Managing software stacks on high-performance computing (HPC) systems is a complex challenge, particularly when working within vendor-provided programming environments. To address this, the National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed NCCS Software Provisioning (NSP), a unified framework for deploying and managing software stacks while monitoring their usage.

NSP leverages Spack and Ansible to automate the deployment of software environments. Using templated configurations, it streamlines Spack-based installations while also managing non-Spack software through custom Ansible roles. Additionally, NSP enhances LMOD-based module environments by incorporating hooks and Spack module projections, enabling a dynamic and responsive software layout that adapts seamlessly to changes in the programming environment.

This presentation will discuss the motivation behind NSP, its strategies for managing software complexity in vendor-provided environments, and its implementation on Frontier, the world’s fastest supercomputer for open science.