Server Administrator - Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology - Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences

UP Professional and Support

FACULTY OF NATURAL AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY, GENETICS AND MICROBIOLOGY

SERVER ADMINISTRATOR

PEROMNES POST LEVEL 08

In pursuit of the ideals of excellence and diversity, the University of Pretoria wishes to invite applications for the following vacancy.

The University of Pretoria's commitment to quality makes us one of the top research Universities in the country and gives us a competitive advantage in international science and technology development.

BACKGROUND

To provide a specialist service for the administration and management of the Computational Cluster, Mass Storage, Server Infrastructure and Internal Network for the Centre for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. To ensure availability of Bioinformatics Compute Cluster server resources and Lustre storage systems to researchers, post-graduate students and collaborators. To set up and maintain Linux desktop machines in the Centre for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology for research and training, together with the relevant applications.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The successful candidate's responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Bioinformatics High Performance Computing Support:

At all times, the highest priority is on ensuring optimal uptime and continuity for all research and student programs. Downtimes are devastating for both academic and research timelines and budgets, and should be avoided at all cost.

• Operating system installation and maintenance:

• Install, configure, and maintain operating systems (e.g., Linux) on the Bioinformatics HPC cluster nodes;

• Apply patches, updates, and security fixes to ensure the stability and security of the system;

• Troubleshoot and resolve operating system-related issues;

• Cluster management, system installation and maintenance:

• Deploy, configure, and manage cluster management software (e.g., Slurm, Torque) to allocate computing resources efficiently;

• Monitor system performance and optimise cluster utilisation;

• Implement and maintain job scheduling policies to meet the diverse needs of researchers;

• Cluster internal network management:

• Configure and manage internal network infrastructure for optimal performance and reliability including a high-performance InfiniBand network;

• Troubleshoot network connectivity issues, and implement solutions as necessary;

• Ensure effective communication between cluster nodes and storage systems;

• Cluster storage management:

• Administer storage solutions (e.g., ZFS, Lustre on ZFS) for high-performance data access and storage - intimate knowledge of ZFS and Lustre storage management is a requirement, both for main storage and backup system;

• Allocate and manage storage resources according to research requirements;

• Manage backup and disaster recovery strategies to safeguard research data (e.g., Lustre, Bacula);

• User management:

• Custom LDAP tree widely implemented in many standard and custom systems;

• Provide user support and assistance in accessing and utilising HPC resources;

• Manage user accounts, permissions, and quotas;

• Offer guidance on best practices for efficient utilisation of HPC resources;

• Documentation development and training;

• Maintain comprehensive documentation for Bioinformatics HPC system configuration, usage, and troubleshooting procedures;

• Conduct training sessions and workshops to educate researchers on HPC best practices and utilisation techniques;

• Liaison with stakeholders:

• Collaborate with faculty members, researchers, and other stakeholders to understand their computational needs and requirements;

• Communicate technical information to both technical and non-technical audiences;

• Act as a liaison between research teams and the IT department to address infrastructure-related issues;

• Application support:

• Assist researchers in installing, configuring, and optimising scientific applications and tools on the Bioinformatics HPC cluster;

• Take responsibility for the installation and optimization of all Bioinformatics scientific applications and tools on the central HPC cluster;

• Troubleshoot application performance issues and recommend optimisations;

• Stay updated on emerging technologies and trends in HPC and scientific computing;

• Bioinformatics Desktop Support:

• Maintain 30x PC training lab with PC's dual-booting Windows and Linux;

• Maintain applications for 30x PC training lab with PC's dual-booting Windows and Linux;

• Maintain post-graduate laboratory with 25x seats for desktop and laptop systems running Windows, Linux and Mac;

• Maintain desktop and laptop support for 5x staff members running Windows, Linux and Mac;

• Bioinformatics Other Support:

• Monitor and maintain reporting and monitoring system for all serves and desktop machines;

• Monitor and maintain backup power systems and liaise with backup power team at facilities management;

• Install and maintain auxiliary servers (typically VM's) for Mail Forwarding (smtp), time services (NTP), user authentication (LDAP), mass file transport (FTP and Globus);

• Constantly (24x7x52) monitor vital resources for the server environment, such as temperatures, power, UPS health, and take immediate remedial action when required, such as emergency shutdown of all servers, and subsequent start up and stabilization of all systems as soon as possible;

• Central HPC infrastructure Support:

• Provide user support and assistance in accessing and utilising HPC resources:

• Manage user accounts, permissions, and quotas;

• Offer guidance on best practices for efficient utilisation of HPC resources;

• Documentation development and training;

• Maintain comprehensive documentation for Bioinformatics HPC system configuration, usage, and troubleshooting procedures;

• Conduct training sessions and workshops to educate researchers on HPC best practices and utilisation techniques;

• Application support:

• Assist researchers in installing, configuring, and optimising scientific applications and tools on the Bioinformatics HPC cluster;

• Take responsibility for the installation and optimization of all Bioinformatics scientific applications and tools on the central HPC cluster;

• Troubleshoot application performance issues and recommend optimisations

• Stay updated on emerging technologies and trends in HPC and scientific computing.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Relevant Bachelors/BTech degree in Computer Science or related field with at least three (3) years' relevant experience; OR

• Relevant National Diploma in Computer Science or related field with at least five (5) years' relevant experience;

• Proven experience in the following:

• Administering and managing HPC clusters in a research or academic environment;

• Linux system administration and shell scripting;

• Cluster management systems (e.g., Slurm, Torque) and Lustre filesystem, performance and load monitoring systems;

• Administering and managing HPC clusters in a research or academic environment;

• Linux system administration and shell scripting;

• Containerization and virtual environments;

• Desktop and laptop maintenance for Windows, Mac and Linux systems;

• Desktop and laptop integration with high-performance clusters, as well as development and production servers.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES (SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND BEHAVIOURAL ATTRIBUTES)

• Knowledge:

• Linux operating structure architecture;

• Cluster computing concepts;

• High-performance storage;

• InfiniBand networks:

• Advanced storage design;

• Technical competencies:

• Linux system administration and shell scripting;

• Cluster computing management;

• Network administration;

• High-performance InfiniBand networks;

• High-performance storage management;

• Behavioural competencies:

• Problem-solving skills;

• Good communication skills with users and managers;

• logical, meticulous and good judgement skills;

• Ability to work independently and collaborative