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Research Machine Access

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Justin Bassett edited this page Jun 7, 2021 · 6 revisions

Accessing the research machines requires getting into the ECS network, then SSH-ing into the particular research machine.

Note that there are three categories of accounts that we have to consider:

  • CSUS account: Use this for the GlobalProtect VPN, or for the new ECS servers (e.g. ecs-pa-coding1.ecs.csus.edu .) aka Saclink account.
  • ECS account: Use this for Athena or the sp1/sp2/sp3 or similar servers (the old ECS servers).
  • Research machine accounts. These are the user accounts on the research machines themselves. The current pattern is that the user will be your first name.

ECS Account

If you still have an active ECS account, try SSH-ing into Athena. From there, you can ssh to the research machines:

ssh <ecs-user>@athena.ecs.csus.edu
# Inside Athena:
ssh <research-user>@<research-machine>

If you want to do this, consider modifying your SSH config (~/.ssh/config on Unix):

Host <research-machine>
User <research-user>
ForwardAgent yes
ProxyCommand  ssh -W %h:%p  <ecs-user>@athena.ecs.csus.edu

In this way, you can just write ssh <research-machine> and it will automatically hop through Athena, using the correct users.

GlobalProtect VPN

Useful resources:

Install the GlobalProtect VPN. Once you connect to CSUS via this VPN, you can ssh directly to the research machines with ssh <research-user>@<research-machine>.ecs.csus.edu. Note that you can ssh between research machines with ssh <research-user>@<research-machine>.

Ubuntu Instructions

The Global Protect package from CSUS has two kinds .deb files. Install the one for your computer which doesn't have UI in the filename (we have had more success with this variant). To connect to the vpn, use the following command (potentially packaged into a csus-vpn.sh file):

globalprotect connect -p vpn.csus.edu -u <csus-user>

Note that this is your CSUS username and password. You will also have to check your phone to fulfill the 2FA request (the console command will appear to hang until you respond to the 2FA push notification)

To disconnect from the VPN, you can run the following:

globalprotect disconnect
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