M Janczyk: M Janczyk moved page Workspaces/Advanced Features/ws allocate to NEMO2/Workspaces/Advanced Features/ws allocate

2026-03-02T19:39:30Z

M Janczyk moved page Workspaces/Advanced Features/ws allocate to NEMO2/Workspaces/Advanced Features/ws allocate

← Older revision	Revision as of 21:39, 2 March 2026
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M Janczyk at 14:54, 2 December 2025

2025-12-02T14:54:21Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:54, 2 December 2025
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	= ws_allocate - Create and Extend Workspaces =		= ws_allocate - Create and Extend Workspaces =

			Create new workspaces or extend existing ones. This is your primary command for managing workspace lifetime.
	{\| class="wikitable"
	\|-
	!style="width:40%" \| Works on cluster
	!style="width:10%" \| bwUC 3.0
	!style="width:10%" \| BinAC2
	!style="width:10%" \| Helix
	!style="width:10%" \| JUSTUS 2
	!style="width:10%" \| NEMO2
	\|-
	\|<tt>ws_allocate -x -u</tt> (extend other user's workspace)
	\| style="text-align:center;" \|
	\| style="text-align:center;" \|
	\| style="text-align:center;" \|
	\| style="text-align:center;" \|
	\|style="background-color:#90EE90; text-align:center;" \| ✓
	\|}

	== Basic Usage ==		== Basic Usage ==

M Janczyk at 14:38, 2 December 2025

2025-12-02T14:38:44Z

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M Janczyk: Created page with "= ws_allocate - Create and Extend Workspaces = {| class="wikitable" |- !style="width:40%" | Works on cluster !style="width:10%" | bwUC 3.0 !style="width:10%" | BinAC2 !style="width:10%" | Helix !style="width:10%" | JUSTUS 2 !style="width:10%" | NEMO2 |- |`ws_allocate -x -u` (extend other user's workspace) | style="text-align:center;" | | style="text-align:center;" | | style="text-align:center;" | | style="text-align:center;" | |style="background-color:#90EE9..."

2025-12-02T13:12:54Z

Created page with "= ws_allocate - Create and Extend Workspaces = {| class="wikitable" |- !style="width:40%" | Works on cluster !style="width:10%" | bwUC 3.0 !style="width:10%" | BinAC2 !style="width:10%" | Helix !style="width:10%" | JUSTUS 2 !style="width:10%" | NEMO2 |- |<tt>ws_allocate -x -u</tt> (extend other user's workspace) | style="text-align:center;" | | style="text-align:center;" | | style="text-align:center;" | | style="text-align:center;" | |style="background-color:#90EE9..."

New page

= ws_allocate - Create and Extend Workspaces =

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:40%" | Works on cluster
!style="width:10%" | bwUC 3.0
!style="width:10%" | BinAC2
!style="width:10%" | Helix
!style="width:10%" | JUSTUS 2
!style="width:10%" | NEMO2
|-
|<tt>ws_allocate -x -u</tt> (extend other user's workspace)
| style="text-align:center;" |
| style="text-align:center;" |
| style="text-align:center;" |
| style="text-align:center;" |
|style="background-color:#90EE90; text-align:center;" | ✓
|}

== Basic Usage ==

Execution of:

$ ws_allocate myWs 30

e.g. returns:

Workspace created. Duration is 720 hours.
Further extensions available: 3
/work/workspace/scratch/username-myWs-0

The command returns the path to the new directory, which can be captured in a variable:

$ SCRDIR=$(ws_allocate myWs 10)

'''Important:''' Creating a workspace a second time with the same command is a no-operation - it always returns the same path. This makes it safe and encouraged to use such a line in batch jobs which are part of a series of jobs working on the same data, no matter if the job was running before or not.

== All Options and When to Use Them ==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:20%" | Option
!style="width:40%" | Description
!style="width:40%" | When to Use
|-
|<tt>-F <filesystem></tt>
|Specify the filesystem where the workspace should be created
|'''Optional''' - Most clusters have only one default filesystem. Use only when you need specific storage characteristics (speed, capacity) or to balance load across multiple filesystems. List available locations with <tt>ws_list -l</tt> or <tt>ws_find -l</tt>. See [[Workspaces/Advanced_Features/Filesystems|Filesystems guide]].
|-
|<tt>-g</tt>
|Create a group-readable workspace
|'''Recommended''' when working in a team and others need to read your data. The workspace will be visible to group members with <tt>ws_list -g</tt>
|-
|<tt>-G <groupname></tt>
|Create a group-writable workspace with sticky bit
|'''Recommended''' for collaborative work where team members need to write data. Ensures all created files belong to the group. Can be set as default in <tt>~/.ws_user.conf</tt>
|-
|<tt>-m <mailaddress></tt>
|Set email address for reminders
|'''Optional''' - Email addresses come from your identity provider. Only use this option to override with a different address. Can be set as default in <tt>~/.ws_user.conf</tt>
|-
|<tt>-r <days></tt>
|Set reminder to be sent n days before expiration
|'''Optional''' - Email reminders are sent automatically. Use this only to customize when the reminder starts (e.g., 3, 5, or 7 days before). Can be set as default in <tt>~/.ws_user.conf</tt>
|-
|<tt>-x</tt>
|Extend an existing workspace
|Use when you need more time. Each extension consumes one of the available extensions
|-
|<tt>-u <username></tt>
|Used with <tt>-x</tt> to extend another user's workspace
|Use when a group member is absent and their shared workspace needs extension. Requires group write access <tt>-G</tt>
|-
|<tt>-c <comment></tt>
|Add a comment to the workspace
|Use to document the purpose of the workspace for yourself and collaborators
|-
|<tt>-d <duration></tt>
|Duration in days (alternative to positional argument)
|Use if you prefer explicit option syntax: <tt>ws_allocate -n myWs -d 30</tt>
|-
|<tt>-n <name></tt>
|Workspace name (alternative to positional argument)
|Use if you prefer explicit option syntax: <tt>ws_allocate -n myWs -d 30</tt>
|}

== Duration Settings ==

If you do not specify a lifetime, a default lifetime will be used (see the [[Workspaces/Advanced_Features/Quotas|Cluster-Specific Workspace Limits]]). The maximum lifetime may be limited by the operations team. If you specify a longer lifetime, it will be capped to the maximum, and you will see a message that it was changed.

For more information read the program's help: <tt>$ ws_allocate -h</tt> or <tt>man ws_allocate</tt>

== Using Workspaces in Batch Jobs ==

'''Recommended approach:''' Create your workspace manually before submitting jobs, then reference it in your job scripts using <tt>ws_find</tt>.

'''(1) Create workspace once (on login node):'''

$ ws_allocate myProject 60

'''(2) Use in job scripts with ws_find:'''

<pre>
#!/bin/bash
#SBATCH --job-name=my_job
#SBATCH --time=24:00:00

# Find existing workspace
WORKSPACE=$(ws_find myProject)

# Change to workspace
cd $WORKSPACE

# Your computation here
./my_program --input input.dat --output results.dat
</pre>

'''Warning:''' Avoid using <tt>ws_allocate</tt> directly in job scripts that run frequently. While <tt>ws_allocate</tt> is safe to call multiple times on the same workspace name (it returns the existing workspace), you should not create too many workspaces unnecessarily. Create workspaces manually when needed, then use <tt>ws_find</tt> in your job scripts to locate them.

See also: [[Workspaces/Advanced_Features/ws_find|ws_find]] for finding workspace paths in scripts.

NEMO2/Workspaces/Advanced Features/ws allocate - Revision history

M Janczyk: M Janczyk moved page Workspaces/Advanced Features/ws allocate to NEMO2/Workspaces/Advanced Features/ws allocate

M Janczyk at 14:54, 2 December 2025

M Janczyk at 14:38, 2 December 2025