2026-09-07

Published September 7th 9 slides

The deck

The story

What was verified

23 claims, each re-fetched from its source before this deck shipped.

1. The center's own Frontera guide gives the date the queues close and says the closure is permanent.

   On October 1, 2026, the Frontera queues will be closed permanently.

   PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Frontera User Guide · checked September 7th

2. The guide says the machine is being decommissioned after seven years.

   After seven years and billions of computing cycles, Frontera will be riding off into decommission sunset.

   PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Frontera User Guide · checked September 7th

3. The center describes what Frontera is, in its own words, on the same page that closes it.

   Frontera is the largest cluster dedicated to open science in the United States

   PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Frontera User Guide · checked September 7th

4. The successor machine's own guide says who may use it, and carries a date on that notice.

   Horizon is still limited only to internal users. (07/24/2026)

   PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Horizon User Guide · checked September 7th

5. The successor machine's guide states its own completeness, as the first line of its notices.

   This user guide is in progress

   PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Horizon User Guide · checked September 7th

6. The one thing the closing guide promises for after the date is a way to take data away.

   You will still be able to access Frontera’s file systems to transfer any data needed.

   PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Frontera User Guide · checked September 7th

7. The Frontera guide names the funder and the award number behind the machine.

   Frontera is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through award #1818253

   PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Frontera User Guide · checked September 7th

8. The funder's own record gives the Frontera award a different title than the center's page does, and the date it started.

   "startDate":"09/01/2018","title":"Computation for the Endless Frontier"

   PRIMARY NSF Award API record 1818253 · checked September 7th

9. The center's page gives the same award a title of its own.

   Computing for the Endless Frontier

   PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Frontera User Guide · checked September 7th

10. The successor machine names the award it is built under.

    Leadership Class Computing Facility (LCCF) award, Award Abstract #2323116

    PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Horizon User Guide · checked September 7th

11. The successor's award record gives the date the construction award runs to.

    "expDate":"04/30/2028","fundAgencyCode":"4900"

    PRIMARY NSF Award API record 2323116 · checked September 7th

12. The successor's award record gives the date its construction award started, and what that award is titled.

    "startDate":"07/01/2024","title":"Construction for the Leadership Class Computing Facility"

    PRIMARY NSF Award API record 2323116 · checked September 7th

13. The successor's own guide lists the second of its three ways in by name.

    National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Pilot (NAIRR)

    PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Horizon User Guide · checked September 7th

14. The closing guide carries the date it was last touched.

    Last update: September 3, 2026

    PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Frontera User Guide · checked September 7th

15. The successor's guide carries the date it was last touched.

    Last update: August 12, 2026

    PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Horizon User Guide · checked September 7th

16. The center states where an AI assisted workload is allowed to run on its machines.

    All AI-assisted workloads must be executed on compute nodes only

    PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, TACC Good Conduct Guide · checked September 7th

17. The center states who pays for what an AI agent burns.

    All Service Units (SUs) consumed by AI-related workloads will be charged against your allocation.

    PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, TACC Good Conduct Guide · checked September 7th

18. The Frontera guide never says what becomes of an allocation after the closing date and never names a machine the work moves to. Its only statement about the period after that date is about taking data away. Looked for on the Frontera user guide and nowhere else.

    file systems to transfer any data needed

    PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Frontera User Guide · checked September 7th

19. The guide names the center that runs the machine, in the same sentence that says what the machine is.

    is the Texas Advanced Computing Center

    PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Frontera User Guide · checked September 7th

20. The successor's guide lists its allocation routes, and the deck's count of three is computed from this run rather than typed.

    Allocations LCCF Allocations National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Pilot (NAIRR) TxRAS System Specifications

    PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Horizon User Guide · checked September 7th

21. The funder's own record says which center leads the construction project the successor machine is built under.

    The LCCF project, led by the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC)

    PRIMARY NSF Award API record 2323116 · checked September 7th

22. The successor machine's data center is in Round Rock, Texas, and the guide states its power draw and its cooling method.

    powered by a new 20 MW data center with advanced liquid cooling in Round Rock, Texas

    PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Horizon User Guide · checked September 7th

23. The Warning block is the first thing the Frontera user guide carries after its own title and update stamp. The placement the deck states is in the page rather than inferred from it.

    Frontera User Guide Last update: September 3, 2026 Warning

    PRIMARY TACC HPC Documentation, Frontera User Guide · checked September 7th

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