uabrc / uabrc/uabrc.github.io

Diagnosing `NODE_FAILURE` when using NextFlow on Cheaha

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style: faq (ask.ci) ❓
Dominant language
Python
Stars
24
Forks
15
Avg merge
10d 3h
Merged PRs (30d)
1

Description

What would you like to see added?

If the following conditions are true, then consider that one or more NextFlow tasks may have insufficient memory allocated. Assume $jobid is the Slurm Job ID for the relevant NextFlow task.

  • sacct -j $jobid -X -o jobid,state shows NODE_FAILURE
  • The file .exitcode does not exist in the NextFlow task's working directory. Working directory here refers to the NextFlow concept.
  • No other helpful messages showing a more detailed description of the cause of the error, a more specific error name, or an exit code.
  • Tasks fail intermittently (not necessary, but increases likelihood)

When we have encountered researcher workflows where the above are true, the cause of the error has invariably been due to an "Out of Memory" (OOM) event.

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Use the repository's MkDocs documentation structure to locate the relevant NextFlow or Slurm page. Add the stated NODE_FAILURE, missing .exitcode, absent detailed error, and intermittent-failure indicators, along with the OOM interpretation. Done means researchers can use the page to recognize this failure pattern.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
documentation, hpc
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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