Access

Getting an account

Getting an account and using NU HPC facilities is free of charge for all NU faculty, research assistants, and students. However, opening an account for a research assistant or student requires sponsorship/authorization by their PI (Principal Investigator of a research project; typically a faculty member or head of a lab). Thus, no accounts are created at the request of a student or RA. The procedure must be initiated by the PI. It is assumed that the PIs take full responsibility for the proper use of the HPC facilities by their group members and their compliance with basic cybersecurity rules.

The following applies to internal NU users, i.e. users with a valid nu.edu.kz corporate email address. To create a request please follow these instructions:

1. To open a new account on Shabyt HPC system, the PI (Principal Investigator; typically a faculty member or head of a lab) of a research project should fill out the form in the ticketing system. Instructions for creating a request in the ticketing system can be found here. If there is a need for accounts for group members (RAs, students) it should be clearly indicated in that form. Note that the form must be filled by the PI only, regardless of the fact who the account is for - the PI and/or a group member. Group members cannot request accounts by themselves.

2. NU HPC committee will consider the application form and approve/reject it based on the information provided.

3. When the HPC committee approves the application, username/password will be communicated to the users by the HPC administrators.

4. Having the credentials received from the HPC admins, users can connect to Shabyt using the SSH (secure shell) protocol. Copying files to/from Shabyt can be done either via SFTP (secure ftp) or SCP (secure copy).

5. The PI assumes responsibility for the use of the HPC system by group members.

6. In case if there is a need to add or remove group member accounts after the initial setup, the PI should contact HPC admins via email (hpcadmin@nu.edu.kz).

Note: Only connections that originate from the internal campus network are allowed at this time. The HPC team will implement a secure mechanism for outside connections in the future. Until then the out-of-campus users should use VPN (virtual private network) to enable connectivity to Shabyt. We recommend using GlobalProtect VPN software for this purpose (please contact helpdesk@nu.edu.kz for obtaining the software).

Access Instructions

When a user is connected to the campus network via VPN, he/she should use an SSH client to establish a connection with the interactive login/management node (10.3.64.61). There is a multitude of free and powerful third-party SSH clients available for any operating systems. Windows, Linux, and MacOS all have native SSH clients built directly into the command line.

For a client with a graphical user interface on Windows, we can recommend PuTTY, which can be downloaded here.

Windows (PuTTY) Download, install, and launch the PuTTY client. Next, in the PuTTY configuration window that pops up, enter 10.3.64.61 in the Host Name field. Make sure the Connection type field is set to SSH. Then press the Open button. When you connect for the very first time, PuTTY will give a security alert. Accept it by pressing Yes. Then enter your login and password (use the credential provided by the HPC administrators) as requested in the terminal window that will open up.

Windows (PowerShell or Command Prompt) Windows PowerShell and Command Prompt provide a built-in SSH client. Search for the PowerShell or Cmd app and launch it. Then enter your credentials.

UNIX Compatible OS Every Linux distribution comes with an OpenSSH client that should be installed by default. Thus, there is no need to install any additional software packages. Simply locate and launch a Terminal. At the prompt of the terminal window enter `ssh username@10.3.64.61` (replace username with your actual user name). It will ask you for your password. Note that you will not see any characters on the screen as you type the password. This is normal. When you connect for the very first time you will also be prompted to confirm the authenticity of the host. Type yes to confirm it.

Environment Modules Environment Modules is a software tool that simplifies modifying the shell environment for users. It is especially useful in systems where software packages have multiple versions or configurations. It allows multiple versions of the same software package to be installed simultaneously and invoked by simply loading a proper module.

Here is a list of most frequently used terminal commands implemented in Environment Modules: - `module avail`: List all software modules available in the system via Environment Modules - `module show <ModuleName>`: Display information about module file - `module load <ModuleName>`: Load module into the shell environment - `module unload <ModuleName>`: Remove module from the shell environment - `module list`: List currently loaded modules - `module purge`: Unload all previously loaded modules

To learn about other commands please type `man module` in the terminal window.