Specifying a RUNLIMIT
You can minimize the time it takes for a general queue job to start running by estimating the maximum wall-clock time. Instead of explicity selecting a general queue (short, medium, long, xlong, xxl), supply the '-W' RUNLIMIT argument to the bsub command in the form '-W [hour:]minute'. LSF will terminate the job if it exceeds the run limit. The The automatic queue selection feature will place your job in the most appropriate general queue, eliminating any guesswork. Some examples:
yemi@rhel6-64g $ bsub -W 10 echo "hello world"
Job <97451> is submitted to default queue <short>.
yemi@rhel6-64g $ bsub -W 60 echo "hello world"
Job <98011> is submitted to default queue <medium>.
yemi@rhel6-64g $ bsub -W 300 echo "hello world"
Job <98365> is submitted to default queue <long>.
It's also worth noting that the shorter general queues have higher priority. Automatic queue selection will put your job in the shortest compatible queue.
If you use a dedicated (non-general) queue in your production environment, continue to specify the queue in your bsub command but just add the '-W' option.
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