Once you have logged in to the Fornax Science Console and clicked “JupyterHub” to start a server (see Quick Start Guide), you will be asked to specify a Server Type and a base Environment, as shown in the screenshot below.
JupyterLab Server options on the Fornax Science Console.
Server Type¶
The Fornax Science Console offers four server types: Small, Medium, Large, and XLarge. Basic specifications for each are described in the Fornax Resources and Best Practices section.
Compute resources on Fornax are cloud-based and funded by NASA. While the platform is designed for high performance, these resources are limited. Being mindful of usage helps ensure that the platform remains sustainable and accessible to the broader astrophysics community. Please follow these guidelines:
Start small: Begin by testing your workflow on the smallest server that meets your needs. Limit initial runs in scope (e.g., fewer sources, shorter iterations, smaller datasets). Scale up to a larger server or full analysis only after verifying that your code runs successfully at smaller scale.
Shut down when done: Having an active compute instance—even if you’re not currently running code—still consumes resources and counts against your allocation. Simply closing your browser window does not stop the server. To properly shut it down, go to File → Hub Control Panel and click “Stop My Server.”
Approval required for XLarge instance: To use the XLarge compute instance, please open a request by starting a new topic in the Fornax Community Forum Support/Compute category with a brief description of your scientific use case and an estimated total runtime. You do not need approval for stopping and restarting your instance as long as you remain within the original estimated runtime. However, if you require additional time beyond your estimate, please notify us by posting a brief justification to your topic. If your analysis exceeds the estimated runtime, we may reach out to discuss potential termination.
Base Environment¶
The Fornax Science Console offers a number of software environments to choose from. They are currently grouped into one base environment (a container image). You can select the base environment by choosing the container image from the “Environment” dropdown in the screenshot above:
- Default Astrophysics contains common astronomy software, including those required to run the demo notebooks. It also contains high-energy software, which currently includes HEASoft. Plans exist to add CIAO, XMM-SAS and Fermitools.
See Compute Environments for more information about the specific software environments that are pre-installed in the container image and how to customize your environment after your server starts up.