Listed below are several common reasons why a job submission might not be successful.

Compute Model not Recognized

If you get the following message after submitting a PBS job:

qsub: Unrecognized model xxx

It is possible that you are submitting from a front-end that does not serve the model type.

As shown in the table below, NAS has various front-ends and PBS servers for different compute resources. Make sure you are on the correct front-end for the compute resource you want to use.

Queue is Unknown

Be sure to use the correct queue. The common queue names served by each PBS server are:

• pbspl1: devel, debug, normal, long, and vlong for Electra bro_ele and sky_ele, Aitken cas_ait and rom_ait
• pbspl4:
  • e_normal, e_long, e_vlong, and e_debug for Endeavour resources
  • gpu_devel, gpu_normal for Cabeus mil_a100
• pbs05a: gpu_devel, gpu_normal, gpu_long, gpu_wide for Cabeus gh200
• pbs06a: devel, normal, long, and wide for Athena tur_ath

Be aware that pbspl4 server only recognizes the queue names for Endeavour and some Cabeus jobs. If you submit a job to pbspl4 and specify a pbspl1 queue, you will get an error, as follows:

pfe25% qsub -q normal@pbspl4 job_script
qsub: unknown queue

AUID or GID not Authorized to Use a Specific Queue

If you get the following message after submitting a PBS job:

qsub: Unauthorized Request

It is possible that you tried submitting the job to a queue that is accessible only to certain groups or users. To find out, check the output of qstat -fQ @server_name and look for a users list called acl_groups or acl_users. If your group or username is not in the lists, you must submit your job to a different queue.

You will also get this error if your project group ID (GID) has no allocation left. See Not Enough or No Allocation Left below for more information on troubleshooting this issue.

AUID Not Authorized to Use a Specific GID

If you get the following message after submitting a PBS job:

qsub: Bad GID for job execution

It is possible that your Agency User ID (AUID) has not been added to use allocations under a specific GID. Please ask the principal investigator (PI) of that GID to submit a request to support@nas.nasa.gov to add your AUID under that GID.

Queue is Disabled

If you get the following message after submitting a PBS job, submit the job to a different queue that is enabled:

qsub: Queue is not enabled

Queue Has a max_queued Limit

If you get the following message after submitting a PBS job:

qsub: would exceed queue's generic per-user limit

It is possible that you tried submitting the job to a queue that has a max_queued limit—a specified maximum number of jobs that each user can submit to a queue (running or waiting)—and you have already reached that limit.

Currently, the devel queue served by pbspl1 has a max_queued limit of 1. The gpu_devel queue served by pbspl4 and pbs05a have a max_queued limit of 1 and 2, respectively.

Resource Request Exceeds Resource Limits

If you get the following message after submitting a PBS job:

qsub: Job exceeds queue resource limits

Reduce your resource request to below the limit or use a different queue.

Not Enough or No Allocation Left

An automated script checks GID usage each day. If usage exceeds a GID's allocation, the GID is removed from the PBS access control list and you will no longer be able to submit jobs under that GID.

You can check the amount of allocation remaining using the acct_ytd command; for more information, see Job Accounting Utilities. In addition, if your PBS output file includes a message stating that your GID allocation usage is near its limit or is already over its limit, ask your PI to request an increase in allocation.

Once the request for increased allocation is approved and added to your account, an hourly script will automatically add your GID back to the PBS access control list.