# ACCESS Science Gateway Allocation

Infrastructure Integration Roadmap Task

**Task Type(s)**: Coordination, Support<br/>
**Start by phase**: Integration<br/>
**Complete by phase**: Operations<br/>
**RP role(s)**: Gateway administrator(s)

## Summary

A science gateway provider needs to have an active allocation for their science gateway. This can be done before or after the [Science Gateway Description v1](https://readthedocs.access-ci.org/projects/integration-roadmaps/en/latest/tasks/Science_Gateway_Description_v1.html) tasks have been completed. Once an allocation is received, the science gateways operators may request that the award allocation credits be exchanged for computing and storage on specific resource providers.

## Prerequisite tasks

None


## Support Information

For assistance with this task see the *Support Information* section in the *Integration Roadmap Description*.


## Detailed Instructions

ACCESS allocations are exchanged for computing time and other resources or services provided by ACCESS resource providers. Allocations can be used for provisioning computing resources for software executions on high-performance computers, for data storage, and for virtual machines to host services.

The science gateway provider requests an ACCESS allocation through the standard process described at [https://allocations.access-ci.org/](https://allocations.access-ci.org/.). Under certain circumstances, a science gateway provider can request multiple allocations:
- A gateway provider can have a separate research allocation.
- A gateway provider who operates multiple science gateways can have one allocation per gateway.

The allocation request effort level varies by track. See [https://allocations.access-ci.org/](https://allocations.access-ci.org/) for more information. Science gateway providers can request allocations of any size. Depending on the size of the allocation request, this step could take days to weeks before the award is made.

Once the allocation is approved, the gateway provider uses the ACCESS allocation request system to transfer ACCESS credits to particular resource providers. See https://allocations.access-ci.org/. The exchange request may take several days or longer to be approved by the resource provider.

The science gateway provider uses standard ACCESS procedures to convert ACCESS allocation tokens to computing time or storage on target resources. The gateway provider should ensure that the resource provider supports science gateway usage, which should be explicitly stated in the resource description.


<sub>
<ul class="document-meta-data">
	<li><strong>Status:</strong> Production</li>
	<li><strong>Version:</strong> v2</li>
	<li><strong>Official date:</strong> 02/23/2026</li>
	<li><strong>Coordinators:</strong> Chun Chan, Dinuka De Silva</li>
</ul>
</sub>