Connecting to DARWIN

Use a secure shell program/client (SSH) to connect to the cluster and a secure file transfer program to move files to and from the cluster.

There are many suitable secure clients for Windows, Mac OS X, and UNIX/Linux. We recommend PuTTY and Xming for Windows users. Macintosh and UNIX/Linux users can use their pre-installed SSH and X11 software. (Newer versions of Mac OS X may not have a current version of X11 installed. See the Apple web site for X11 installation instructions.)

Please refer to Windows and Mac/Linux related sections for specific details using the command line on your local computer:

• Windows
• Mac/Linux

You need a DARWIN account to access the login node and it is very important to review the information about cluster accounts and cluster groups before connecting.

To learn about launching GUI applications on DARWIN, refer to Schedule Jobs page.

Users with an UD allocation award should use SSH to connect to the DARWIN login node. For example, to connect to DARWIN with account traine, type:

    ssh traine@darwin.hpc.udel.edu

or if you need you use X-Windows requiring X11 forwarding, then use

    ssh -Y traine@darwin.hpc.udel.edu

You may set up direct SSH key authentication on DARWIN once you are on the system by adding the desired public key to your authorized_keys file in the .ssh directory inside your home directory. Once you have a SSH key set up this way, you can access DARWIN directly by running ssh darwin.hpc.udel.edu.

ACCESS users with an allocation award on DARWIN will not be able to login until their password is set by using the password reset web application at https://idp.hpc.udel.edu/access-password-reset/.

The application starts by directing the client to the CILogon authentication system where the "ACCESS CI (XSEDE)" provider should be selected. If successful (and the client has an account on DARWIN), the application next asks for an email address to which a verification email should be sent; the form is pre-populated with the email address on-record on DARWIN for the client's account. The client has 15 minutes to follow the link in that email message to choose a new password. The form displays information regarding the desired length and qualifications of a valid password. If the new password is acceptable, the client's DARWIN password is set and SSH access via password should become available immediately.

For example to connect to DARWIN with account xsedeu1234, type:

    ssh xsedeu1234@darwin.hpc.udel.edu

or if you need you use X-Windows requiring X11 forwarding, then use

    ssh -Y xsedeu1234@darwin.hpc.udel.edu

You may set up direct SSH key authentication on DARWIN once you are on the system by adding the desired public key to your authorized_keys file in the .ssh directory inside your home directory. You will need to do this if you need to use X11 tunneling and/or forwarding required for such applications like Jupyter Notebook.

The standard methods documented for adding a public key on DARWIN will only work once a password has been set for your ACCESS DARWIN account using the password reset web application.

The following pages may be helpful for users who are new to key-based SSH authentication:

• https://www.linode.com/docs/guides/use-public-key-authentication-with-ssh/

Once you are logged into DARWIN, your account is configured as a member of an allocation workgroup which determines access to your HPC resources on DARWIN. Setting your allocation workgroup is required in order to submit jobs to the DARWIN cluster. For example, the traine account is a member of the it_css workgroup. To start a shell in the it_css workgroup, type:

    workgroup -g it_css

Please review all the information regarding your computing environment especially the startup and logout scripts and using VALET. You will need to know Unix/Linux and HPC concepts before using DARWIN. Use the sidebar to navigate documentation about DARWIN, from accessing the cluster to running applications, using software and available training.

When an SSH session is ended intentionally or by a loss of connectivity, you cannot generally restart it and resume your work. The UNIX screen command provides a useful solution. This command creates a virtual terminal window session that continues to run after you are logged off. It allows you to reattach the same virtual terminal window session and resume working.

See the man page for screen for details or review a short video How to Use the Screen Command on Linux to get started.