Skip to content

Rocky 9.6 upgrade

The operating system on all ARCHIE nodes has been upgraded from AlmaLinux 8.10 to Rocky Linux 9.6, which is a community supported rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6.

Access and usage of the upgraded system will be exactly as before, except:

  1. many modules and software versions have been updated
    • job-scripts will have to be modified accordingly
  2. The anaconda modules have been retired, and replaced with Miniforge (see below)
    • user installed python modules and environments will have to be re-created
  3. A new 1024 core partition amd[01-08] containing 8x AMD 128 core nodes will be available to SL1 priority users

Anaconda/Miniforge

We are no longer using Anaconda to make python and associated environments available. This is due to recent changes in the Anaconda license.

Miniforge will now be used for this purpose (currently v25.3.0, python-3.12.10). This means

  • only a minimal set of packages will be installed centrally, including
    • JupyterLab (and dependencies)
    • numpy
    • PyTorch (and dependencies)
    • scipy
    • spyder
    • Tensorflow(-gpu) (and dependencies)

All other additional python packages should be installed by the user. It is recommended to create python environments for this purpose. To use miniforge, load the module as follows:

  module load miniforge/python-3.12.10/25.3.0

Please read the ARCHIE-WeSt Miniforge How-To.

User compiled code

Default compiler (gcc)

User compiled code will most likely need to be recompiled. The default gcc compiler on Rocky 9.6 is gcc-11.5.0. However, where possible, we have chosen to compile using a more recent version of gcc, namely gcc-14.2.1 which is available on Rocky 9.6 using the "toolset" feature.

To compile with gcc-14.2.1 you need to enable an environment where gcc-14.2.1 is set as the default compiler. This is done using the command

   scl enable gcc-toolset-14 bash

Any code compiled with gcc-14.2.1 in this way will execute as normal on any of the compute nodes.

Intel compiler (and mpi, mkl)

If the Intel compiler is required, we try to use Intel OneAPI 2025.1 in the first instance. Note, that 2025.1 has the newer clang based compilers (icx, icpx, ifx) only.

   module load compiler/2025.1.1
   module load mpi/2021.15
   module load mkl/2025.1

If the Intel classic compilers are required then the latest version we have is 2022.1. This provides icc, icpc & ifort (as well as icx, icpx & ifx):

   module load compiler/2022.1.0
   module load mpi/2021.6.0
   module load mkl/2022.1.0

NVidia compiler

The NVidia nvcc compiler is available via the nvidia/sdk modules e.g.

   module load nvidia/sdk/25.7

AMD compiler & AOCL libraries (NEW)

We now have the AMD aocc compiler installed (and the aocl high-performance numerical libraries) which may be advatageous if compiling for the new AMD EPYC-9555 (Turin) based nodes (amd[01-08]). The modules can be loaded as follows:

   module load amd/aoc/aocc-5.0.0        
   module load amd/aocl/aocc-5.0.0/aocl-5.1.0 (for using aocl with aocc)
   module load amd/aocl/gcc-14.2.1/aocl-5.1.0 (for using aocl with gcc)

See AMD Optimizing CPU Libraries (AOCL).

Fluent

If your job script contains a line like:

   srun hostname -s  | sort > hosts.$SLURM_JOB_ID

It needs to be modified to:

    srun --mpi=pmi2 hostname -s  | sort > hosts.$SLURM_JOB_ID

R/RStudio

User installed R modules will need to be reinstalled. This can be done as a user by supply the "LIB=" option to the install.packages() command. For R 4.5.1, this would be by convention $HOME/R/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-library/4.5.1.

Firstly, make sure the directory is created:

   mkdir -p ~R/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-library/4.5.1

Secondly, set your environment to use gcc-14.2.1 (see Default compiler above)

   scl enable gcc-toolset-14 bash

Then you can install a module (e.g. Rcpp) using the following:

   module load R/gcc-14.2.1/4.5.1 
   R
   R> install.packages("Rcpp",LIB="~R/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-library/4.5.1")

Starccm+

If your job script contains a line like:

   srun hostname -s  | sort > hosts.$SLURM_JOB_ID

It needs to be modified to:

    srun --mpi=pmi2 hostname -s  | sort > hosts.$SLURM_JOB_ID

Updated modules

Module files for commercial software remain the same, however, most modules for opensource software have been updated. Below is a table showing the old modules on the left, and what they should be replaced with on the right.

You should update your jobs script to use the recommended module(s) in the second column.

If the module you use is not listed, then please complete the online form.

   Retired module                             Recommended module                  
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   abaqus                                     no change

   amber/intel-2022.1/22.0.lua                no change

   anaconda/python-3.10.9/2023.03             miniforge/python-3.12.10/25.3.0              
   anaconda/python-3.8.3/2020.07              miniforge/python-3.12.10/25.3.0              
   anaconda/python-3.8.8/2021.04              miniforge/python-3.12.10/25.3.0              
   anaconda/python-3.8.8/2021.05              miniforge/python-3.12.10/25.3.0              
   anaconda/python-3.9.7/2021.11              miniforge/python-3.12.10/25.3.0

   ansys                                      no change

   apptainer/1.3.3                            no change

   avogadro/gcc-8.5.0/1.96.0

   boost/gcc-8.5.0/1.71.0                     boost/gcc-14.2.1/1.89                    
   boost/gcc-8.5.0/1.88.0                     boost/gcc-14.2.1/1.89                    
   boost/intel-2018.2/1.67.0                  boost/gcc-14.2.1/1.89                    
   boost/intel-2020.4/1.71.0                  boost/gcc-14.2.1/1.89

   calculix/intel-2019.3/2.17                 contact support                              
   calculix/intel-2020.4/2.21                 contact support

   cfmesh/1.1.1                               contact support

   chimera/1.13.1                             no change

   comsol/6.1                                 no change

   cp2k/intel-2020.4/8.2.0_psmp               cp2k/intel-2025.1/2025.2

   crest/intel-2020.4/2.12                    contact support
   crest/intel-2020.4/3.0.2                   contact support

   dnmtools/gcc-12.2.0/1.4.3                  dnmtools/gcc-14.2.1/1.5.1

   dorado/0.5.2                               dorado/1.1.1                         
   dorado/1.1.1                               no change

   epoch                                      epoch/gcc-14.2.1/4.19.7

   fftw/gcc-8.5.0/3.3.10                      fftw/gcc-14.2.1/3.3.10                   
   fftw/intel-2020.4/3.3.10                   fftw/gcc-14.2.1/3.3.10

   freesurfer/7.4.1                           freesurfer/8.0.0                     
   freesurfer/8.0.0                           no change

   gaussian/g09_D.01                          no change                        
   gaussian/g16                               no change

   gnuplot/5.4.0                              supplied by OS

   gromacs/gcc-9.5.0/2024.0                   gromacs/gcc-14.2.1/2025.3               
   gromacs/intel-2020.4/2020.3-single         gromacs/gcc-14.2.1/2025.3               
   gromacs/intel-2020.4/2020.6-double-plumed  gromacs/gcc-14.2.1/2025.3               
   gromacs/intel-2020.4/2020.7-single         gromacs/gcc-14.2.1/2025.3               
   gromacs/intel-2022.2/2022.1-single         gromacs/gcc-14.2.1/2025.3

   hdf5/gcc-8.5.0/1.12.1                      hdf5/gcc-14.2.1/1.14.6

   iboview/gcc-8.5.0/20211019                 iboview/gcc-14.2.1/20211019

   intel/intel-2018.2                         compiler/2022.1.0                    
   intel/intel-2019.3                         compiler/2022.1.0                        
   intel/intel-2020.4                         compiler/2022.1.0                        
   (for mpi & mkl, see "Intel Compiler" above)

   java/jdk1.8.0_172                          no change                        
   java/openjdk-11.0.2                        no change

   julia/1.8.5                                julia/gcc-14.2.1/1.11.6

   lammps/intel-2020.4/02Aug2023              lammps/gcc-14.2.1/22Jul2025                  
   lammps/intel-2020.4/23Jun2022              lammps/gcc-14.2.1/22Jul2025                  
   lammps/intel-2020.4/29Sep2021              lammps/gcc-14.2.1/22Jul2025                  
   lammps/intel-2022.2/29Aug2024              lammps/gcc-14.2.1/22Jul2025

   lapack/gcc-8.5.0/3.8.0                     lapack/gcc-14.2.1/3.12.1

   maestro/2020-04                            no change

   matlab                                     no change

   mbdyn/gcc-8.5.0/1.7.3                      mbdyn/gcc-11.5.0/20251008

   miniconda/3.11.4                           miniforge/python-3.12.10/25.3.0                 
   miniconda/3.12.8                           miniforge/python-3.12.10/25.3.0                  
   miniforge/python-3.12.10/25.3.0            miniforge/python-3.12.10/25.3.0

   molden/intel-2018.2/5.7                    molden/intel-2022.2/7.3

   namd/3.0_cuda                              namd/3.0.2                               
   namd/3.0b5_cuda                            namd/3.0.2                            
   namd/3.0b7_cuda                            namd/3.0.2                             
   namd/intel-2020.4/2.15_mpi                 namd/3.0.2                           
   namd/intel-2020.4/2.15_multicore           namd/3.0.2                           
   namd/intel-2020.4/2022-03-30               namd/3.0.2

   nbo/7.0                                    no change

   netcdf-fortran/gcc-8.5.0/4.6.1             netcdf-fortran/gcc-14.2.1/4.6.2              
   netcdf-fortran/intel-2018.2/4.4.4          netcdf-fortran/gcc-14.2.1/4.6.2              
   netcdf-fortran/intel-2020.4/4.5.4          netcdf-fortran/gcc-14.2.1/4.6.2

   netcdf/gcc-8.5.0/4.6.1                     netcdf/gcc-14.2.1/4.9.3                   
   netcdf/gcc-8.5.0/4.9.0                     netcdf/gcc-14.2.1/4.9.3                 
   netcdf/intel-2020.4/4.9.0                  netcdf/gcc-14.2.1/4.9.3

   nvidia/cudnn/8.9.4                         no change                         
   nvidia/cudnn/cuda12/9.13.0                 no change

   nvidia/sdk                                 no change

   nwchem/intel-2022.1/7.2.3                  contact support

   ollama/0.5.4                               ollama/0.9.6                         
   ollama/0.9.5                               ollama/0.9.6                         
   ollama/0.9.6                               no change

   openbabel/gcc-8.5.0/2.4.1                  openbabel/gcc-14.2.1/3.3.1

   openblas/gcc-8.5.0/0.3.21                  openblas/gcc-14.2.1/0.3.30

   openfoam/gcc-8.5.0/v7                      openfoam/intel-2022.2/v9 or openfoam/gcc-14.2.1/v13     
   openfoam/gcc-8.5.0/v9                      openfoam/intel-2022.2/v9 or openfoam/gcc-14.2.1/v13       
   openfoam/gcc-8.5.0/v1906                   openfoam/gcc-14.2.1/v2506             
   openfoam/gcc-8.5.0/v2012                   openfoam/gcc-14.2.1/v2506               
   openfoam/intel-2020.4/v8                   openfoam/intel-2022.2/v9 or openfoam/gcc-14.2.1/v13         
   openfoam/intel-2022.2/v10                  openfoam/gcc-14.2.1/v13               
   openfoam/intel-2022.2/v12                  openfoam/gcc-14.2.1/v13               
   openfoam/intel-2022.2/v2206                openfoam/gcc-14.2.1/v2506                 
   openfoam/intel-2022.2/v2412                openfoam/gcc-14.2.1/v2506

   openmpi/gcc-6.5.0/4.1.1                    openmpi/gcc-14.2.1/4.1.8                 
   openmpi/gcc-8.5.0/4.1.1                    openmpi/gcc-14.2.1/4.1.8                
   openmpi/gcc-8.5.0/4.1.6                    openmpi/gcc-14.2.1/4.1.8                 
   openmpi/intel-2020.4/1.4.5                 openmpi/gcc-14.2.1/4.1.8

   openmpi/gcc-8.5.0/cuda-12.4/4.1.1          contact support

   orca/5.0.4                                 orca/6.1.0                           
   orca/6.0.0                                 orca/6.1.0                           
   orca/6.0.1                                 orca/6.1.0                           
   orca/6.1.0                                 no change

   ovito/3.7.0                                ovito/3.14.1                         
   ovito/3.13.1                               ovito/3.14.1

   paraview/5.10.0                            paraview/6.0.0                       
   paraview/6.0.0                             no change

   petsc/gcc-8.5.0/3.16.3                     contact support                                  
   petsc/intel-2020.4/3.19.4                  contact support

   precice/intel-2020.4/2.5.0                 contact support 
   precice/intel-2022.2/3.2.0                 contact support

   R/gcc-8.5.0/4.1.2                          R/gcc-14.2.1/4.5.1    
   R/gcc-8.5.0/4.3.1                          R/gcc-14.2.1/4.5.1    
   R/gcc-8.5.0/4.4.1                          R/gcc-14.2.1/4.5.1    
   R/intel-2020.4/3.6.1

   RStudio/2023.06.1                          R/RStudio-2025.05.1

   rosetta/gcc-8.5.0/3.15                     rosetta/gcc-14.2.1/3.15

   rust/1.85.1                                no change

   star-ccm/16.04.007-r8                      starccm/16.04.007-r8 (or latest)
   star-ccm/16.06.010-r8                      starccm/16.06.010-r8 (or latest) 
   star-ccm/17.02.007-r8                      starccm/17.02.007-r8 (or latest) 
   star-ccm/17.06.007-r8                      starccm/17.06.007-r8 (or latest) 
   star-ccm/18.02.008-r8                      starccm/18.02.008-r8 (or latest) 
   star-ccm/18.06.006-r8                      starccm/18.06.006-r8 (or latest) 
   star-ccm/19.04.009-r8                      starccm/19.04.009-r8 (or latest) 
   star-ccm/20.02.008-r8                      starccm/20.02.008-r8

   vasp/intel-2020.4/6.4.2                    vasp/intel-2022.2/6.4.2

   vaspkit/1.5.1                              no change

   vesta/3.5.7 (gtk2)                         no change                        
   vesta/3.5.8 (gtk3)                         no change

   visit/3.2.2                                visit/3.4.2                          
   visit/3.4.2                                no change

   vmd/1.9.4                                  no change

   vscode/1.83.1                              vscode/1.103.2                       
   vscode/1.88.1                              vscode/1.103.2                       
   vscode/1.97.2                              vscode/1.103.2

   xtb/intel-2020.4/6.4.1                     xtb/6.7.1                        
   xtb/6.7.1                                  no change