Help

There are several ways to get help for issues that may arise. For assistance with troubleshooting, please use this form, email research@hbs.edu, or call 617.495.6100.

Use the 5 W's (who, what, where, when, and why) as a guideline for your submission description. For example, it would be helpful to include the following: goals, methods, software used, error messages, whether you are on campus or remote (and connected to the HBS VPN), JOB IDs, and error logs.

If you need help with the FASRC Cannon cluster, please see their support page, FAQs, or request help via email or their RC Ticket page (login required).

Technical How-To’s & Notes

Archiving Your Research Files on the HBSGrid

Step by step guide to archive your files on the HBSGrid to an external drive or DVD.

Change your Unix command prompt

Execute a few simple commands to have your Unix prompt display your current directory.

Changing permissions on the HBSGrid

Follow this how-to to learn how to change permissions (e.g., read, write) for directories and files.

Monitoring CPU usage of your jobs on the HBSGrid

Learn how to run a Unix command or query LSF to check the status of a current job.

HBSGrid Project directory space notifications

Tips on how to monitor HBSGrid project space usage and control notifications.

Saving plots and images in R on the HBSGrid

Saving plots and images created by R on the HBSGrid requires minor modifications to the typical R code for saving these files.

Connecting Remotely to WRDS on Windows

Directions for how to connect remotely to WRDS on Windows using Stata, SAS, and other programming environments (e.g., Python, R).

Stata Temporary Files and StataTmp

Too many Stata tmp files on the HBSGrid can cause performance issues. Learn when this might be an issue for you, and how to address it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best way to contact RCS?: The research inbox (research@hbs.edu) is the most prevalent method of contacting RCS and is recommended as it facilitates matching the request to the person on the team best suited to address the inquiry. Clients typically receive an email response within a business day.
What is the billing structure for our services?: Project work is billable to faculty research projects at a rate of $40/hour. Initial consultations, short inquiries, and research software acquisition for faculty and doctoral students are provided at no cost.
What services does RCS provide?: RCS divides its time between assisting with faculty research, providing research software to the HBS community, developing and supporting research infrastructure, and providing technology training.
Who is eligible for our services?: Primarily, we support faculty, and are also happy to provide guidance for doctoral students, RAs, and faculty support specialists supporting faculty research. Doctoral students are also welcome to consult with RCS staff, although we cannot take on non-faculty project work.

Resetting Your Password

Password resets are a common request and HBS IT's web page can assist with this. Reset your password at this location. Information regarding password resets and answers is found in this helpful document.

When to Contact IT for Help

VPN problems, questions about the network, and \\hbsfiles-related storage questions should be handled by requests though HBS Technology Support Services.

Live Demos

Stay tuned for announcements about live demos with the RCS team via Zoom. Drop in to watch an RCS staff member demonstrate a technique, share a tip, or work through a problem, and then stay to ask any and all questions related to research computing! No registration required. Recordings of these demos are made available after the fact on our live demos page.

How to Attend the Live Demos (login required)