Ever since we set up the HPC cluster in 2015, our cluster has been using the Environment Modules system in managing all the applications and modules in the system. The platform was running fine since the first day of implementation with some occasional hiccups due to misconfiguration, but it falls short with some limitations.
Thus, we are now planning to migrate the system from Environment Modules to Lmod, which is a more modernised and enhanced version of Environment Modules. Lmod will allow most of the previously established modules to be used as it is now, and also allow additional data and statistics to be collected for our internal usage.
With Lmod deployed, we will be able to collect usage information on the modules. The system will automatically collect all usage statistics whenever users run some stuff with module command. This allows us to determine which version of modules are no longer needed to be maintained and can be removed. We believe Lmod should be able to allow us to do some more fancy stuff when loading any modules, like setting up proper storage pointers and environment variables, which was a limitation in the previous Environment Modules system.
The Lmod implementation is currently being tested in the cluster, but users should not see any differences in loading modules when running their jobs. If you encounter any weird stuff when using the module load command, please feel free to let us know through the service desk.
Thank you and have a nice day.