Statistics and Computation Service

The ITCS Statistics and Computation Service (SCS) offers servers and workstations to regular students, faculty, and staff of the University of Michigan to run computationally intensive or long-running programs. These vary from using mathematical and statistical programs to compiling and running custom programs.

SCS on Linux

The SCS was migrated from Solaris to Linux in January 2006. For information about changes in hardware and software, please see our SCS on Linux page.

Connecting to the Server

If you have the University's Basic Computing Package, no addtional steps are required to use the SCS. Until the beginning of Fall term, 2003, you needed a subscription to use the ITCS Statistics and Computation Services (SCS). Beginning in the Fall, 2003, the SCS became part of the Basic Computing Package that is provided to all registered students, regular faculty, and regular staff.

You must use SSH (secure shell) to connect to the SCS instead of using telnet and you must use SFTP (secure ftp) to copy files to the server instead of ftp. For more information about SSH, and why we implemented this requirement, please see our SSH web page.

The Statistics and Computation Service (SCS) upgraded its server and changed its primary name in 2002. The server's host name is

scs.itd.umich.edu

though the old name, stat.itd.umich.edu will continue to work for some time.

SCS Software

Most of the programs that run on the Login Service machines are also available on the SCS server, along with a variety of mathematics and statistics software.

Long-Running Jobs and Local File Space

For information about local file access for long-running jobs, please read the Long-Running Jobs page.

Long Term Storage for Large Data Sets

If your analyses require a lot of long term file space, please send a request via e-mail to scs-admins@umich.edu and we will create space in IFS for your use. There will be no additional fees for this space, provided that it is used for research purposes.

Software Support

If you have questions about, or encounter errors in, the software or operating system on the SCS machines, please contact scs-admins@umich.edu. Likewise, requests for the installation of new software and suggestions on improving the SCS should be sent to scs-admins@umich.edu.

If you have any questions regarding how to use the statistics or computational software available on these machines, please contact the Center for Statistical Consultataion and Research (CSCAR).

    Email:  cscar@umich.edu
    Email:  online.stat@umich.edu
    Web:    http://www.umich.edu/~cscar/
    Phone:  (734) 764-STAT(7828)

The hours of operation for CSCAR are

9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday
CSCAR is closed 12:00 Noon - 1:00 p.m. every Tuesday for a staff meeting.

Comments, questions, or suggestions? Please e-mail them to ITCS Statistics and Computation Service scs-admins@umich.edu

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