Getting to Talapas
Today’s activities will take place on Talapas. There are a few more methods of getting to and using Talapas that we will discuss next week and the week after, but these are the most common.
Accessing Talapas Through Your Web Browser
Note that Safari is not recommended, as RACS staff have documented compatibility problems with certain OnDemand web apps and Safari.
OnDemand -> Files
A screenshot of the OnDemand File browsing interface
A web app in the OnDemand client that allows you to browse the Talapas GPFS filesystem in a web browser.
- A quick peek at files you have access to
- Upload and download small files
- Not suitable for writing or editing code, large transfers
OnDemand -> Clusters -> Talapas Shell Access
A screenshot of the OnDemand Talapas Shell Access app
A web app in the OnDemand client that provides command line to access to Talapas from your web browser without SSH.
- Connects you directly to a login node
- Enter the password for your DuckID to proceed
- Launch interactive or batch jobs
- Unlike with SSH from your personal terminal, you can’t transfer files to/from your local machine here
Tired of All the Duo 2FA Prompts? UO VPN
While using the UO VPN is not required for today’s activities, RACS recommends that you install and connect to the UO VPN by following this guide. You will receive fewer Duo 2FA authentication prompts if you connect to Talapas while on the UO VPN.
Workshop Setup
Download a fresh copy of the talapas-bash.zip to your home directory if you deleted the copy from last time.
Open Terminal (MacOS, Linux) or Git Bash (Windows) and you’re ready for today’s session.
Getting to Talapas Through the Command Line + SSH
A screenshot of ssh usage through Git Bash
This is the primary and most versatile way to access Talapas. It allows users to transfer files, schedule jobs, and run interactive jobs all from the same terminal application. SSH makes connecting to Talapas a breeze once you’ve generated an SSH key and added it to Talapas. This allows for passwordless authentication as long as you are on the VPN.