Getting started with terminal

Step 1: Get any Linux-based OS If you use Windows OS, install any Virtual Machine (VM) software and then create a VM with any Linux-based OS. We recommend using Ubuntu OS due to we use this one.

Step 2: Get familiar with terminal

Step 3: Get Linux-based cluster access. Ask the access to one of our Linux-based clusters/working stations/machines. You will receive a pair of login/password and corresponding IP address of the machine. See our resources on a main page.

Step 4: Get VPN access If the machine is located inside local Skoltech network, you also should ask a VPN access to work with the equipment, when you are out of Skoltech.

Step 5: Turn on VPN (only if you are out of Skoltech) If you are reading this step, I hope you have already had a VPN access and an account on one of our computational resources. Now you have to turn on Skoltech VPN using corresponding instruction for Windows/Linux obtained along with login/password pair. I can recommend using a short instruction for Linux to turn on VPN:

• Install OpenConnect via Terminal

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install openconnect

• Create a script vpnscript.sh with the following content:

openconnect vpn.skoltech.ru --user=your_username --passwd-on-stdin < path_to_file_with_password/pass.txt 

• Command for turning on VPN:

sudo /path_to_script/./vpnscript.sh

• You can add it as alias into your ~/.bashrc file:

alias vpn='sudo /path_to_script/./vpnscript.sh'

• Restart you terminal or open a new one to restart settings from updated .bashrc
• Perform a new command vpn and vpn will started. Don't close the terminal window with VPN

Step 6: Connect to the cluster via Secure Shell (SSH) protocol

• You can just perform a command

ssh your_username@ip_address_of_machine #for example a.boev@20.15.18.220

• If it is the first connection to the machine, you also have to print 'yes' after the previous substep.
• Since you got connected to the machine, the terminal show what is happening on the machine, not on your computer!!! Be careful. If you want to return back to you computer, write a command 'exit'.

Step 7: Set the passwordless access

• Generate personal ssh keys

ssh-keygen #the just press Enter button several times

• Setup Passwordless ssh login

ssh-copy-id your_username@ip_address_of_machine

• If everything was ok you can access to the Linux-machine via a command

ssh your_username@ip_address_of_machine