.. _support_pandemic:

================================
User Support During the Pandemic
================================

.. contents:: In this section:
   :local:
   :depth: 2

Overview
========

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the GridUnesp team kept supporting users while working remotely, ensuring continuity of support for the university's scientific research.

.. note::
   The period analyzed spans **March 2020 to March 2022**.

Support Volume
==============

Over the course of the pandemic, the GridUnesp team exchanged **more than 4,100 messages** with the user community, including:

- Unesp professors and researchers
- Graduate and undergraduate students
- Associated researchers from other institutions

.. list-table:: Support during the pandemic
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 40 60

   * - Period
     - Messages exchanged
   * - Mar/2020 to Mar/2022
     - 4,100+
   * - Monthly average
     - ~170

Types of Requests
=================

The messages covered a wide variety of topics, reflecting the diversity of user needs:

.. list-table:: Request categories
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 40 60

   * - Type of request
     - Description
   * - Registration
     - New projects and users
   * - Access
     - Remote connection to the server, authentication problems
   * - Instruction
     - Basic cluster use, SLURM commands
   * - Installation
     - Requests for new scientific applications
   * - Job preparation
     - Creating submission scripts
   * - Debugging
     - Analysis of errors and failures in jobs
   * - Performance
     - Job optimization and efficient use of resources

New Applications Installed
==========================

Based on user requests, the GridUnesp team installed **34 new scientific applications** during the pandemic period.

.. list-table:: New applications installed during the pandemic
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 30 20 30 20

   * - Application
     - Version
     - Application
     - Version
   * - Amber
     - 20
     - MATLAB
     - R2019b
   * - Beagle
     - 4.0.0
     - Miniconda
     - 3
   * - Beast
     - 1.8.4
     - NetCDF
     - 4.6.3
   * - Beast
     - 1.10.4
     - OpenFOAM
     - 7
   * - Boost
     - 1.70.0
     - OpenFOAM
     - 8
   * - CMake
     - 3.20.0-rc3
     - OpenFOAM
     - 1912
   * - DFTB+
     - 20.2.1
     - OpenFOAM
     - 2012
   * - Foam-extend
     - 4.1
     - OpenFOAM
     - 2112
   * - GAMESS
     - 2020
     - OpenMPI
     - 4.0.1
   * - GCC
     - 9.3.0
     - ORCA
     - 5.0.3
   * - GCC
     - 10.2.0
     - PLUMED
     - 2.7.1
   * - GDAL
     - 2.4.1
     - Quantum ESPRESSO
     - 6.6
   * - Grace
     - 5.1.25
     - QUEST-QMC
     - 1.4.9
   * - GROMACS
     - 5.1
     - R
     - 4.0.2
   * - GSL
     - 2.6
     - RAxML-NG
     - 1.0.3
   * - LAMMPS
     - 20200303
     - SIESTA
     - 4.1.5
   * - Mathematica
     - 10.4
     - SWAN
     - 41.31

.. note::
   The complete list of available applications can be checked with the ``module avail`` command or in the :ref:`all_applications` section.

Impact of Support During the Pandemic
=====================================

The work of the support team during the pandemic was essential to:

1. **Enable research** that depended on the cluster
2. **Reduce the adaptation time** of new users
3. **Solve problems** remotely and efficiently
4. **Maintain** the university's scientific productivity

User Testimonials
=================

.. admonition:: Researcher in Biophysics
   :class: note

   "GridUnesp support was essential so that we could continue our molecular dynamics simulations during the lockdown. Even remotely, the team responded quickly and helped us optimize our jobs."

.. admonition:: Graduate student in Computer Science
   :class: note

   "At the start of the pandemic, I had trouble accessing the cluster remotely. The team not only solved the problem but also guided me on best practices for submitting jobs."

Team Adaptation
===============

To maintain the quality of support during the pandemic, the GridUnesp team:

- **Adopted full remote work**
- **Intensified online meetings** for coordination
- **Kept communication channels** always active
- **Documented solutions** for recurring problems

.. seealso::

   - :ref:`contact` - Support channels
   - :ref:`faq` - Answers to common questions
   - :ref:`installed_applications` - Available applications
   - :ref:`covid19` - Overall impact of the pandemic on GridUnesp