Getting an MCSR Account

The Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research (MCSR) hosts a variety of supercomputers that are available for scientific research. To connect to these machines, you need an SSH client, such as PuTTY, installed on your computer. Those favoring a GUI-type approach to transferring files should also obtain WinSCP.

Get an account

Submit a request for an account at MCSR.

Connect to hpcwoods:

Use your SSH client to connect to hpcwoods, the gateway machine for all other computer systems at MCSR. You will be asked to make a new password if using a new account for the first time.

Connect by typing the following command. Be sure to replace with your own.

ssh -Y <username>@hpcwoods.olemiss.edu

Setup SSH keys

You can setup your SSH key on your computer so you do not have to provide your password every time you login to hpcwoods.

Create the RSA Key Pair

On your computer, open a terminal and type the following command.

ssh-keygen -t rsa

At the prompts, simply hit enter (leave the fields blank).

Copy the Public Key

ssh-copy-id <username>@hpcwoods.olemiss.edu

Connect to MCSR

Once you are logged into hpcwoods, you can access and navigate your filesystem. However, to run any jobs, you must login to the appropriate supercomputer. There are three supercomputers you can choose from.

  1. sequoia
  2. catalpa
  3. maple

The command to login to sequoia, for example, is as follows:

ssh sequoia

You will have to enter your password as you cannot set up SSH keys for the individual clusters.

Learn UNIX

Those new to UNIX should read the following handouts.

  1. Introduction to the UNIX Command Line (PDF)
  2. Intermediate UNIX Command Line (PDF)