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Between 2020 and 2021, all HPC clusters were transitioned from using the PBS job scheduler to SLURM. In general, SLURM can translate and execute scripts written for PBS. This means that if you submit a PBS script written for Ocelote or ElGato on Puma (with the necessary resource request modifications), your script will likely run. However, there are a few caveats that should be noted:

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Refer to the following list of common PBS commands, directives, and environment variables and their SLURM counterparts. For a PDF version, click here.


PBSSLURMPurpose
Job Management

qsub <options>

sbatch <options>Batch submission of jobs to run without user input
qsub -I <options>salloc <options>Request an interactive job
N/Asrun <options>Submit a job for realtime execution. Can also be used to submit an interactive session
qstatsqueueShow all jobs
qstat <jobid>squeue --job <jobid>Check status of a specific job
qstat -u <netid>squeue -u <netid>Check status of jobs specific to user
tracejob <jobid>sacct -j <jobid>Check history of a completed job
qdel <jobid>scancel <jobid>Delete a specific job
qdel -u <netid>scancel -u <netid>Delete all user jobs
qstat -QsinfoView information about nodes and queues
qhold <jobid>scontrol hold <jobid>Places a hold on a job to prevent it from being executed
qrls <jobid>scontrol release <jobid>Releases a hold placed on a job allowing it to be executed
Job Directives
#PBS -W group_list=group_name#SBATCH --account=group_nameSpecify group name where hours are charged
#PBS -q standard#SBATCH --partition=standardSet job queue
#PBS -l walltime=HH:MM:SS #SBATCH --time HH:MM:SSSet job walltime
#PBS -l select=<N>

#SBATCH --nodes=<N>

Select N nodes

#PBS -l ncpus=<N>#SBATCH --ntasks=<N>
#SBATCH --cpus-per-task=<M>
PBS: Select N cpus
SLURM: Each task is assume to require one cpu. Optionally, you may include cpus-per-task if more are required. Requests NxM cpus
Note: Puma has 94 cpus available on each node
#PBS -l mem=<N>gb#SBATCH --mem=<N>gbSelect N gb of memory per node
#PBS -l pcmem=<N>gb#SBATCH --mem-per-cpu=<N>gbSelect N gb of memory per cpu
Note: Puma defaults to 5GB per cpu
#PBS J N-M#SBATCH --array=N-MArray job submissions where N and M are integers 
#PBS -l np100s=1

#SBATCH --gres=gpu:1

Optional: Request a GPU
#PBS -N JobName#SBATCH --job-name=JobNameOptional: Set job name
#PBS -j oe(default)Optional: Combine stdout and error

(default)#SBATCH-e <job_name>-%j.err
#SBATCH-o <job_name>-%j.out
Optional: Separate stdout and stderr 
(SLURM: %j is a stand-in for $SLURM_JOB_ID)
#PBS -o filename#SBATCH -o filenameOptional: Standard output filename
#PBS -e filename#SBATCH -e filenameOptional: Error filename
N/A#SBATCH --open-mode=appendOptional: Combine all output into single file. Note: If this is selected, each job run will append to that filename, including preexisting files with that name
#PBS -v var=<value>#SBATCH --export=varOptional: Export single environment variable var to job
#PBS -V#SBATCH --export=all (default)Optional: Export all environment variables to job
(default)#SBATCH --export=noneOptional: Do not export working environment to job
#PBS -m be#SBATCH --mail-type=BEGIN|END|FAIL|ALLOptional: Request email notifications
Beware of mail bombing yourself
#PBS -M
<netid>@email
<netid>@email.arizona.edu#SBATCH --mail-user=
<netid>@email
<netid>@email.arizona.eduOptional: email address used for notifications
#PBS -l place=excl#SBATCH --exclusiveOptional: Request exclusive access to node
Environment Variables
$PBS_O_WORKDIR$SLURM_SUBMIT_DIRJob submission directory
$PBS_JOBID$SLURM_JOB_IDJob ID
$PBS_JOBNAME$SLURM_JOB_NAMEJob name
$PBS_ARRAY_INDEX$SLURM_ARRAY_TASK_IDIndex to differentiate tasks in an array
$PBS_O_HOST$SLURM_SUBMIT_HOSTHostname where job was submitted
$PBS_NODEFILE$SLURM_JOB_NODELISTList of nodes allocated to current job
Terminology
QueuePartition
Group ListAssociation
PI Account