4.3 Navigating the ParallelCluster UI

The ParallelCluster UI (PCUI) is a web-based dashboard for creating, monitoring, and managing HPC clusters. It’s built on a fully serverless architecture and is typically free to run — you only pay for the clusters themselves.

What PCUI Shows You

Section Description
Cluster List All clusters in your account with status and details
Stack Events & Logs CloudFormation events and ParallelCluster logs for monitoring
Job Status Status of jobs running on your clusters
Custom Images Custom AMIs you can use to build clusters
Official Images AWS-provided images for cluster creation
Users Users with access to the PCUI (add/remove)

Key Features

  • Step-by-step guidance for creating and editing clusters
  • Dry run validation before deployment
  • Direct shell access (SSM) to the head node
  • DCV remote desktop connection with one click

Quick Actions

Action How To
Create a cluster Click Create Cluster and follow the wizard
Connect to head node Select cluster → Click DCV or Shell
View cluster status Check the cluster list for status indicators
Delete a cluster Select cluster → Click Delete
Note

You can only create and edit clusters with the same ParallelCluster version used to create the PCUI. Earlier version clusters can only be viewed.

Now let’s create your first cluster: Creating Your First Cluster