The SoC provides a cluster of load-balanced interactive servers for general computing use. We refer to these systems as the “shell servers”.
What are the server details?
The Shell systems are Linux servers, which can be reached via SSH on port 5522 using the system name shell.cs.utah.edu.
These are load-balanced servers running Ubuntu-14.04 x86_64. Each (virtual) server consists of two dual-core Opterons with 8GB of memory connected to the network via gigabit Ethernet.
How do I access the Shell servers?
Access to the Shell servers is limited to software using the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. This includes ssh, sftp, scp and others.
Any access from outside the SoC Firewall, requires that you specify port 5522 for your SSH connection. (The default port 22 has been blocked due to excessive bot attacks.)
Are there process limits?
Yes. You may see the limits by running your shell’s command. e.g.
bash/ksh/zsh: ulimit -a
csh/tcsh: limit
If you need to run a long process for research please contact your PI to find out which machines are available to you. If you are not affiliated with a research group, the CADE provides additional resources for all SoC users, including compute servers.
Where are programs located?
In addition to the standard Linux/GNU locations, you’ll want to add these directories to your search path, (which include SoC Facility programs like csquota):
/uusoc/opt/{bin,sbin}
/uusoc/{bin,sbin}
Can I run servers?
No. The shell machines are meant for general user interactive needs and not for running long-term, or resource intensive processes. For coursework please access the CADE systems. For research-based projects, please contact your PI to see which systems are available to you.
Is local/scratch disk space available?
Yes, please check out our Scratch Disk Space FAQ
How can I get software installed?
If there is an Ubuntu package available we will install it for you as long as it does not cause issues. If it is code that must be compiled, you can do so in your home directory space. We do not compile custom versions of packages for users.
Remote Desktop Software
There should be no need to run VNC or other remote desktop software on these systems. On Windows, please use an SSH client such as SecureCRT or Putty and/or you can run an X server like Xming or Cygwin.
For *nix hosts, just tunnel via SSH or set your DISPLAY environment variable to point to your local X Server. Using “ssh -X” to connect, will automatically set the DISPLAY environment variable for you.
Macintosh systems have SSH clients installed by default for general interactions, but you will need to install an X Server, such as XQuartz to enable X11 forwarding.
S/FTP
The shell servers run an FTP server for internal network use only. However you should uses SFTP/SCP whenever possible.