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Get a computer account

How to request user accounts on our systems:

OxCIN@BMRC

How to register for accounts and request storage space

OxCIN members are entitled to utilise the BioMedical Research Computing (BMRC) team based at the Big Data Institute and Human Genetics buildings.

The BMRC facilities include a multi-thousand core general compute cluster, GPU facilities (both consumer grade and enterprise class) and high-performance multi-petabyte storage platform.

Any project that will be processing sensitive (e.g. identifiable to a living individual) datasets will need to complete a privacy assessment. If your research does not involve human subjects or uses a acceptably anonymised dataset, e.g. the UK BioBank dataset, then you can request an account and begin using the facilities.

Anyone wishing to work the the UK BioBank Imaging dataset will require a BMRC account.

CHARGES​

Accounts at the BMRC do not currently attract direct charges, with access to the BMRC cluster and OxCIN GPU facilities being funded by the OxCIN until end-July 2025, after which time groups will need to negotiate/pay access charges directly to BMRC. From October 2025 we expect BMRC to begin charging research groups an access fee (sub-£1K pa) in addition to their compute and storage charges and to introduce a GPU specific equivalent of the CPU charge.

Cluster compute charges will apply to groups starting in August 2025. This is on the basis of 'shares' with 1 share being roughly equivalent to using 1CPU 24x7 for a calendar year. This currently attracts a fee around £260 per year. From October 2025 we understand that access to GPU hardware will be separated from the CPU shares, consequently a charge will apply if your research requires access to GPU accelerated hardware (e.g deep learning, ProbtrackX, Eddy, BedpostX etc). Please contact BMRC help for advice on the charges that will apply.

For small groups we expect that a single CPU and GPU share will be adequate unless you have a specific high-compute requirement. We expect that this will cost around £2000 per year (exclusive of storage charges). Larger groups are likely to need more shares, especially if you experience long wait times for jobs.

Working disk space should be rented directly with the BMRC team, at the time of writing this was attracting a charge of £70 per TB per year. Invoices are generated quarterly.

Information governance considerations will require that your request project specific storage folders to allow clean separation of charges and user access control.

​REQUESTIN​​G AN ACCOUNT

To request an account you first need your Principal Investigator (PI) to have registered with the BMRC facility.

If you are the PI then please send an email to the BMRC support address email requesting the creation of a PI group, an account for yourself (if required), that you are a OxCIN researcher and specifying how much storage you would like to rent in the first instance - complete the template email and send on. You should Cc in oxcin-it-managers@ndcn.ox.ac.uk so that we can confirm your affiliation to the BMRC team.

If you are a researcher then please send an email to the BMRC support address email to the BMRC support address - complete the template email, add your supervisor to the list of Cc's and send on.

OxCIN@OHBA

ONBOARDING

​​​​To obtain OHBA workstation access you need the following obtained in sequence:​ * ​An active Oxford Uni SSO. This requires an Oxford University card​. * An active MSD-IT network user account. Request from MSD-IT site using this page. * For remote off-site ssh OHBA workstation access your MSD-IT network account needs to affiliated to a trusted unit (Psychiatry, Psychology, NDCN, etc). Contact computing-help@oxcin.ox.ac.uk​ if you have a different affiliation. To this request​​ use the following steps:​​​​
* Download and complete OHBA's custom UAR form.​ ​In the 'Access Rights Required' select 'wingrp' and your required PI groups to gain access to PI stores on the OHBA servers. 'meggrp' is reserved for users who need to log on to the MEG console. 'megrp' group is not needed for MEG data access via one of the workstations.​ * Send filled-in form to OHBA Research Manager or OHBA PI for signing and authorisation. * Send the OHBA Research Manager/OHBA PI signed form to computing-help@oxcin.ox.ac.uk. * OxCIN IT should then respond to you to confirm your access is enabled. You should now be able to login to the OHBA workstations. Use the 'id' command in a bash terminal to confirm your group membership includes your chosen access groups. * It should now be possible to access the OHBA workstation remotely using ssh via the MSD-IT VPN​. * More information on what is available from the OHBA workstations is available in OxCIN's computing user guides​

DEPARTING

Please move any data that needs to be permanently ​retained or shared with colleagues to the OHBA server. If data needs to retain in your OHBA workstation home directory please tell your PI and your the OHBA Research Manager where it is and which workstations it is on before departure​.

OxCIN Computer Account

How to obtain and manage a OxCIN computer account:

OXCIN SELF-SERVICE REGISTRATION SYSTEM

We operate a self-service registration system at https://register.fmrib.ox.ac.uk which is accessed using your University Single Sign-On (SSO) credentials. Through our registration site you can: * Manage your personal profile and join your PI's group * Book and review Magnet Safety Training * View your building access status for FMRIB * Manage your membership of some important WIN Centre mailing lists * Request a computing account. If you or your collaborator do not have a University Single Sign-On account then please contact admin@oxcin.ox.ac.uk to discuss the most appropriate research agreement to obtain one.

PREREQUISITES

Before you can apply for an account you must first have a University SSO account. We can only allow users who have some form of research agreement with Oxford University to use our computing equipment, your SSO credentials are therefore considered the minimum required authorisation.

If you do not have a University SSO account then you won't be able to log onto our registration site and should contact admin@oxcin.ox.ac.uk to discuss the most appropriate research agreement to obtain one.

REQUESTING AN ACCOUNT

An OxCIN computing account will give you a username and password with which you can access various services - for details of which account types are needed for which services see our Account Types page. These accounts may attract a charge, for details on charging see our charging policy page.

Please visit https://register.fmrib.ox.ac.uk and log in using your SSO credentials.

Follow the instructions by selecting a PI from the list of available PIs. This will send an email to the PI asking them to accept you into their group.

Next click on the "Request a computer account" and select an Account type from the drop-down list (see Account Types).

Having selected an account type you can click "Update" and your application will got to your PI for approval.

Once your PI has approved your application to join their group and your OxCIN computing account request, your account will be automatically created and you will get an email inviting you to set the password.

SUSPENDING OR CLOSING AN ACCOUNT

If an account is no longer needed for day-to-day use, it may be possible to suspend it instead of closing it immediately.

  • Suspending an account keeps the account on record but stops charges for subsequent months.
  • Closing an account is appropriate when the account is no longer required and any data should be archived as part of account closure.

Use the following as a guide:

flowchart TD
  A["Account no longer needed for active use"] --> B{"Will the user need access again?"}
  B -->|Yes or maybe| C["Suspend the account"]
  C --> D["Access is disabled"]
  D --> E["Charges stop for subsequent months"]
  B -->|No| F["Close the account"]
  F --> G["Archive account data as required"]
  G --> H["Account is closed"]

In general, suspend an account if the pause may be temporary. Close and archive the account when the account is being retired permanently.

If you are unsure which option is appropriate, contact OxCIN IT before making the request.

TROUBLESHOOTING

If you don't get a timely response then it is most likely your PI hasn't completed the process. Contact them and ask them to check that the "PI approved" check boxes for both your OxCIN Profile and your OxCIN computing account application have been confirmed. They should have ticked two check boxes. Please point your PI to the local Instructions to PIs page for guidance if required.