Connecting to HPC Systems

Owned by Matthew Mjelde
Last updated: Aug 29, 2024 by Joseph Rios
3 min read

This article will explain how to connect to managed HPC systems while on a Windows machine.

 

Instructions for Windows

MobaXTerm is an enhanced SSH client for Windows. It has built in support for displaying GUI’s using X11, so you do not have to worry about any complicated setups to get X11 forwarding working properly.

  1. Download and install MobaXTerm from their website (https://mobaxterm.mobatek.net). A free license for personal use as well as others are available.

  2. Once installed and launched, you can connect to a cluster by clicking on the Session button in the top left corner.

 

  1. A Session settings window will open up. In this window click on the SSH button, and then fill in the Remote host box with the hostname of the cluster that you are trying to connect to. Then click on the OK button at the bottom to start the connection.

    image-20240829-142354.png

     

  2. After clicking OK, you will be prompted for your username and password. After entering them in successfully, you will see a window similar to the one below showing that you are now connected and ready to use the cluster.

    1. Note: While entering in your password, it will look like nothing is typing. This is a SSH security feature and your password is actually being entered in.

Instructions for Mac

Mac comes with the software to SSH into computers already installed. However, if you are wanting to use an X11 GUI application you will need to install XQuartz to be able to enable that functionality.

  1. (Optional) If wanting to use X11 GUI applications, install XQuartz from https://www.xquartz.org. Once installed, you will need to restart your Mac.

  2. Open up a terminal window and connect to a cluster using the following command. Replace username with your NetID and server.engr.tamu.edu with the cluster you are wanting to connect to.

    ssh username@server.engr.tamu.edu

    1. If you are needing X11, you must first launch XQuartz from the Applications > Utilities menu. Once launched, you can launch a terminal by clicking the XQuartz icon in the dock and select Application > Terminal. You can then connect to a server with the following command. The -X parameter enables X11 forwarding.

      ssh -X username@server.engr.tamu.edu

Instructions for Linux

Linux usually comes with all the software for SSH and X11 forwarding already installed.

  1. To connect to a HPC system, first launch a terminal window. Once launched, connect to a HPC system using the following command. Replace username with your NetID and server.engr.tamu.edu with the cluster you are wanting to connect to.

    1. Note: The -X parameter enables X11 forwarding. If you do not need to use X11 GUI applications, you do not need to add that parameter.

      ssh -X username@server.engr.tamu.edu

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