1. Loading Software Modules

Software Modules on the Engaging Cluster

There is a wide selection of software installed on the Engaging cluster that are available to be used. Software installed across the cluster are available as environmental modules.

These modules enable the cluster to have multiple versions of the same software available. You can see all of the available environmental modules with:

module avail

Using Environment Module Commands

The command to list available environment modules is shown above, and after you have found the module you would like to use you can load it with either:

module add <name>
module load <name>

Both will perform the same action of loading a module. You can check the modules you currently have loaded with:

module list

There are two options to remove modules:

module purge
module rm <name>

Using module purge will “purge” all loaded modules (so that none are loaded). Using the module remove command will remove just one specified module.

Loading Specific Module Version

Much software has different versions, with modules existing for several different of these different versions for many packages. Some software have a default module, such as gcc. Using module load gcc will load this default module, which happens to be “gcc/6.2.0”. To use a specific version of a software first check for what modules may be available using module avail <name>. Once you find a version you want to use, such as “gcc/11.2.0”, pass the module name into the load command as follows:

module load gcc/11.2.0

Afterwards you can run a module list to verify that the desired module is now loaded.

Request Software To Be Added

If you need software that is not listed with the module avail command, please reach out to orcd-help-engaging@mit.edu to inquire about getting software compiled as a module for your use. Please note that we may not compile software that is used by only one user, but we will assist you to compile it for your own personal use. Software to be compiled as a module must be utilized by more than one user in order for us to take the time to create an environmental module for it. For more information on compiling software for individual use, please see here.