RCS Cheat Sheet

Check out the links below to quickly get started with our statistical/data services, high-throughput compute cluster, research software, and training. For additional assistance, please see our help page.

Statistical and Data Services

Get a sense of our areas of expertise and the backgrounds of our team members.
Email research@hbs.edu to book a consultation with a team member or engage with us on project work. Additional information about how we work can be found here.

HBS Compute Cluster ('HBSGrid cluster' or 'the Grid'): Accounts, Storage, and Database Server

Request an HBSGrid account using this form if you have an HBS email address and this form if you are a guest.
Get started using our Quick Start guide.
There are several types of storage available on the cluster, and which you choose to use will depend on your particular usage patterns, data size, and number of people involved in the work.

If you opt to work in a shared folder, you can request one using this form.

Transfer data onto the cluster, keeping in mind its data security level.
If you'd like to use our MariaDB database server, a fork of MySQL, request an account using this form.

Research Software

Check our software page to see which research software (e.g., Stata) titles are available to HBS persons free of charge. Many of these titles, and others, are also available on the HBSGrid cluster.
Most HBS-licensed research software for HBS-issued computers is now on IT's self-service Software Portal for PC and Mac (note that this is a brand new offering and there may be bugs in the portal. We recommend trying it, and if it's not working request research software using this form).
If you need research software for a non-HBS issued computer, fill out this form.
If you are interested in resesarch software not listed on our website, HBS likely does not have a license for it. Feel free to email research@hbs.edu to discuss your particular needs; in most cases we recommend that a faculty's FSS purchase research software that HBS does not license as RCS does not receive any discounts for the software and it allows the faculty's team to have all of the purchasing and license information on hand to receive direct support from the vendor.

Training

RCS offers various trainings through the year. To sign up and/or see the training schedule, including for computer cluster training, visit our training calendar.
Training materials from previously held training sessions are available online, along with videos of our cluster training and Live Demos.