HPC/Network Access

Carbon Cluster User Information

Accessing Carbon

Requirements

To use Carbon, you must:

• be entered as a participant on an active user proposal, by your Argonne badge number,
• have an Argonne computer account, which has:
  • a personalized password, (i.e., you changed it after the account has been created, or updated it within the last 6 months), and
  • a personalized user name.

If you do not meet any one of those requirements, see our FAQ, in particular the sections:

• Account Types
• Getting started on a proposal
• Adding users to a proposal
• Follow-up actions required by the User

Please direct questions and follow-up to the CNM User Office, as linked in the FAQ.

Access from inside the CNM using an Argonne-owned computer

Connect with a Secure Shell client program directly to carbon.cnm.anl.gov.

Access from anywhere else

Use one of the following:

• Argonne employees may wish to log into the Argonne VPN first, then access the Carbon login nodes.
• Otherwise, use CNM's SSH gateway mega.cnm.anl.gov (see next section for details).
  • You must be CNM staff or a user on a CNM proposal that is active or has recently expired (within the last 6 weeks).
  • Use the user name and password of your Argonne account to log in.
  • Do not run any commands or store any files on this machine. The gateway is needed for port forwarding only.

Using the SSH gateway

Setup for interactive use and file transfers

• Linux, MacOS, and Cygwin
• Windows (using PuTTY)
• TODO: Windows alternate software.
• Windows (using WinSCP)

SSH GUI Applications

• Mac OS X
• Windows
• Virtual Desktop (VNC)

Additional information:

• Slides from a talk Using Carbon - II Remote Access (PDF)

Password Policies

The methods described above will grant you, the holder of your Argonne domain password and private ssh key, access to your account on Carbon. As with any Argonne computer system, the following rules apply:

• Keep passphrases and passwords private – do not share them with anyone, including administrators that you know or don't know.
• Keep your private key file private - do not share it with anyone.
• Use a strong passphrase following DOE password regulations.