Using Sun Grid Engine on the Human Genetics Compute Cluster

Revision: 2017-01-03
Original by: Viren Patel
Edited by: TS Wingo
Requirements:
1. Familiarity with Linux command line
- See The Linux Command Line by William E. Shotts, Jr.
1. Secure Shell (SSH) setup on your computer.

Human Genetics Compute Cluster (HGCC)

HGCC consists of one head node and 9 compute nodes.
The computes nodes have varying amounts of RAM, CPU (cores), and local scratch space (/tmp)
Head node is called node00
Compute nodes are called node01, node02, …

Sun Grid Engine (SGE)

HGCC uses Sun Grid Engine to schedule and run jobs on the cluster.
The main command for submitting jobs is qsub.
This tutorial will demonstrate how to use qsub effectively.

SGE Queues on HGCC

There are two queues defined on HGCC – b.q and i.q

b.q

For batch (non-interactive) jobs
Restricted to node01 – node06
Job defaults: 1 core / 8GB RAM
240 hours maximum run time
Requestable resources:
- Cores
- Run time
- Memory is not requestable per se; you get 8 GB per core requested (See slide on requesting additional resources).

i.q

For interactive jobs, e.g. to run program with a GUI, or requiring command line access
Restricted to node07 – node09
Job defaults
- 1 core / 8GB RAM
- 24 hours max. run time
- Requestable resources:
  - Cores

Strategies

Use local scratch space
Use shell scripts
Use modules
Use common data sets already available

Common data sets, e.g. hg38 reference genome, are available in /sw/hgcc/Data. Check there first before downloading to your home directory.

Help reduce data duplication. If you have these data in your home directory please delete them. If you need some data make a request.

Strategy: Use local scratch space

This reduces the network traffic to the /home volume
Each compute node has a 1TB /scratch partition
Note: /scratch on node01 is distinct from /scratch on node02
Recommended mode of operation is:
1. Create unique folder in /scratch (e.g. /scratch/x6d3es)
2. Copy data to unique folder
3. Do not copy your entire data set. Copy only the data file(s) you need, e.g. the two fastq files for one sample you’re mapping
4. Process and write results to unique folder
5. Copy results from unique folder to /home/<your username>/<Project Name>/
6. Delete unique folder

Sometimes input data is large (e.g. WGS data). In that case, do not copy to unique folder; instead read from /home but still use unique folder to process your data (and generate output) and then copy results back.

Strategy: Use SGE job scripts

Create a SGE job script to run your program/pipeline and copy data to and from /scratch
Using a job script will allow running multiple commands (pipeline) as one job
Use qsub to submit your script to SGE. SGE will schedule the script to run on a compute node.

Strategy: Use Modules

Commands (square brackets indicate optional information)

module avail                    # Display available modules
module load <name[/version]\>   # Load a module
module list                     # List loaded modules
module unload <name[/version]\> # Unload a module
module purge                    # Unload all loaded modules

Example 1: run FastQC on a single file

Create a folder to hold all files related to the task/project

Recommended folder structure

${HOME}/project
${HOME}/project/data
${HOME}/project/refs
${HOME}/project/logs
${HOME}/project/output
${HOME}/project/sge

Example 1: run FastQC on a single file

Create the job submission script in ${HOME}/project/sge

Recommend to create scripts for each step, e.g. FastQC, mapping, calling, etc.
Give a descriptive name to your scripts e.g. step01_fastqc.sh

Example 1: run FastQC on a single file

#!/bin/sh

# This script requires a single parameter when called – the portion of the
# file name preceding '.fastq.gz' or '.bam'. This is usually the <sample_name>.
# The output directory (OUTDIR) needs to exist.

# load the FastQC module, which gives you the fastqc program
module load FastQC

# set directory variable names
PRJDIR=“${HOME}/project”
DATADIR=“${PRJDIR}/data”
OUTDIR=“${PRJDIR}/output/FastQC”

# create a unique folder on the local compute drive
if [ -e /bin/mktemp ]; then
  TMPDIR=`/bin/mktemp -d -p /scratch/` || exit
elif [ -e /usr/bin/mktemp ]; then
  TMPDIR=`/usr/bin/mktemp -d –p /scratch/` || exit
else
  echo “Error. Cannot find mktemp to create tmp directory”
  exit
fi

# copy on the data
cp ${DATADIR}/$1.fastq.gz ${TMPDIR}

# run fastqc on the data
fastqc –o ${TMPDIR} --no-extract ${TMPDIR}/$1.fastq.gz

# remove the original fastq file
/bin/rm ${TMPDIR}/$1.fastq.gz

# copy your local data to your user directory
rsync –av ${TMPDIR}/ ${OUTDIR}/$1

# remove the temp directory
/bin/rm –rf ${TMPDIR}

# unload the FastQC module
module unload FastQC

Example 1: run FastQC on a single file

submit your job:

Change into the logs folder:

# change to the log folder
cd ${HOME}/project/logs
# submit the job
qsub –q b.q –cwd –j y ../sge/step01_fasqtc.sh <sample_name>

This command will run your job, generate logs in the current directory, and merge the .o and .e files into one.
You may include other SGE options in the above command line or in your script.
One useful option is to have SGE email you when the job completes:

qsub –q b.q –cwd –j y –M youremail@emory.edu ../sge/step01_fastqc.sh <sample_name>

SGE options may also be included in the job script instead of specifying them on the command line.

Example 2: run FastQC on multiple files

Assumption: you have many fastq files in your project/data folder.
Complete steps 1 and 2 as shown for Example 1.
Here's a shell loop command to submit all of your fastq files (notice relative path to the data folder)

# change to the log directory
cd ${HOME}/project/logs

# loop through your gzipped fastq files
for F in `find ../data –name \*.fastq.gz –print`; do
  S=$(basename $F | sed 's/\.fastq\.gz$//')
  qsub –q b.q –cwd –j y ../sge/step01_fastqc.sh $S
done

Note: qsub limit is 500 jobs. For larger numbers use array jobs.

SGE: Checking the status of jobs

Use qstat to check the status of your jobs

qstat

qstat by itself will only list your jobs
To list all currently running and scheduled jobs

qstat –u ‘\*’

SGE: To delete a job

Use qdel to delete a job
qdel takes the job-ID from qstat

Example:

# usage: qdel <job Id>
qdel 37788

Of course, you can only delete your jobs.

qdel 37788
vpatel - you do not have the necessary privileges to delete the job
"37788"

SGE: Requesting additional cores for your job

qsub –q b.q –pe smp 4 …

Notes:
- Requesting additional cores also provides additional memory
- 1 core = 8 GB, 2 cores = 16GB, 4 cores = 32GB, …
- Your program(s) must be able to take advantage of multiple cores or additional memory.
- You may have to specify this via the program’s command line options, e.g. specifying –p option for bowtie2. See the bowtie manual
- The smp parallel environment requires that the requested number of cores be free/available on a single node, otherwise you job will not run.
- Using more cores/memory may not result in a dramatic performance improvement. Think about possibly breaking your analysis into multiple jobs/steps and running those jobs/steps concurrently on multiple nodes.
- Multiple small jobs may be more efficient than a single large job. It also is more user-friendly.

SGE: Requesting additional time for your job

qsub –q b.q -l h_rt=hh:mm:ss ...

hh = hours, mm = minutes, ss = seconds
Notes:
- Default run time for batch jobs is 240 hours.
- This is sufficient for 99.9% of jobs on HGCC. If your job is taking more than 240 hours to run, it’s probably stuck and should be terminated.
- You can also request a shorter run time, e.g. for testing purposes

qsub –q b.q –l h_rt=1:00:00 ...

The above will run your job for one hour then automatically terminate it.

SGE: Using the interactive queue

Interactive jobs have a maximum run time of 24 hours.
Use qrsh to run a command

qrsh –q i.q ‘hostname’

To run an interactive program like R

qrsh –q i.q ‘module load R && R --no-save && module unload R’

Note: --no-save, or --save, or --vanilla are required to R run via the interactive queue

SGE: Interactive Queue with a Graphical User Interface (GUI)

OS X/Windows users will need to install X server software
OS X: install Xquartz
Windows: install Xming

Example setup:

ssh –X vpatel@hgcc.genetics.emory.edu  # use –X option when you ssh to HGCC
qlogin –q i.q                          # use qlogin to establish a session on a compute node
xterm                                  # launch the GUI program

SGE: Additional information

Quickstart
Array Jobs

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sgeOnHgcc.md

sgeOnHgcc.md

Using Sun Grid Engine on the Human Genetics Compute Cluster

Human Genetics Compute Cluster (HGCC)

Sun Grid Engine (SGE)

SGE Queues on HGCC

Strategies

Strategy: Use local scratch space

Strategy: Use SGE job scripts

Strategy: Use Modules

Example 1: run FastQC on a single file

Example 1: run FastQC on a single file

Example 1: run FastQC on a single file

Example 1: run FastQC on a single file

Example 2: run FastQC on multiple files

SGE: Checking the status of jobs

SGE: To delete a job

SGE: Requesting additional cores for your job

SGE: Requesting additional time for your job

SGE: Using the interactive queue

SGE: Interactive Queue with a Graphical User Interface (GUI)

SGE: Additional information

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sgeOnHgcc.md

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sgeOnHgcc.md

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Using Sun Grid Engine on the Human Genetics Compute Cluster

Human Genetics Compute Cluster (HGCC)

Sun Grid Engine (SGE)

SGE Queues on HGCC

Strategies

Strategy: Use local scratch space

Strategy: Use SGE job scripts

Strategy: Use Modules

Example 1: run FastQC on a single file

Example 1: run FastQC on a single file

Example 1: run FastQC on a single file

Example 1: run FastQC on a single file

Example 2: run FastQC on multiple files

SGE: Checking the status of jobs

SGE: To delete a job

SGE: Requesting additional cores for your job

SGE: Requesting additional time for your job

SGE: Using the interactive queue

SGE: Interactive Queue with a Graphical User Interface (GUI)

SGE: Additional information