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Request an account

Request an account through the account request app before you connect to blazar. An admin reviews and approves every request before your account is created.

Info

The account request app spins down when idle. If it's been a while since the last request, it can take about 50 seconds to wake up.

Every account gets GPU access by submitting jobs to a SLURM queue. SLURM splits GPU access across accounts using a fair-share algorithm — see Submit and monitor SLURM jobs.

Who can get their own account

You can request your own account directly if you are one of the following:

  • An IAFE researcher
  • IAFE support staff
  • An IAFE postdoc
  • An IAFE Ph.D. student

When you request your account, you must validate your @iafe.uba.ar email address.

Who needs a sponsor

Master's students and external collaborators need a sponsor. A sponsor is an existing IAFE account holder who invites you to request an account.

Your usage counts against your sponsor's share of compute resources.

Allowed use cases

Use blazar only for IAFE-affiliated work:

  • Astrophysics research
  • Thesis and dissertation work

When you request your account, you must give a short summary of your intended use.

Warning

Don't use the server for personal, commercial, or unrelated projects.

Requirements

Gather these two things before you start your request.

A GitHub account

You need a GitHub account to request an account on blazar. GitHub serves two purposes:

  • It gives you access to the issue tracker, where you can ask questions or report problems.
  • It stores your SSH public keys. The server can fetch these keys straight from your GitHub account, so you don't have to paste them anywhere.

If you don't have a GitHub account, create one before you continue.

Warning

You get access to the issue tracker only after an admin approves your account. If you have questions or problems during the account request process, contact the system administrator directly.

A pair of public and private SSH keys

You log in to blazar with an SSH key, not a password. If you don't already have a key pair, generate one:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"

This command creates two files: a private key, which you keep secret, and a public key ending in .pub, which you share.

Add your public key to your GitHub account, under Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key. The server fetches all your GitHub keys automatically, so you can add more than one — for example, one for each computer you connect from.

See Adding a new SSH key to your GitHub account.

Warning

You need at least one SSH key on your GitHub account before you request an account on blazar.

Submit your request

If you have a valid @iafe.uba.ar email address

  1. Go to the account request app.
  2. Sign in with your GitHub account.
  3. Fill in the request form.
  4. Submit the request.
  5. Validate your @iafe.uba.ar email address.

If you received an invitation

  1. Follow the URL in your invitation email.
  2. Sign in with your GitHub account.
  3. Fill in the request form.
  4. Submit the request.

An admin creates your account after they approve the request.

Inviting external collaborators

IAFE researchers with their own account can invite external collaborators.

To generate an invitation:

  1. Go to the account request app → My invitations → Create an invitation.
  2. Enter the invitee's email address.

Your invitee gets an email with a link to continue their account request.

Warning

Every invitee's usage counts against your share of compute resources.