NSF’s ACCESS Cyberinfrastructure Program
ACCESS is an advanced computing and data resource supported by the National Science Foundation and made possible through these lead institutions and their partners - Carnegie Mellon University; University of Colorado Boulder; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and State University of New York at Buffalo.
Research IT provides assistance with all steps involved in requesting and using ACCESS allocations. If you are a researcher who is interested in using this resource, reach out to ResearchIT@ucf.edu. We onboard researchers onto the Research IT ACCESS project for benchmarking and debugging, and can provide direct assistance with applying for and managing an ACCESS project.
Steps for Requesting Allocation through NSF’s ACCESS Program
Step 1: Log in to the ACCESS allocations system
To log into the system, you can use either your XSEDE account or register for a new ACCESS ID account.
Proceed to log in screen and authenticate with CILogOn. Under the Select Identity Provider, choose ACCESS CI (XSEDE). Then enter your XSEDE credentials. It will prompt you to add the Duo MFA.
Step 2: Choose allocation level and submit
Navigate to the following URL https://allocations.access-ci.org in your browser.
Select your tier/level. There are four tiers or levels of requesting allocation through this program depending on your need. Allocations are awarded in the form of ACCESS Credits for the first three levels.
- Explore ACCESS Request (suited for small projects to test or run benchmarks, classroom activities, etc.)
- Discover ACCESS Request (requires 1-page proposal; great for modest scale research activities)
- Accelerate ACCESS Request (up to 3-page proposal that includes your resource usage plan)
- Maximize ACCESS Request (up to 10-page proposal)
Please visit the Prepare Requests page for information on the difference between the four tiers/levels and how to prepare a request for each.
After you have logged in, submit your application request under the specific tier here: https://allocations.access-ci.org/opportunities
Step 3: Receive credits and exchange them for specific resources
If your request is accepted, you will receive ACCESS Credits. Using My Allocation Requests page, you can exchange credits for specific resources on any of the super computing and storage systems available under the ACCESS program (ACCESS Exchange Calculator).
If you have any questions, please contact ResearchIT@ucf.edu.