Connecting to Incline

Connecting to iCSF (incline)

Please requested an account on iCSF before attempting to log in.

You will use a Secure Shell (SSH) program to connect to the iCSF. But you can choose where to run “ssh” from:

Choose your Connection Method

There are two connection methods to choose from:

  1. Connection method 1 (recommended): First connect to our Linux virtual desktop servers (using “X2GO”) and then from there use the ssh command (see below) to log in to the iCSF. There are advantages to using this method.
  2. Connection method 2: Use SSH directly from your local PC/laptop. You’ll need an SSH program on your local PC/laptop (such as MobaXterm on Windows or the ssh command in a Terminal window on OSX or Linux.)

Both methods require you to be signed in to GlobalProtect (if working from home, also works on campus) or simply be on-campus. Both methods are described below. However, first please read the next section about the various iCSF compute nodes you can choose to use.

Can’t Login? “Account Locked” Message?

Following the recent University-wide password reset, a number of users have been unable to login to the iCSF, receiving an “account locked” message.

This is NOT a problem with the iCSF. It is caused by your central IT user account being locked.

A common cause is that a mobile app or laptop/desktop app is still using your old password. For example, if you didn’t log out of an email app on your phone before changing your password, it could still be using your old password. You’ll need to sign out of the app and sign in again. If you saved your password in an app such as MobaXterm, VSCode or WinSCP, then it may still be trying to login with your old password. You’ll need to remove the password from these apps (we recommend that you don’t save passwords in apps.)

You will need to contact the IT Help Desk to have your IT account unlocked – Research IT CANNOT do this for you.

Choose the type of iCSF node you want to use

Whether you choose to use the X2GO method or direct “ssh” login to the iCSF, you need to choose the type of iCSF node you want to use. One gives you more RAM to work with than the other.

The iCSF has a few different types of nodes. These provide different amounts of memory (RAM).

To choose a node type, simply use one of the hostnames below when using SSH to connect to the iCSF.

This really depends on how much memory you think your app and data will need on the iCSF:

High-memory Nodes (256GB) – recommended default

To access the high-memory (256 GB) nodes, use

incline256.itservices.manchester.ac.uk

Super High-memory Node

To access the super high-memory (2TB) nodes, use

incline2000.itservices.manchester.ac.uk

There are four of these nodes and they are shared with other users. Hence you might not get 2TB of RAM! We recommend you try running your app on the incine256 nodes first – there are more of those nodes.

Standard Nodes (64GB) – NO LONGER IN SERVICE

The 64GB nodes have been taken out of service. The below address is still valid however by default you will be connected to one of the 256GB nodes. 

incline.itservices.manchester.ac.uk

If you receive a @@@ WARNING @@@ about host key identification please see the page on incline host keys fix.
Now that you have decided which type of iCSF node to use, see below for how to go about connecting to the iCSF. As we mentioned earlier, we recommend you do this from our Linux Virtual Desktop (Connection Method 1, below).

Connection Method 1: Research Virtual Linux Desktop service

Given the interactive nature of the iCSF/Incline we recommend use of the Research Virtual Linux Desktop Service to access Incline. The Virtual Linux Desktop can be accessed from on or off campus (you will first need to be signed in to then GlobalProtect VPN), using your Windows, OSX or Linux desktop/laptop. Then, from the Virtual Linux Desktop you can SSH in to Incline.

Why do we recommend this method rather than SSH direct from your PC/laptop?

  • Applications on the iCSF that open a GUI are usually more responsive if they open it on to the Virtual Desktop rather than on to your local computer.
  • The Virtual Desktop allows you to work from different physical locations without having to close your applications that are running on the iCSF and then re-open them between sessions.
  • If your network connection is unreliable or your PC gets powered off by accident, your connections to the iCSF from the Virtual Desktop will not be affected. Hence long-running simulations or analyses on the iCSF will continue to run. You can simply reconnect to the Virtual Desktop from your PC/laptop and carry on from where you left off.

Follow the Virtual Desktop instructions then SSH in to Incline from the virtual desktop (see below).

Connection Method 2: SSH in to Incline

You can login to iCSF directly via SSH from a University campus PC or Wifi connection, or from home once you’ve signed in to the GlobalProtect VPN. See the SSH commands to use below.

SSH commands to login to the iCSF

If you have first logged in to the Research Virtual Desktop (see above) or you are connecting directly from your PC/laptop, you must now use SSH to login to the iCSF:

SSH connection from Linux & OS-X PCs/laptops and from the Linux Virtual Desktop

All user connections to iCSF are by means of an SSH client whether from the Virtual Desktop Service (preferred) or direct from your own machine. Linux and OS-X users will be able to login using the ssh command in a Terminal app window – this is all usually installed by default on Linux and OSX. The command to use is:

ssh -X username@incline256.itservices.manchester.ac.uk
     #     #     #
     #     #     # Can use incline256, incline2000 or incline for different amounts of RAM.
     #     #     
     #     # replace username with your username (e.g., mpqrxyz8)
     #
     # UPPERcase X

at the command-line.

On-campus

If on-campus you will need to authenticate using your 2FA device.

If you use the Duo mobile app as your 2FA device, Enter ‘1’ at the prompt and press Enter. Once the push notification has been received via the Duo mobile app ‘Approve’ the request in order to log on.

$ ssh -X username@incline256.itservices.manchester.ac.uk
Password:
Enter a passcode or select one of the following options: 

1. Duo Push to +XX XXXX XXX555

Passcode or option (1-1):1

OR

If you use a Duo fob as your 2FA device, generate a passcode with the fob, type the passcode at the prompt and press Enter

$ ssh -X username@incline256.itservices.manchester.ac.uk
Password:
Duo two-factor login for username

Passcode: 123

Off-campus

Please see our dedicated guide.

Linux virtual desktop

Note that on the Linux virtual desktop you can use a shorter form of the above commands:

ssh incline256
       #
       # Can use incline256, incline2000 or incline for different amounts of RAM.

This works because on the Linux virtual desktop the -X flag is enabled by default and your username on the virtual desktop is the same as that on the iCSF.

This shorter hostname will only work on the X2GO virtual desktop. If you are logging in to the iCSF directly, using ssh from a PC/laptop at home or on-campus – you must use the long form of the command.

Connecting from MS Windows

We recommend you connect to our Virtual Desktop Service from Windows – the x2goclient app can be installed for free on Windows (it is also on managed desktops.)

However of you want to connect to the iCSF directly from your Windows PC/laptop, please read the dedicated instructions (applicable to all Research Infrastructure systems) which detail how to:

  • Install MobaXterm or PuTTY
  • Login to the iCSF using the ssh command in MobaXterm or PuTTY
  • Upload and download files, and
  • Run graphical applications (including gedit, an editor similar to Notepad).

Connecting from Mac OS X

We recommend you connect to iCSF from Mac OS via the terminal, since there has been reported some common issues with using x2goclient app.

For launching GUI applications when successfully logged in iCSF:

  • Ensure that the latest version of  https://www.xquartz.org/ is installed and any base environments such anaconda are deactivated.
  • Login to the iCSF using the 
    ssh -Y username@incline256.itservices.manchester.ac.uk

    command in zsh terminal

  • Run graphical applications as described when using X2Go.

Logging Out

Once you have finished using the system you should logout (so as not to waste system resources and also for security reasons). You can log out by using either of the following commands:

  • logout
  • exit

Last modified on March 26, 2024 at 11:51 am by George Leaver