We consider the research community and educational community to encompass all people working on (or aspiring to) and around advanced cyber infrastructure and associated support systems.
To get started, you need an ACCESS project and some resource units you can spend. These projects and resource units are what we refer to as “allocations.” Through ACCESS, researchers and instructors can get an allocation to use advanced computing, visualization, and data resources to accomplish their research or classroom objectives. These resources include large-scale computing systems, storage resources, and experimental and specialized resources, in addition to support services.
Other critical members of allocations that you might align with, or could be of interest:
If you have a research or classroom objective that might benefit from access to high-end computing and storage systems – including specialized resources for machine learning, data science, science gateways, and software development – you're in the right place.
These resources are available to the U.S.-based research and educational community courtesy of the National Science Foundation.
A good first step in this process is to confirm you are eligible to apply . (If you're based in the U.S., you're probably eligible.) Then, explore the following information to discover which resources and opportunities might best meet your needs.
To see what resources are available, look at the Available Resources interface. While you don't need to choose a specific resource to get started, you'll find information that can help you identify which resources might be the most appropriate for you. As part of requesting an allocation, you can ask for guidance about resources, and the ACCESS Support team provides options to help point you toward the best resources for your needs.
In order to submit requests to use resources, get up-to-date information about your existing projects, and more, you need to have an account via the ACCESS portal.
If you have an existing XSEDE portal account, your XSEDE account is now your ACCESS account. You should log in with your existing XSEDE credentials on the new portal. Please do not create a new account if you're a legacy XSEDE researcher. If you have never had an XSEDE portal account, please register for an account on the new ACCESS portal at your convenience.
To get started, you need an ACCESS project and some resource units you can spend. These projects and resource units are what we refer to as “allocations.” Most ACCESS projects are given an allocation of ACCESS Credits, which you can exchange for allocations on specific resources once you're ready.
Whether you have a small, medium, or large-scale need for resources – or even if you're not sure and just want to see what ACCESS has to offer – there's an option for you. To learn which of these is most relevant to your needs, start by reviewing the description of the types of allocations available to you on this page.
Once you've got a project and some ACCESS Credits to spend, you need to exchange those credits for allocations on a specific resource or resources. This is a relatively straightforward step—decide which resource you want to use and submit an exchange request.
For more details about how the marketplace works and for help choosing resources, see the Marketplace page.
There are several ways to get help with ACCESS.
Explore these four levels of support, ranging from consulting services for the most complex projects to small, short-term projects, a curated knowledge base, and specialized, easy-to-use tools.
Check with your Campus Champion. More than 300 member institutions have local champions, so there's a good chance there's one near you or on your local campus. Campus Champions are a great source of information to assist with your research aspirations.
Submit a help request. Be sure to indicate which area of the program your request is relevant to and a representative will be in contact.
