Getting Help

ACCESS provides multiple layers of support — from self-service tools to direct expert assistance. Find the right channel for your question.

Ways to get help

Start with the option that fits your question. Most issues can be resolved through the AI assistant, a ticket, or the community forum.

ACCESS Support Tickets

Submit a help desk ticket and ACCESS staff will route your question to the right team. Typical response time is one business day.

Self-Help Resources

Find answers using the AI Assistant on every page, the Knowledge Base, or the Ask.CI community forum — before opening a ticket.

MATCH Services

Free, one-on-one expert help for code, workflows, and research computing strategy. Attend office hours and request a match with an expert.

Opening a Support Ticket

You can open a ticket directly from the AI Assistant (available on every page of this documentation), or go to ACCESS Support and sign in with your ACCESS account. Select the category that matches your issue (Allocations, Account & Access, Resource Usage, Software, Data & Storage, or Other) and the affected resource if applicable. In the description, include what you were doing, the exact error message, any commands you ran, the job ID, and when the error occurred — attach your job script or error logs if relevant. You will receive a confirmation email with your ticket number; typical response time is one business day.

Getting Help with an Allocations Request

If you need help preparing or submitting an allocation request, open a support ticket as follows:

  1. Under Summary, enter: Allocation request help
  2. Under Description, describe the project activity you plan to perform if granted the allocation (e.g., benchmark my code, run CFD software)
  3. Under Does your problem involve an ACCESS Resource?, choose Yes and select the Resource Provider from the dropdown
  4. Under Keywords, enter: allocation, request, help — plus any hardware, software, or domain keywords relevant to your project
  5. Upload any relevant files if available, then click Send

Self-Help Resources

AI Assistant

Available on every page via the chat icon in the lower right. Ask about documentation, error messages, Slurm options, or where to find things. Answers ACCESS-specific questions and helps interpret error messages.

The Knowledge Base

A searchable library of articles covering common issues, how-tos, and reference material maintained by the ACCESS support team.

Ask.CI Community Forum

A community-driven Q&A forum for research computing. Search before posting — many questions about scheduler syntax, Globus, and modules have already been answered.

MATCH: Free Expert Assistance

MATCH (Matchmaking Expertise and Technology in Cyberinfrastructure for Higher education) connects researchers with ACCESS staff experts for hands-on help at no cost. Services include:

Code Optimisation

Improve the performance and parallelism of your simulation, analysis, or ML training code.

Workflow Consulting

Design efficient, reproducible workflows for large-scale or multi-step computations.

Storage & Data Management

Get advice on storage tier selection, data movement strategies, and long-term archiving.

Training & Onboarding

One-on-one or small-group onboarding sessions tailored to your research area.

More about MATCH Services

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I check the status of my open ticket?
Log in to ACCESS Support and navigate to “My Tickets.” You can view status, add comments, and attach additional files.

My issue is urgent — how do I escalate?
When opening a ticket at support.access-ci.org, set the priority to Urgent and briefly explain the time constraint in the subject line (e.g., “job deadline in 48 h”). For active system outages, check the ACCESS status page first — if the issue is already known, a ticket may not accelerate resolution. If you have an ongoing ticket, add a comment with the updated urgency rather than opening a new one.

Which resource provider should I contact for system-specific issues?
For issues specific to a particular system — login problems, queue errors, file-system performance — contact that resource provider's support team directly. The Resources listing includes contact details for each RP. For allocation, account, or ACCESS-wide questions, use the main ACCESS support portal. If you're unsure who owns the issue, open a ticket at ACCESS Support and staff will route it appropriately.

Are there user groups or affinity groups I can join?
Yes. ACCESS runs several affinity groups focused on broadening participation in research computing, including groups for women, underrepresented minorities, and early-career researchers. You can find current groups and sign up at the ACCESS affinity groups page. Many groups host virtual meetups, workshops, and mentorship opportunities. You do not need an active allocation to join most groups.

Is support available in languages other than English?
ACCESS support is primarily provided in English. However, some Campus Champions and resource provider staff are multilingual — if you need assistance in another language, mention it in your ticket and staff will make a reasonable effort to accommodate you or connect you with someone who can help. The ACCESS AI Assistant can understand queries in multiple languages and may be a useful starting point.