In this page:

Information About the Update

1. What is the change?

• In May 2023, our team will upgrade IDAS operating system from Ubuntu 18.04 LTS to a newer release. After this upgrade, users will need to reinstall any R, Python, and Julia packages that they installed in their home directories before May 2023.

2. After the upgrade, can users continue to use packages that they installed in their IDAS home directories before May 2023?

• As of May 2023, all R, Python, and Julia instances with the older Ubuntu 18.04 will be marked as "legacy". 
• From May 2023 to May 2024, research users will be able to log in to the "legacy" IDAS instances, which have R, Python, and Julia with the older Ubuntu 18.04. Packages that were installed up until May 2023 will be available in those legacy instances.
• The purpose of the legacy instances is to allow research users to continue their research projects using their current computing environment. However, we encourage users to use the new instances to reinstall their packages after May 2023, so that they can use IDAS with the newer operating system.
• Conda virtual environment, Python VENV, and RENV can be used to test out the new instances without breaking compatibility with the legacy instances.
• From May 2023 to May 2024, our team will monitor usage data on IDAS to determine if the legacy instances are still being used. If the usage is low, we may remove the legacy instances from IDAS, in May 2024 at the earliest. If you need to use legacy instances past May 2024, please contact us at research-computing@uiowa.edu. The decision to remove the legacy instances will be communicated to users in Spring 2024.

3. Whom will be affected?

This will impact both research and classroom users on IDAS. However, classroom users are not likely to notice any difference, because course instances are deprovisioned at the end of each semester, and packages always need to be installed again each semester.

4. Why do we make this change?

The operating system currently used in IDAS is Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. The standard, five-year public maintenance window for this Ubuntu release will end in April 2023. Upgrading to a newer Ubuntu release will ensure that IDAS continues to receive all security updates.

Contact

If you have any questions or comments, please contact ITS - Research Services at research-computing@uiowa.edu.