# First time rAM3 user feedback **URL:** \ **Category:** rAM3/Regional Nesting Suite\ **Tags:** feedback, access-ram\ **Created:** [9 February 2026 04:30 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/first-time-ram3-user-feedback/5888 "2026-02-09T04:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ashjbarnes](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.access-hive.org.au/ashjbarnes/32/205_2.png) [@ashjbarnes](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/ashjbarnes)\ **Post date:** [9 February 2026 04:30 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/first-time-ram3-user-feedback/5888/1 "2026-02-09T04:30:08Z")
Having come from running regional ocean models a lot, then trying rAM3, I started from the [main rAM3 guide.](https://docs.access-hive.org.au/models/run_a_model/run_access-ram3/). Here are a few issues I ran into that might be useful feedback for the rAM3 developers 1. Following the [linked rose/cylc instructions](https://docs.access-hive.org.au/models/run_a_model/rose_cylc), I initially had trouble because these instructions didn’t tell me to follow this [initialisation step](https://opus.nci.org.au/spaces/DAE/pages/249495793/Run+Cylc7+Suites#RunCylc7Suites-InitialisationStep(once-onlyforaccessdevcompatible-mode)) in the NCI’s cylc7 instructions. Without running the one line bash script from this step, I get the error: `no such identity: /home/149/ab8992/.ssh/id_rsa-rose-cylc-gadi: No such file or directory` **Suggestion:** 2. My default project was v45, an old project with no more compute. When running ocean models, I’m used to setting the project in the configuration file. In the ancil suite (u-bu503), there’s an option for `NCI_PROJECT` in the `rose-suite.conf` file. Setting this _did_ successfully submit some jobs with the correct project, but others still read my default project. This is an easy fix (just change your default project) but does suggest that the overwriting of the PROJECT field isn’t working as expected. This issue will likely catch other MOM6 users out who might expect this functionality! **Suggestion:** 3. The Lismore example states that OSTIA is optional, but does not tell the user how to turn it off. This may seem trivial to an experienced user, but since the instructions said it was optional, I assumed the suite would run if I just skipped the OAS step! It does not, unless you set `USE_OSTIA = false` in the `rose-suite.conf` file. **Suggestion:** 4. For me, turning OSTIA on led to issues. I’ve tried running the OAS multiple times from scratch on a fresh clone (or whatever it’s called in UM’s upcycled retro git). Following the logs, the `log/job/1/ostia_netcdf_to_pp/01/job.out` file has print statements promising me that heaps of files have been, quote: `Written to /scratch/gb02/ab8992/OSTIA_ANCIL/20220227T0000Z_ostia_sst.pp`. However, when running the RNS, it fails because some of these files don’t exist. @mlipson has suggested they could be getting deleted in a housekeeping step, @heidi has said that maybe it’s intermittent and I just need to retry until all of the files write successfully. I haven’t been able to diagnose the problem, so am just leaving a note of it here. 5. The final issue I had was a really dumb one. I hadn’t yet been added to the BARRA project… rookie mistake I know. However, the error that was spat out was very cryptic, and didn’t seem to me to be a ‘file not found’ / ‘permission denied’ error, so it didn’t occur to me that this was the problem. Looking at the [code](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/replace_landsurface/blob/0e7320a6fc9230825cab374e524e08428bc5f321/src/replace_landsurface/replace_landsurface_with_BARRA2R_IC.py#L201-L204), ```auto # Read in the surface temperature data from the archive BARRA_FIELDN = 'ts' indir = os.path.join(BARRA_DIR, '1hr',BARRA_FIELDN, 'latest') barra_files = glob(os.path.join(indir, BARRA_FIELDN + '*' + yyyy + mm + '*nc')) barra_fname = indir + '/' + barra_files[0].split('/')[-1] ``` ``` I'd suggest adding the following after the `barra_files = glob(...)` line: ``` ```auto if not barra_files: raise ImportError("BARRA files not found. This most likely means you're not a member of the ob53 group.") ``` ---
**Author:** ![cbengel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@cbengel](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/cbengel)\ **Post date:** [9 February 2026 22:22 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/first-time-ram3-user-feedback/5888/2 "2026-02-09T22:22:07Z")
Hi @ashjbarnes, Thank you for your feedback. The initialisation step was included in the instructions when I wrote them but they seem to have been deleted. I will raise this with the documentation team. There is definitely some confusion about the ability to run with different projects in the RNS. The answer is that you need to run with the project set in the gadi environment. It is not possible to switch between projects as you can with other model runs. There is an explanation for how to set the OSTIA data to false in the config docs ( [Replace SST/Sea-ice - ACCESS-rAM3-configs](https://access-ram3-configs.access-hive.org.au/initial_conditions/replace_sst_seaice/#modify-the-rns) ). Please look at the config-docs for more detailed information the run-a-model [Run ACCESS-rAM3 - ACCESS-Hive Docs](https://docs.access-hive.org.au/models/run_a_model/run_access-ram3/) is just a launching point. The default setting of OSTIA true/false has been discussed at length and it was decided to set it to true because it is a new feature that we wanted users to be able to use. It is unfortunately not a clear-cut easy choice to make because of different sets of user needs, I am not sure what is going on with your OAS. We may need to schedule a time to chat (perhaps after AMOS – apologies I have some work I need to attend to) And yes, the error message when a project has not been joined could be made clearer. Thank you for your feedback. Best regards, Chermelle ---
**Author:** ![ashjbarnes](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.access-hive.org.au/ashjbarnes/32/205_2.png) [@ashjbarnes](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/ashjbarnes)\ **Post date:** [9 February 2026 22:26 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/first-time-ram3-user-feedback/5888/3 "2026-02-09T22:26:42Z")
Thanks Chermelle! Yes it would be great to meet when you have some free time I’ve made a [PR](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/replace_landsurface/pull/63) to implement point 5, in case you agree with this suggested change I forgot to say in my initial message: Thanks for putting together the suite and well done 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cbengel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@cbengel](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/cbengel)\ **Post date:** [9 February 2026 22:27 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/first-time-ram3-user-feedback/5888/4 "2026-02-09T22:27:12Z")
Thanks @ashjbarnes 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cbengel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@cbengel](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/cbengel)\ **Post date:** [9 February 2026 23:06 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/first-time-ram3-user-feedback/5888/5 "2026-02-09T23:06:52Z")
Just a quick note that the initialisation step is in the ram3 instructions. > **[Quick guide - Run ACCESS-rAM3 - ACCESS-Hive Docs](https://docs.access-hive.org.au/models/run_a_model/run_access-ram3/#quick-guide)** > > RAS configuration RNS configuration ACCESS-rAM3 configs docs Release notes ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/access1/original/2X/6/60cfd53e53781df0051f0788b0b148ce7233148b.png) The initialisation step not most likely not in the generic rose/cylc instructions because it is only required when running ram3 (as far as I know). A bit awkward but thanks for pointing this out. @heidi do you want to chase that issue up? ---
**Author:** ![ashjbarnes](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.access-hive.org.au/ashjbarnes/32/205_2.png) [@ashjbarnes](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/ashjbarnes)\ **Post date:** [9 February 2026 23:12 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/first-time-ram3-user-feedback/5888/6 "2026-02-09T23:12:57Z")
Yes you’re right it is in the detailed guide section - perhaps just needs to be also put in the quick guide. I’d assumed that following the quick guide (which sends you to the rose/cylc page for most of the setup), would end up doing the same thing as the detailed guide so I didn’t see it the first time I tried! But you do specifically refer new users to the “detailed guide”, so that’s on me I guess 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![cbengel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@cbengel](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/cbengel)\ **Post date:** [9 February 2026 23:15 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/first-time-ram3-user-feedback/5888/7 "2026-02-09T23:15:25Z")
No - it is not on you, it is a lot. The problem is that there are nuanced differences between the models. Hopefully the docs team can come up with a solution. Thanks for pointing the issue out. ---
**Author:** ![mlipson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@mlipson](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/mlipson)\ **Post date:** [11 February 2026 07:07 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/first-time-ram3-user-feedback/5888/8 "2026-02-11T07:07:01Z")
I’ll just add that I’ve seen Ash’s issue of not being in all the required groups come up with two other new users, and they were also stuck on that for some time. It’s hard for users to keep track of the dozen or so groups they need to be a part of to run successfully, as they are all approved at different times. Perhaps a simple check could be included when running a suite that checks that the users `groups` are compliant, and a clear error message if not? ---
**Author:** ![cbengel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@cbengel](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/cbengel)\ **Post date:** [11 February 2026 10:05 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/first-time-ram3-user-feedback/5888/9 "2026-02-11T10:05:51Z")
HI @mlipson, Thanks for pointing that out. It is difficult to anticipate what causes new users problems when those type of issues just don’t trip you up – hopefully you know what I mean. For the moment I will definitely emphasise that in training and yes we could have a simple “check you group memberships” type script added to the starter tools. I will look into it. Thanks again ---
**Author:** ![clairecarouge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.access-hive.org.au/clairecarouge/32/380_2.png) [@clairecarouge](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/clairecarouge)\ **Post date:** [16 February 2026 23:12 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/first-time-ram3-user-feedback/5888/10 "2026-02-16T23:12:23Z")
@ashjbarnes , I’ll remove the #help tag since you aren’t quite asking for help and instead providing feedback and ways to improve rAM3 configuration and documentation. Let me know if you mind and we can discuss more.