAP is the group of researchers which resources are allocated to. Most users will just have one RAP which gets a base allocation. Some researchers will have additional resource allocations, allocated to an additional RAP.

Registering for an account

I had an account in the past, but my position or sponsor has changed or I have lost my password. Should I sign up for a new one?

It is Compute Canada policy that each person only have one account (CCI). Requests for duplicate CCI's are refused. If you have an existing CCI and have changed position you should apply for a new role (CCRI) instead. To do so, please log in with your existing account and visit the apply for a new role form. If you have forgotten your password, you may reset it. If you can no longer access the email address you have on file please email accounts@computecanada.ca and we can update it for you.

How do I sign up?

Go to the register link. Note that you will have to accept the Compute Canada AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) to obtain your account.

What position do I select when applying for a role?

There are two types of role:

• sponsor roles, often referred to as Primary Investigators or PIs, and
• sponsored roles.

Only faculty members can be sponsors. Administrators who are not faculty but who lead research projects must contact accounts@computecanada.ca so that we can make appropriate accommodations. Faculty roles are only granted to faculty from Canadian post-secondary academic institutions who are eligible for CFI funding.

Sponsored roles fall into two groups, internal and external. The difference is in whether the applicant is part of the supervisors local group, or a collaborator from a different institution.

All students in the group should select the appropriate student position (undergraduate, masters, doctoral).

Non-students should select the appropriate position from postdoctoral fellow, researcher (but only if the person is actually paid by the PI's institution to work as part of the group—all other associates should apply as "External Collaborator") or non-research staff (e.g. administrators, secretaries, etc.—people who do not typically need access to compute resources).

All collaborators who are not formally part of the PI's group should apply as external collaborators. An external collaborators is anyone working with the group who the PI is willing to sponsor. Note however that external collaborators must specify an institution different from that of the PI. If they are eligible for another role corresponding to a different position then they should select that position instead.

What happens after I submit my request?

You will receive an e-mail with a link to confirm the e-mail address you provided. If you are a principal investigator (typically, a faculty member), your application will be approved by consortium staff. Otherwise your application will need to be confirmed by the principal investigator you identified as your sponsor before it is approved by consortium staff.

How do I get an account at a consortium?

Click on Facilities and it will give you a list of the consortia with links to click on to get an account at that consortium.

Further Help

How can I get help for something not covered in this FAQ?

For any questions not covered here, send email to accounts@computecanada.ca.

Compute Canada Data Base

Canada Foundation for Innovation

Resource Allocation Competition

Compute Canada Role Identifier