Updated 2021-05-17

Run NCL on the Cluster

Overview

  • Running NCL on the cluster follows the same general steps as any interactive job. The steps are:
    • Set up VNC session
    • Load NCL's dependent module then load NCL
    • Run NCL
  • This guide will run through loading ncl/6.3.0 and will include a walkthrough with an example NCL script
  • The example script is from the NCL getting started documentation. The linked page explains the .ncl script line by line.
  • NCL script used in this walkthrough: gsun01n.ncl
  • Transfer the above script over to your account on the cluster by either manually copying it over, or by using a file transfer service like scp or globus. Check out the file transfer guide if you need assistance transferring the file to the cluster.

Set up VNC Session

  • Please see the VNC guide for instructions on how to set up the Interactive VNC session

Load NCL

  • Open a terminal in the vnc window by clicking top left Applications > System Tools > scroll down to terminal
  • All commands here on will be typed in terminal in VNC
  • NCL depends on gcc to run. Therefore you must load the correct gcc module before loading ncl
  • For ncl/6.3.0 load the correct modules with the following commands:
module load gcc/4.7.2
module load ncl/6.3.0

Run NCL with the Example Script

  • The example script will produce a simple xy plot
  • Run with ncl gsun01n.ncl
  • A window displaying the plot should pop up:

Screenshot