Getting Help

General Resource Support

Use the NCSA Help Portal for all Delta and NCSA related issues, regardless of allocation type. In the portal you can:

  • Submit support request tickets.

  • Search knowledge base articles to resolve common issues faster.

  • Monitor the status of your tickets.

  • Respond to NCSA staff as they work to resolve your tickets.

Refer to the Help Portal User Job Aid for information on how to navigate the portal.

The NCSA Help Portal is the preferred method to submit requests. However, if you run into problems using it, you can email help@ncsa.illinois.edu for support. Follow the Email Support Request Guidelines so that NCSA staff can efficiently address your request.

ACCESS Allocated Projects

For ACCESS allocation or other non-Delta or non-NCSA issues, create a ticket via the ACCESS Help page (ACCESS log in required). You can browse other ACCESS support resources on the ACCESS Support page (ACCESS log in not required).

NAIRR Pilot Projects

For non-Delta and non-NCSA issues specific to NAIRR Pilot projects awarded time on Delta, please submit your issues to NAIRR Pilot support by emailing usersupport@support.nairrpilot.org.

Explore Solutions

The following are strategies to try before you submit a support request:

  • Search the documentation for relevant keywords using the search box in the upper left. Also try the search box on the NCSA Documentation Hub; this will return keyword results from all of the NCSA user documentation sets.

  • If you’re getting an error, perform a web search of the error message (Google, Bing, or others).

  • If you’re looking for a package, perform a web search for “how do I install <package name>” and try the solutions you find that seem applicable and reasonable.

When you submit a support request, please let us know what you tried, and what happened if it didn’t seem to work.

Email Support Request Guidelines

To help NCSA staff efficiently address your request, in your initial email, please include:

  • A descriptive subject line starting with Delta (for example, “Delta: srun isn’t working.”)

  • In the email body, include:

    • The UserID you use to log into the system.

    • The name of the allocation account that you use to submit jobs.

    • Approximately when (date/time) the issue occurred.

    • What you were trying to do and how you tried to do it.

    • Why you think it isn’t working.

    • Commands or scripts you ran, in enough detail to reproduce the problem (text files are preferred).

    • The output and/or error messages you got (text files are preferred).

    • Did you install any modules? If so, which ones? (run module list and paste the output into the message)

    • If your command or script worked in the past, when did it stop working?

    • Any other approaches you’ve tried.

    • Any other information you think might be relevant.

If you have multiple, unrelated issues, please create a separate ticket for each by sending separate emails.

You will receive email correspondence as your ticket is worked on, please respond to any questions that are asked.