Prospective users of the AI Systems must demonstrate that their intended work or use case has a clear research focus. This can be done by associating their user account with an AI-enabled LRZ project that has already declared such a research purpose and renews it annually, or by creating a new project that explicitly states this research interest in the application.

User Accounts and Project Access

LRZ User Account

A valid LRZ user account is required to access the AI Systems. An overview of institutions that already provide LRZ user accounts and the corresponding services can be found on the following page: Accounts for LRZ Services.

Master users are encouraged to reuse existing LRZ user IDs whenever possible. If a user does not yet have a valid account, one can be created within any AI-enabled project.

Access through Existing Projects

For individual users: If you know of an existing AI-enabled LRZ project that aligns with your research, contact the project’s master user(s) to request that your account be granted access to the AI Systems. (If you do not yet have an LRZ account, the master user could create one for you within the project.)

For master users of existing projects: If your LRZ project is not yet AI-enabled but could qualify, submit a service request to the LRZ Servicedesk using the following form. (or choose “Predefined service request” → “AI Systems Project Activation/Update”). Based on the information provided, LRZ will assess whether the project is suitable for AI System access. (Please note: in general, older projects with many members do not qualify for AI enablement.)

Apply for a New AI enabled Project

Prospective master users can apply for a new AI-enabled project as described in Application for an LRZ Project by completing, signing, and submitting the provided PDF form. (In the section “Sonstige Bemerkungen”, include “AI Systems”.)

Once the LRZ project has been created, it must be AI-enabled. To do so, submit a follow-up service request to the LRZ Servicedesk using the following form. (or select “Predefined service request” → “AI Systems Project Activation/Update”).

Alternatively, access can be requested via the BayernKI initiative: https://www.ki-in-bayern.de/.

Managing User Access within Projects

Access to the LRZ AI Systems is controlled through membership in the <projectID>-ai-c group. Designated Master Users of AI-enabled LRZ projects manage individual user access by adding or removing accounts from the -ai-c group via the IDM 2 Portal.

Membership in this group provides: Access to LRZ AI Systems, Use of general system resources, VPN access to the Munich Scientific Network (MWN). For detailed instructions, see How to add or remove members from groups?

AI Systems Login

Login via Terminal (SSH)

Use SSH within your terminal to connect to login.ai.lrz.de and log in with your LRZ credentials. Ensure your device is connected to the Munich Scientific Network (MWN). The following command logs you into the AI Systems, specifically onto one of the dedicated login nodes. These nodes are intended for preparing and submitting jobs to the compute nodes. From the login nodes, you can allocate resources located on the compute nodes using the Slurm Workload Manager. The compute nodes offer direct access to powerful hardware resources, including CPUs, GPUs, and large memory capacities.

ssh login.ai.lrz.de -l your_username

Attention: Do not perform heavy computations on the login nodes!

SSH Key Setup

Replace USER with your LRZ User ID. Generate an SSH key pair on your local machine:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "USER@ai"

Copy the public key to the server:

ssh-copy-id USER@login.ai.lrz.de

Create a config entry in ~/.ssh/config:

Host ai
    HostName login.ai.lrz.de
    User USER
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
    ForwardAgent yes

Test the connection:

ssh ai

Login via Browser

Alternatively, you can access the web-based frontend at https://login.ai.lrz.de using the same LRZ credentials. For more information, see 6. Interactive Apps.

Usage Guidelines and Regulations

Guidelines for Development and Testing

Please note that LRZ AI Systems provide limited computational resources and are not primarily intended for development, prototyping, or debugging. Programs and scripts used for production jobs should be tested on other systems beforehand whenever possible.

If you choose to perform development or testing on LRZ AI Systems, keep your resource usage to the minimum necessary. Preferably by using https://login.ai.lrz.de (restricted to single GPUs/MIG devices; see section 6. Interactive Apps) or by requesting appropriately sized interactive allocations (see section 5.1 Slurm Interactive Jobs). In general, minimize idle time and avoid inefficiencies to ensure fair resource availability for all users.

Regulations, Terms and Conditions

The usage regulations / Benutzungsrichtlinien
1. General regulations, see download center -> our regulations.
2. The use of the LRZ infrastructure for the processing of data, according to Art. 9 DSGVO "processing of special categories of personal data", is generally not permitted. However, exceptions are possible if a special agreement is concluded with the LMU/TUM in addition to the existing data processing agreement ("Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag", AVV), and on the other hand, the installation and operation of a specially secured infrastructure is usually required.
  In this case, please contact the LRZ via a service request (https://servicedesk.lrz.de/en) addressing the type of data you intend to process and requesting such a special agreement.
Access to the LRZ AI Systems requires review and agreement of the Export Control Regulations (EKR) in the IDM portal.
LRZ stores and publishes your project data and description electronically. This requirement can be waived upon explicit request.