Getting Started with the National Research Platform

The National Research Platform (NRP) is an NSF-funded computing platform spanning more than 70 research sites. Nautilus is its main Kubernetes cluster, and most of these pages describe it: you get access, work inside a project namespace, then run GPU pods, batch jobs, or notebooks on it.

Getting access Log in through CILogon, join a namespace, and install the tools.

Tutorials A guided path through containers, pods, jobs, and storage.

Cluster Policies Acceptable use and access policies for the platform.

FAQ Quick answers to the questions we get most often.

Your first job, step by step

Getting access — sign in through CILogon and install kubectl.
Join a project. Work runs inside a namespace your Group Administrator creates; getting-started shows how to request one if you do not yet have it.
Start with a GPU pod for interactive work, or a batch job for runs that finish on their own.
Keep your results on persistent storage and move data in and out when you are done.

Beyond your first job

Everything linked here complements the steps above — not repeats of them.

Ways of working

Best ways of using the NRP — recommended patterns for everyday use.
Run CPU-only jobs — batch work that does not need GPUs.
Run a notebook — Jupyter inside a pod on your own resources.

Apps and data

Expose an app over HTTP — give your service a public URL.
Find a base image — scientific images the NRP maintains.
Use the managed LLM endpoints — models the NRP hosts for you.
Deployed services — data sources and tools; many require separate registration.

Live cluster status

Where the cluster stands right now:

Cluster resources Current availability across the platform's clusters.

NRP site map Every NRP site and its current state.

This work was supported in part by National Science Foundation (NSF) awards CNS-1730158, ACI-1540112, ACI-1541349, OAC-1826967, OAC-2112167, CNS-2100237, CNS-2120019.