Skip to content

OSPool service migration for ap20-21

The Open Science Pool (OSPool) is migrating certain OSPool and OSDF services to new physical / institutional locations. This transition is part of a larger service migration that will streamline and simplify how we run our services, positioning ourselves for long-term sustainability.

If your account is on Access Points ap20 or ap21 (with the suffix uc.osg-htc.org) you will be moving to a new Access Point in early December. Please read below for the migration timeline, downtime dates, and post-transition steps.

➡️ Timeline

➡️ What to expect

➡️ What you should do

If your account is NOT on ap20-21 (for example, ap40.uw.osg-htc.org or ap1.facility.path-cc.io), there will be no changes to your account.

If you have accounts on one of ap20-21 AND another Access Point like ap40.uw.osg-htc.org there will be no changes to your ap40 account; contact [email protected] to coordinate consolidating your account information.

Some groups on ap23.uc.osg-htc.org will be migrating to new Access Points; others may not. If you have not yet received an email about a migration process, you do not need to follow any steps in this guide.

Migration timeline

  • November 30, 2025: We recommend submitting jobs to ap20-21 no later than this date.
  • December 8, 2025: You may test login to the new Access Points. You will not be able to submit jobs.
  • December 8-15, 2025: ap20-21 will be shut down during these dates.
    • December 8, 2025: Job submission is disabled on ap20-21.
    • December 11, 2025: Logins to ap20–21 are disabled; all remaining jobs are put on hold.
    • December 11-15, 2025: All ap20-21 data will be synced to a temporary location (/migrated).
  • December 15, 2025: You can submit jobs from the new Access Points.
    • You should copy your data (/migrated) to new /home and /ospool/data locations.
  • December 15 - January 22, 2026: We will have dedicated office hours for helping users with the migration.
  • May 2026: Access to /migrated data will be turned off.

What to expect

  • You will be unable to submit and run jobs on the OSPool between Dec. 8-15.
  • You may log into your new Access Point after Dec. 8.
  • You may submit jobs on the new Access Points after Dec. 15.
  • What happens to your data:
    • We will copy all user data from ap20, 21 (/home, /ospool) to a temporary /migrated directory.
    • After Dec 15, you are responsible for copying any data you want to keep from /migrated into your new /home or /ospool directories.
    • Your data in /migrated will remain available until May 2026.

What you should do

1. General preparation (November)

  • If you are concerned about interrupted work during the downtime period (Dec 8-15), please contact OSG staff ([email protected]) immediately to make alternative arrangements.
  • Go through both your /home and /ospool/ap2*/data spaces and remove files that are no longer needed for your current work.

2. Pre-migration window (Dec 1 - 8)

  • Download or back up any critical data you may need access to during the downtime (Dec. 8-15).
  • Avoid submitting new jobs and remove idle jobs that are unlikely to complete by Dec 8. This will allow for cleaner data migration.

3. Migration process (Dec 8 onward)

More instructions will be added once we are closer to the migration dates.

Why are we doing the migration?

  • Unified management: Closer integration between different components of the OSPool/OSDF services ecosystem.
  • Long-term sustainability: As PATh (https://path-cc.io/) enters its 6th year, we are trying to simplify how we administer OSPool/OSDF services to make them more sustainable.

Stay informed

We will post migration updates, downtime notifications, and access instructions in the following places:

Get Help in Office Hours

We will be hosting a series of office hours following the initial migration window. We highly recommend you attend one of these office hour sessions to learn more about these changes.

  • December 16th - 3:00pm - 4:30pm (Central Time) - Use our normal office hours link

  • December 18th - 10:30am - 12pm (Central Time) - Use our normal office hours link

  • January 6th - 3:00pm - 4:30pm (Central Time) - Use our normal office hours link

Contact us

If you have any questions or concerns during this migration period, please contact the OSG support team:
📧 [email protected]

We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we complete this important transition.

Last updated: November 6th 2025