Server Access

The BRC manages access to UWBC Linux servers. These servers are for the purposes of data analysis only. A BRC account is needed to access server resources. Access permissions and data storage are tied to a BRC account and not a server. This separates our compute costs from the data storage and account maintenance overhead. All servers benefit from our high availability storage system and access to the BRC common software directory.

Computer lab

The BRC computer lab is located in room 2251 of the Biotechnology Center. The computer lab contains three workstations which may be used to access the AGAR servers. Key card access is granted upon request to users with an active BRC account. We request that users reserve a server for the entire duration the server will be processing the data.

Remote access

Users can rent BRC servers at cost. Rented BRC servers are dedicated to a specific account and allow for remote access from any campus location or from off campus via VPN.

Software & Genome Data

The BRC staff uses many common bioinformatic software packages, and maintains alignment indexes for popular reference genomes. All BRC users have access to our software directory (/mnt/software) and genomes directory (/mnt/genomes). Software programs and genome indexes are maintained as needed. Users may request updates and/or install additional software according to our policy.

Storage Quota

All BRC account data are stored on our Isilon storage system and mounted to the server at time of login. Data generated by a UWBC core facility will be mounted to the server and does not count against the user’s storage quota. Users are responsible for monitoring their storage and making adjustments to their BRC account as necessary.

Installing Software

Users are free to install any software they want in their home directory. There are a few limitations which may apply: Users are not granted sudo or root privileges, user directories are mounted to the server so applications using databases with file locking may need to have additional help installing.

AGAR Servers (Free w/ BRC account)

AGAR servers are accessible from our computer lab (room 2251). Each AGAR server has 4 CPUs & 40GB of RAM.

BRC Servers (Rented)

The BRC servers are remotely accessible from any UW-Madison campus IP address. Each BRC server has 6 CPUs & 40GB of RAM. The cost for renting a server is cheaper for longer periods as the administrative overhead is distributed over more time.

  • $200/month
  • $400/quarter
  • $1000/year