Notebook platform environments on 2023a

We are happy to announce the immediate release of updated Jupyter environments on our notebook platform with the 2023a software toolchains.

The new 2023a versions of our Jupyter environments bring ~600 additional software modules to the notebook platform. These are the same modules already available on the HPC and that you might already be using in your batch jobs. Moreover, we have improved the software module panel on JupyterLab with better visual feedback.

We have updated to 2023a all environments already available in previous years to not leave anybody behind. All 2023a environments use the very recent JupyterLab 4.2, which comes with many new features compared to v3.5 found in 2022a.

Highlights of new JupyterLab features:

• New text editor

• Notifications

• Virtual scroller

• Plugin manager

• Execution history

• Diagrams in markdown

• Improved shortcuts editor

• Recently opened/closed files

• Workspace UI

Another new feature in JupyterLab 4.2 is Real Time Collaboration. This feature is disabled by default on the notebook platform as it cannot be configured by users without the intervention of an administrator. If you need to use the collaborative tools of JupyterLab, please contact VUB-HPC Support and we will prepare the collaboration environment for you.

These update also comes with two additional improvements for all environments, both in 2023a and the older 2022a:

• The nodes of the new zen4 partition are now available on the notebook platform. You will find them in the Advanced tab of the resource manager.

• The launch time of the notebook sessions has been reduced. JupyterLab now loads on average in 20 seconds.

If you have any comments or questions about this update, please contact us at VUB-HPC Support.