Frequently Asked Questions

Connecting to zcluster

Access to the Linux cluster (zcluster) is through secure shell (ssh) to zcluster.rcc.uga.edu (note that connection via telnet is not safe and it is therefore disabled). If you have a local system that runs an X Window client or server, you can run X applications remotely.

To connect via ssh, you must have an ssh software and a connection to the UGA campus network. An ssh software is included in recent releases of Unix based operating systems (including Linux and Mac OS X). An SSH Secure Shell Utility is available for Windows on the | UGA Sitesoft page (you will need to enter your UGA myID and password to download the software).

Open a connection to host: zcluster.rcc.uga.edu

Examples of usage on Unix/Linux/MacOSX

To open a connection to zcluster.rcc.uga.edu, first open a terminal and at the command prompt type

ssh username@zcluster.rcc.uga.edu

or

ssh -X username@zcluster.rcc.uga.edu

where username is your username on zcluster. The -X option might be necessary to allow X windows applications running on zcluster to be forwarded to your local machine. If your username on your local system and on the zcluster are the same, you can simply type

ssh zcluster.rcc.uga.edu

In order to enable X forwarding from zcluster to a local Mac OS X machine, the ssh command given above (i.e. ssh -X username@zcluster.rcc.uga.edu) has to be issued from an X11 terminal (and not from a regular terminal).

To run X Window applications remotely on your local machine

If you have a local machine that runs an X Window client or server, you can forward X Window applications running on zcluster to your local machine. Recent releases of Unix based operating systems (including Linux and Mac OS X) come with an X windows client. For Windows OS, a free X windows server is Xming. More information on how to install Xming is available on the GACRC FAQ page.

Your ssh may be configured to allow you to run X Window application on your local machine automatically. If it does not, try including the -X flag when connecting to the zcluster (ssh -X username@zcluster.rcc.uga.edu).

Now you can issue commands to start up X applications on zcluster.rcc.uga.edu, such as xterm.

If you plan to run resource consuming X Window applications, such as Matlab, graphics programs, etc, please use the queueing system to get a command prompt on an interactive node. Information on how to run interactive jobs on zcluster is at the Running Jobs on zcluster page.

Logging in

When your ssh connection is established, you will be prompted for your password. The first time you login to zcluster, please change your initial password with the passwd command. This command can be used afterwards as well, to change your password.

Logging Out

To leave the system, be sure that all your open files are closed and all stopped jobs have been terminated then enter:

exit