Submitting a MATLAB SBATCH Job Script

Owned by Rebecca Belshe
Jan 08, 2024
2 min read

This tutorial will cover how to submit a MATLAB batch job to the Aloe supercomputer. A batch job is a job that is submitted as a complete script and runs unattended. This is done through a SBATCH script.

Submitting a Batch Job

Follow these steps to submit a MATLAB batch job:

  1. Create the SBATCH script. You can create this script on your workstation and then upload it to the Aloe supercomputer. You can also create this script through the shell. To do this:

    1. Connect to the web portal and log on with your credentials.

    2. Select “System“ in the navigation bar then select “Aloe Shell Access“. You will be prompted for your credentials and a DUO push will be sent to you.

    3. In the command prompt, use the following commands to create a SBATCH script called “MATLAB_test_script.sh“.

      nano MATLAB_test_script.sh

    4. In the file editor, specify the resources, MATLAB version, and the MATLAB file needed for your computation. Here is an example of a MATLAB SBATCH script:

      #!/bin/bash #SBATCH -c 16 # number of TASKS #SBATCH -N 1 # keep all tasks on the same node #SBATCH --mem=120G # request 120 GB of memory #SBATCH -t 0-4 # request 4 hours of walltime module load matlab/latest # load in the lastest version of MATLAB matlab –batch hello.m # run the MATLAB file

       

      This job will allocate 16 cores and 120 GB of memory on one node for four hours. It will also execute the “hello.m“ file with the latest version of MATLAB on the Aloe supercomputer.

    5. Save the SBATCH script and exit the file editor.

  2. In the command prompt, use the following commands to submit the batch job:

    sbatch MATLAB_test_script.sh

  3. Done. Your job has been submitted. Here are some helpful commands to manage your job:

 

How will I know how many and which resources to use?

Learning to use the supercomputer, like learning how to use other new technologies in your life, will take trial and error. A good starting point is to start with one core for two hours in the interactive MATLAB graphical application as you get familiar with the supercomputer. You can also request resources to replicate your current workstation to create a baseline. Through this trial and error, you will identify what resources can better improve your computation’s performance. See the “Requesting Resources on Aloe“ guide for additional tips.

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