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User-guide overview

Documentation updated: 15 September 2026.

This page takes a new user from requesting access to submitting a first job. The cluster is a shared service: use the login node for lightweight interactive work and run compute workloads through Slurm.

Requesting access

A KBFI department head or supervisor should email grid@kbfi.ee with:

  • the department head's or supervisor's name;
  • the KBFI department or research group;
  • the user's first and last name;
  • the user's email address;
  • the desired login name, if there is a preference; and
  • whether the account is temporary, for example for a bachelor's or master's student.

External researchers should describe the collaboration or project and its expected compute, GPU and storage requirements. See Prices for the published external-use rates.

First login

After receiving an account, connect from a terminal:

ssh YOUR_USERNAME@manivald.hep.kbfi.ee

The host manivald.hep.kbfi.ee is the shared login node. Use it to edit files, prepare software, submit jobs and inspect results. Do not run heavy CPU, GPU or I/O workloads directly on it.

Before submitting a job

  1. Put code and configuration in /home.
  2. Choose an appropriate storage location for input, output and temporary data.
  3. Prepare the workload using the provided software or an Apptainer environment.
  4. Test with a small input.
  5. Review the job-submission checklist.
  6. Submit the workload using Slurm.

Useful first commands are:

sinfo             # available nodes and partitions
squeue -u "$USER" # your queued and running jobs
show_storage      # your space and file-count usage

Before planning substantial workloads

Review the cluster's access model and service conditions before planning long-running or time-sensitive work. Current queue limits are listed in the Slurm guide.

Announcements and help

  • Follow #cluster-helpdesk in KBFI Slack for announcements and user questions.
  • See Contact details for account and infrastructure help.