Getting Started

Get Started with MSI

Access to MSI resources is available to Principal Investigators (PIs) and their research groups. PI's without current MSI access can apply for MSI accounts for themselves and their group members. If you are a member of a research group and want access to MSI you will need to gain it though your PI. If your PI has access to MSI they can add new users to their group and complete yearly renewals using the myMSI interface. 


Who Can Get Access?

University of Minnesota Faculty, PIs, and organizations that have purchased time on the MSI systems are eligible to initiate accounts for themselves and their group members. The following individuals are eligible to open a PI group at MSI:

  • Faculty members at the University of Minnesota (job classification 9401 to 9403, 9410, 9362)
  • Instructor Faculty members at the University of Minnesota (job classification 9404)
    • The appropriate dean, department head, or center director must submit the MSI Non-faculty PI eligibility form for these academic professionals to be eligible for accounts.
  • University of Minnesota Academic Professionals (job classification 97xx)
    • If their research is not part of research led by a faculty member and/or a center/institute. 
    • The appropriate dean, department head, or center director must submit the MSI Non-faculty PI eligibility form in order for these academic professionals to be eligible for accounts.
  • Faculty researchers at other accredited institutions of post-secondary education in the State of Minnesota.
    • Due to licensing agreements, some software packages cannot be used by the research groups of PIs not affiliated with the University of Minnesota.
    • For questions about specific software packages, please contact MSI support staff at help@msi.umn.edu.
  • Emeritus faculty of the University of Minnesota
    • Contact our support staff to begin your access request or renewal.

PLEASE NOTE: Postdocs are not eligible to be an MSI PI.  

A faculty member may request accounts for students in a course they are teaching. These requests should be made at least two weeks before the class begins. 
Applying for Class Accounts
 

Request a New MSI PI Group

To access MSI resources, users must be a part of an MSI PI Group. If you are eligible to become an MSI PI, you can request a new MSI Group using the form below (see "Who Can Get Access?" for full eligibility criteria for opening an MSI Group).

If you are a user looking to access MSI resources and are not eligible to become a PI, you must be added to an active MSI Group in order to use MSI.

Title
Do you have a UMN Internet ID?
Primary Research Discipline

Storage Justification

The value you enter should be in gigabytes. 1000 gigabytes = 1 terabyte. You may request up to 20TB of storage with proper justification. The default primary storage allocation is 150GB.
No justification needed for the minimum allocation of 150GB. Otherwise, please justify your storage needs.
Select this checkbox to read MSI's User Agreement. 

Protected and Sensitive Data Acceptable Use Agreement

All MSI users agree that they will NOT use any of MSI's systems to store data that are protected by the following laws and regulations.

  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
  • Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)
  • Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)
  • International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)
  • Export Administration Regulations (EAR)

It is the responsibility of the MSI PI to ensure compliance with this policy and to report any violation of this policy as dictated by governing data use agreements. I understand that any violation of this policy will result in the immediate closure of all associated user accounts under this group and removal of all data that are in violation.

MSI's use of your Internet ID

By continuing, you agree to have your U of M generated username (Internet ID) displayed to other users within the MSI directory. By confirming this message you acknowledge that you understand your U of M username will be used to identify you on MSI systems. The information in MSI's directory will be based on UMN directory information at this time. If you are a student and want to suppress your MSI directory information please contact the MSI help desk at help@msi.umn.edu or by calling (612) 626-0802. MSI will only suppress your MSI directory information if your information is already suppressed in the central Identity Management system. See this link for more information: http://onestop.umn.edu/howto/directory.html

What Are Your Allocations?

New MSI PIs are allocated by default 150 GB of high-performance storage. Larger storage allocations can be requested when you become an MSI user and during your yearly account renewal. 
More Information about Storage Allocations

What Do I Do After I Get Access?

Our Access Guides in our Knowledge Base are a good way to learn how to connect to and navigate within MSI systems. MSI also has Tutorials that offer training beyond what is covered in the Quick Start Guides. 

Discover Advanced Computing and Data Solutions at MSI

Our Services

Related topics

Accessing Software Resources

MSI provides access to approximately 400 software packages.

Choosing a Partition

Most MSI systems use job partitions to efficiently and fairly manage when computations are executed.

Proposal Support

This page lists some of the ways that MSI can help you with your next grant proposal.