Allocations Process (ERCAP)

Allocations of NERSC computer time and archival storage are awarded by DOE to research groups whose work reflects the mission of DOE's Office of Science. The allocations process is administered by NERSC, but award decisions (except for startup requests) are made by DOE. The research groups are awarded project accounts, known as repositories, from which they draw resources throughout the allocation year.

Requests to use NERSC resources are submitted annually via a web form known as the ERCAP (Energy Research Computing Allocations Process) Request Form. ERCAP is accessed through the NERSC Information Management (NIM) web interface and is available year-round.

Please note that starting in Allocation Year 2009, the MPP hour and Machine Charge Factors will be based on the Cray XT4 hour. See MPP Charging.

Startup awards are available for new projects that wish to investigate using NERSC resources, or who wish to port or develop new codes. The maximum Startup award in 2008 is 50,000 IBM POWER3 equivalent hours (these units are called MPP hours) and 10,000 Storage Resource Units. In 2009 the maximum MPP startup award will be 15,000 Cray XT4 hours.

A request for a Startup repository can be made at any time during the year, and decisions for Startup requests are made by NERSC within one to three weeks after applying. Startup requests require only brief answers to the Code Description questions on the ERCAP request form. See Applying for Your First NERSC Allocation.