Use of standard SSH client to connect
- Alexis Espinosa
Using the command-line SSH client
When connecting using a command-line SSH client, the format of the command will be
ssh [options] <username>@<generic-hostname>
Replace <username> with the username of your Pawsey account, and <generic-hostname> with one of the hostnames listed in Table 1 in Connecting to a Supercomputer.
To authenticate the connection, a user can either enter the password for each connection or use an SSH key. SSH keys provide more security and eliminate the need to enter the password each time the ssh command is executed.
An SSH key is an access credential in the SSH protocol. Its function is similar to that of username and password but enables automated processes and single sign-on users.
Connecting from Mac or Linux
All Linux and macOS distributions come installed with a terminal application that can be used for SSH access to the login nodes.
- Linux users have different terminals available depending on which distribution and window manager they use (for example: GNOME Terminal in GNOME; Konsole in KDE).
Consult your Linux distribution's documentation for details on how to load a terminal.
- On macOS you can use the Terminal application, which is located in the Utilities folder within the Applications folder.
Another popular terminal application for MacOS is iTerm2, which needs to be installed separately.
.
Connecting from Windows
The Microsoft Windows operating system now has in-built SSH client support. It may first need to be enabled as an optional feature in the settings. When using the client at the Windows command prompt or PowerShell, the correct MAC option must also be provided:
$ ssh -m hmac-sha2-512 [options] <username>@<generic-hostname>
Alternatively, the line MACs hmac-sha2-512 can be added to a file called config that can be created in the C:\Users\<username>\.ssh directory in Windows to avoid providing this option every time.
It does not currently support X forwarding of graphical interfaces, for which use of the MobaXterm client is recommended.
Example of logging into a Pawsey system
Should a user need to report an issue to Pawsey's Help Desk, the Help Desk will want to be supplied with the specfic hostname into which the user had logged in.
Once logged in to one of a group of nodes, the specific name of the node can be seen in the default shell prompt, although, should the user change their prompt, the actual name of the node can always be obtained by running the hostname command.
Terminal 1 shows an example of a user logging in to one of Setonix's "login" nodes, where the specific name of the node that has been assigned to the connection can be seen in the default prompt, as well as the running of the hostname command. (Note that the complete "MotD" (Message of the Day) content has been truncated in the example output.)
mymachine$ ssh username@setonix.pawsey.org.au
Password:
################################################################################
#
# NOTICE TO USERS
#
# .
# .
################################################################################
Last login: Mon Jan 10 11:07:13 2022 from 130.116.145.55
Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre
Enabling Science and Accelerating Discovery
This service is for authorised clients only. It is a criminal offence to:
- Obtain access to data without permission
- Damage, delete, alter or insert data without permission
By continuing to use this system, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions
at https://pawsey.atlassian.net/wiki/display/US/Conditions+of+Use
.
.
Support and helpdesk is staffed Monday - Friday 09:00 to 17:00 AWST, and can be
contacted via email (help@pawsey.org.au) or web (https://pawsey.org.au/support/)
Please include your username, project name, relevant Job IDs,
and paths to batch scripts and any output/error logs with your query.
If your query relates to connectivity, please include the IP address
of the machine you are connecting from.
.
.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
username@setonix-03:~> pwd
/home/username
username@setonix-03:~> hostname
setonix-03
Related pages