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1.0 - What is ColdFront?

ColdFront provides self-service management of RC Projects and associated Resource Allocations for Principal Investigators (PIs). Through ColdFront, PIs can update Project information (e.g. description, grants, publications), add/remove collaborators to their projects, and request additional resources for their projects.

Never used Research Computing before? Please fill out our Project Questionnaire to provide us with details about your research. Once your Questionnaire is reviewed and approved, the RC Team will set up your Project in ColdFront.

1.1 - What is a ColdFront Project?

A ColdFront Project reflects a research project with distinct methodologies, goals, and results. ColdFront Projects control access to compute, storage, and other resources.

1.2 - How does ColdFront Benefit PIs?

ColdFront is the definitive source of RC Project information for both PIs and the RC Team. Keeping Project information, artifacts (e.g. publications, grants), and collaborators up-to-date helps everyone in the RC community by ensuring shared understanding of Projects for PIs, their collaborators, and the RC Team.

An additional key benefit of ColdFront is that it simplifies the process of sharing your publications with the RC Team. Every publication that leverages RC resources gets showcased on our Publications Site! Sharing (and citing us in) your publications helps us secure funding and improve our services.

Additional benefits include:

• ColdFront enables PIs to organize and take control of their RC Projects.
• ColdFront provides simple graphs to visualize your storage utilization.
• ColdFront allows PIs to update their Project collaborators without the need to contact the RC Team.
• ColdFront streamlines Project management, freeing up more time for the RC Team to work on improving and developing new services.

2.0 - ColdFront Home Page

ColdFront’s home page provides quick access to all of your Projects and Resource Allocations.

Clicking on any Project name will take you to that Project’s Detail Page. Click on the folder icon in the Actions column (next to a Resource Allocation) will take you to that Allocation’s page.

3.0 - ColdFront Project Page

3.1 - Overview

Each ColdFront Project has it’s own Project Detail Page, which features project information and management options in the following sections:

• Manage Project: This section is visible to Project PIs and Managers, and provides links to update the project description, archive the project, add collaborators, and add grants/publications/research outputs.
• Principle Investigator: This section includes project metadata, including who the PI of the Project is, the Project description, field of science, Project status, and the date the project was created.
• Users: This section lists collaborators on the Project, and allows Project PIs and Managers to add/remove collaborators, change collaborator roles, manage collaborator notifications, and email Project collaborators.
• Allocations: This section lists the Project’s Resource Allocations (e.g. Slurm Accounts, Project Directories), and allows Project PIs and Managers to request new Allocations, or request changes to existing Allocations.
• Attributes: This section lists project metadata (primarily used by the RC Team), such as links to Project information in other RIT systems (e.g. Novelution).
• Grants: This section allows Project PIs and Managers to add, remove, and edit grants related to the Project.
• Publications: This section allows Project PIs and Managers to add and remove publications related to the Project.
• Research Outputs: This section allows Project PIs and Managers to add and remove research outputs (e.g. posters, datasets) related to the Project.
• Notifications: This sections shows notifications from the RC Team.

3.2 - Project Metadata

This section, titled “Principal Investigator”, shows the following high-level Project metadata:

• Principle Investigator: The PI/Advisor who is overseeing this research project.
• Description: The Project Abstract provided in the associated Project Questionnaire. Project Managers can update this with the Update Project Information button in the Manage Project section.
• Field of Science: The (best matching) NSF Field of Science for the Project.
• Project Status: Projects can be New, Active, or Archived.
• Created: The date the Project was created. For Projects older than 2 years (as of 2025-10-15), this will be the date the Project was added to ColdFront.

3.3 - Project Reviews

Once per year, PIs will be required to review their RC Projects in ColdFront. The review process includes verifying that your project description is accurate, adding publications and/or grants, and verifying that the list of collaborators on your Projects are accurate. You will not be able to request new Allocations, or renew existing Allocations, until the Project Review Process is complete.

On the home page, Projects that need review will have a badge next to their title:

On the Project page, there will be a banner at the top asking you to review the project with a Review Project link.

Clicking on the Review Project link will take you to the following page:

From here, there are links to verify your Project description, add publications and/or grants, and verify that your Project collaborators are accurate.

If, in the last year, you Project has not yielded new grants or publications, you will need to provide a brief explanation as to why; this explanation helps the RC Team understand any challenges (e.g. competitive funding/publication landscapes) our Researchers may be facing. If you have new grants or publications in the last year, the text box in the above screenshot will not appear.

3.4 - Project Archival

When a Project is complete, Project Managers can Archive a Project by click on the Archive Project button. Archiving a project will expire all of that Project’s Allocations, which disables access to those allocations for all Project members. If you Archive a Project accidentally, please reach out to the RC Team so they can reinstate your Project.

3.5 - Project User Roles

• Principal Investigators: PIs have full control over a ColdFront Project.
• Managers: PIs can designate collaborators to be Managers. Managers can add/remove collaborators, request changes to (or new) resource Allocations, update publications/grants, and complete Project Reviews.
• Users: Users only have access to Project Allocations. They cannot add/remove collaborators, request chanegs to (or new) resource Allocations, update publications/grants, or complete Project Reviews.

From the Users section of a Project page, the Email Project Users button will create an email draft (with all Project Users CC’ed) in your default email application.

3.5.1 - How to Add Users

Project PIs and Managers can add collaborators to a Project. To add a User to your Project, click on the Add Users button in either the Users section or the Manage Project section.

The button will take you to the following screen. Type in the username (e.g. abc1234) of the collaborator, and click on Search .

If a match is found, a new page will appear with the results. Select the checkbox next to the user you wish to add. Click Add Selected Users to Project .

3.5.2 - How to Remove Users

Project PIs and Managers can remove collaborators from a Project. When a User is removed from a Project, they lose access to all of the Project’s Allocations. To remove a User from a Project, click on the Remove Users button in the Users section.

The button will take you to the following screen. Select the User(s) you want to remove, and then click Remove Selected Users From Project .

3.5.3 - How to Change a User’s Role

Project PIs and Managers can promot a User to Manager, or demote a Manager to User. To change a Users role, click on the user edit icon. This will take you to the user edit page:

Choose the desired role from the dropdown, then click Update.

3.5.4 - How to Enable/Disable Notifications for a User

For individual Users, Project PIs or Managers can toggle the check box (under the “Enable Notifications” column) next to the User in the Users section of the Project Detail Page.

For all Users, Project PIs or Managers can toggle the check box next to “Enable Notifications” in the Users section of the Project Detail Page.

Note that Managers cannot have their notifications disabled.

3.6 - Grants

This section lists any grants associated with the Project. Project PIs and Managers can add, remove, or edit grants (and they will be required to during the annual Project Review process – see Part 3.3 of this Tutorial above).

3.6.1 - How to Add a Grant

Project PIs and Managers can add a grant by clicking on the Add Grant button under the Grants section or the Management section (see above image). After clicking that button, you should see the following form:

Fill out the form and click Save .

3.6.2 - How to Delete a Grant

Project PIs and Managers can delete a grant by clicking on the Delete Grants button under the Grants section or the Management section (see above image). After clicking that button, you should see the following form:

Select the grants you wish to remove and click Save .

3.6.3 - How to Edit a Grant

Project PIs and Managers can edit a grant’s details by clicking on the folder icon under the “Actions” column next to the grant.

3.7 - Publications

This section lists any publications associated with a Project. Project PIS and Managers can add or remove publications (and they will be required to during the annual Project Review process – see Part 3.3 of this Tutorial above). The list of publications can also be exported in .bib format.

3.7.1 - How to Add a Publication

Project PIs and Managers can add a publication by clicking on the Add Publication button in the Management section or the Add Publication button in the Publications section of the Project Detail Page.

From the page above, you can search for a publication by pasting a DOI number into the “Search ID” box and clicking on Search . Once you do so, a new page should appear with search results:

Select the publications you’d like to add and click Add Selected Publications to Project .

If you do not see a publication based on your search, you can enter publications manually by clicking the Enter publication manually button.

3.7.2 - How to Delete a Publication

Project PIs and Managers can delete a publication by clicking on the Delete Publications button.

From this page, select the check box next to the publications you wish to delete, then click the Delete Selected Publications from Project button.

3.7.3 - How to Edit a Publication

This functionality is not currently available in ColdFront.

3.8 - Research Outputs

This section lists any other research outputs (e.g. posters, datasets) associated with a Project.

3.8.1 - How to Add a Research Output

Project PIs and Managers can add a research output by clicking on the Add Research Output button in the Management section or the Add Research Output button in the Research Outputs section of the Project Detail Page. After clicking that button, you should see the following page:

Fill out the fields and click Save to add your research output. If you have links to these outputs, please include them in the “Description” field.

3.8.2 - How to Delete a Research Output

Project PIs and Managers can remove a research output by clicking on the Delete Research Outputs button in the Research Outputs section of the Project Detail Page. After clicking that button, you should see the following page:

From this page, select the check box next to the publications you wish to delete, then click the Delete Selected Research Outputs from Project button.

3.8.3 - How to Edit a Research Output

This functionality is not currently available in ColdFront.

3.9 - Notifications

This sections lists recent notifications from the RC Team about the Project. Project PIs and collaborators with notifications enabled will receive emails when:

• Allocations are expiring in 30 days and 7 days
• Allocation expire
• Allocation requests are approved/denied
• Allocation are activated
• Allocation are revoked
• Allocation change requests are approved/denied

4.0 - Allocation Detail Page

Allocations represent resources (e.g. Slurm Accounts, Project Directories) that have been allocated to the Project. Each Allocation has an Allocation Detail Page, which can be accessed by clicking the folder icon next to the allocation under the Allocations section of the Project Detail Page.

Project PIs and Managers can request new Allocations, or changes to existing Allocations. By default, Allocations expire one year after they are approved.

4.1 - Allocation Types

There are currently three types of Resource Allocations that can be assigned to a Project:

• Project Directory (Storage): By default, each Project is provided a 1TB Project Directory, which is accessible by all of a Project’s collaborators (unless a Project PI or Manager chooses not to include certain collaborators).
• SPORC Cluster (Cluster): By default, each Project is provided with access to a Slurm Account, which allows collaborators to submit jobs on the Cluster.
• REDCap (Cloud): REDCap is a web platform for building and managing online databases and surveys.
  • Note: RC’s REDCap instance is not to be used for anything other than research. RC’s REDCap instance does not meet requirements for storing protected data (e.g. HIPAA/PHI, FERPA, CUI). Please review RC’s Grant Information Document for further details on what kinds of data can and cannot be stored on RC resources.

4.2 - Overview

The Allocation Detail Page provides Allocation information and management options in the following sections.

4.2.1 - Allocation Information

This section displays information about the Allocation, including:

• Project: The Project that the Allocation belongs to.
• Resource in allocation: The Allocation type (see Part 4.1 of this Tutorial above).
• Status: Allocations can be New, Active, Denied, Expired, or Revoked. A “New” status indicates that the RC Team has not reviewed the Allocation yet.
• Start Date: The date the Allocation becomes (or became) available to the Project, typically the day the Allocation was approved.
• End Date: The date the Allocation will expired (or expired) and become unavailabled to the Project.
• Description: A description of the Allocation.
• Created: The date the Allocation was created.
• Last Modified: The date the allocation last changed.
• Unlocked/Locked: An unlocked/locked icon indicating whether or not the Allocation can be modified.

Project PIs and Managers will see the Request Change button here.

4.2.2 - Allocation Attributes

This section shows attributes specific to the Allocation.

For Project Directory (Storage) Allocations:

• Storage Quota (GB): This is the maximum amount of storage (in Gigabytes) allocated for the Project Directory.
• Note: You will also see a graph showing how much of your quota is being used. This graph updates every 6 hours.

For SPORC Cluster (Cluster) Allocations:

• slurm_account_name: This is the name of the Slurm account allocated for this Project.
• Note: There are other attributes listed here, but you can ignore them. They are used by Slurm behind the scenes.

4.2.3 - Allocation Change Requests

This section shows a history of requests to change the Allocation, such as extending/renewing the Allocation, or quota increase requests.

4.2.4 - Users in Allocation

This section shows collaborators that have access to the associated resource. Note: This list may differ from the list of Project Users.

4.2.5 - Allocation Notifications

This section shows notifications from the RC Team.

4.3 - How to Request a New Allocation

Project PIs and Managers can request new Allocations. From the Project Detail Page, scroll down to the Allocations section, and click on the Request Resource Allocation button.

Select the Allocation Type you would like to request from the dropdown menu under the “Resource” field.

In the “Justification” field, please explain why you need the Allocation.

Select the check box next to each Project User you wish to have access to the Allocation, then click the Submit button.

Once a new Allocation request is received, the RC Team will review and approve your request. You will be notified via email when your request is approved (or denied). If the RC Team has any questions about your request, we will reach out.

4.4 - How to Request Changes to an Allocation

Project PIs and Managers can request changes to an Allocation.

4.4.1 - How to Request a Project Directory Quota Increase

Go to the Allocation Detail Page for the Project Directory Allocation. The click the Request Change button on the top right of the Allocation Detail Page.

Under the Allocation Attributes section, enter a new value in the “Storage Quota (GB)” field. Note: The value you enter here should be the total amount of storage you would like for the Project Directory. For example, if your quota is currently 1TB (1024GB), and you would like an additional 1TB, enter 2048GB (2TB) in this field.

Next, provide a brief explanation of why you need more storage in the “Justification for Changes” field. Then click the Submit button.

4.4.2 - How to Request an Extension to a Storage or Slurm Allocation

Go to the Allocation Detail Page for the Project Directory Allocation. The click the Request Change button on the top right of the Allocation Detail Page.

Under the Allocation Information section, select either 90, 180, or 365 days in the dropdown menu next to “Request End Date Extension”.

Next, provide a brief explanation of why you need the extension in the “Justification for Changes” field. Then click the Submit button.

4.5 - How to Modify Allocation Users

Project PIs and Managers can add or remove collaborators on a Project Allocation. Note: To change a user’s role, see Part 3.5.3 of this Tutorial above.

4.5.1 - How to Add Allocation Users

Before you can add a user to an Allocation, they must be added to the Project (see Part 3.5.1 of this Tutorial above).

To add a user to an Allocation click on the Add Users button in the Users in Allocation section of the Allocation Detail Page. After clicking that button, you should see a page like this:

Check the box next to each collaborator you would like to add to the Allocation, then click on the Add Selected Users to Allocation button.

4.5.2 - How to Remove Allocation Users

To remove a user from an Allocation, click on the Remove Users button in the Users in Allocation section. After clicking that button, you should see a page like this:

Check the box next to each collaborator you would like to remove from the Allocation, then click on the Remove Selected Users from Allocation button.

4.6 - Allocation Expiry

Each Allocation has an expiration date. On that day at 9:00 AM, the allocation will expire, revoking the access of all users in that allocation.

For Slurm Allocations, this means that any queued or running jobs will be dropped(CECILIA TODO: test this).

For Storage Allocations, this means that no users will be able to access the data in any capacity. Any running Slurm jobs that need to read from that directory will fail.

REDCap Allocations are currently unaffected.