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Logging in with SSH via Terminal

You can log into Engaging via SSH through your local terminal. Using SSH in a terminal or command line window on your desktop is the traditional way to access HPC Systems. This method offers the most flexibility, allowing you to start interactive and batch jobs to run your code, download data, and install packages.

Terminal by Operating System

A terminal window is a window with a command line interface.

To log into Engaging, we use SSH in the terminal. SSH (Secure Shell) is the primary way to log into remote systems. Once you initiate the SSH command, the shell in your terminal will no longer run on your computer but on the remote system. Authentication is required, either using a password or SSH keys. To set up SSH keys, please refer to the SSH Key Setup Page.

Follow the directions below based on your operating system:

Open Terminal by searching for it in Spotlight or by navigating to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.

Open Terminal from your Applications menu.

Windows systems offer multiple terminal options: Windows Terminal, Command Prompt, and PowerShell. The best way to get a terminal depends on your version of Windows. Starting at Windows 10, the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is available, allowing you to run Linux as an application in Windows. You can also use the Windows Command Prompt if you have SSH enabled. For older versions of Windows, install a terminal program that supports bash.

Windows

You have two options:

  1. Windows Command Prompt (CMD): Comes with all Windows computers and supports SSH with little to no setup. However, it lacks some tools for transferring files and uses different commands than Linux.
  2. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) with Ubuntu: A full Linux terminal that requires some setup but supports all commands used to interact with Engaging.

To check if CMD has SSH enabled, run the command ssh. If SSH is not enabled, follow the instructions on this Page to set it up.

If you want to use WSL, follow the instructions on this Page to enable WSL and install a Linux distribution of your choice. If you don't have a preference, Ubuntu is a good place to start. If you have any questions about WSL, there is a good chance they are answered in their FAQ.

Older Windows Versions

For older Windows versions, install a terminal that supports bash and SSH, such as MobaXterm. Follow the instructions on this Page to install MobaXterm and create a local shell.

Logging in via SSH

Once you have your terminal set up for your specific operating system, you can use SSH to access Engaging via the command line with the command:

ssh [username]@orcd-login.mit.edu
Replace [username] with your MIT Kerberos username.

Connecting requires Two-Factor Authentication, your MIT Kerberos password and Duo. You can reduce the number of times you need to do Two-Factor Authentication by using SSH Control Channels.

If you are still using the older Centos 7 nodes you can use one of the following login nodes instead:

  • orcd-vlogin001.mit.edu
  • orcd-vlogin002.mit.edu
  • orcd-vlogin003.mit.edu
  • orcd-vlogin004.mit.edu

Note

You will be prompted to enter your MIT Kerberos password even if you have set up SSH keys. To set them up, please refer to our SSH Key Setup Page. You can reduce the number of times you need to do Two-Factor Authentication by using SSH Control Channels.