Remote access to Linux machines

Depending on your requirements, there are several options for remotely access CLASSE Linux resources.

Function	Recommended solution	Alternative solutions	Notes
Remotely controlling the physical of a linux desktop	NoMachine	X2Go, Zoom	Can be used to control your own desktop. You must be connected to initiate or approve remote connections for other users.
Remotely launching virtual desktops or individual applications	X2Go	NoMachine
Remote file copy	Globus	SCP, SFTP

Remote desktops and graphical applications.

NoMachine

NoMachine is our recommended solution for remotely controlling a physical display, and also works well for remotely creating virtual desktops and launching individual applications. Please see NoMachine for detailed instructions.

LNX201 is available through NoMachine as a general-use remote login node. Any CPU or memory intensive operations should be run on the CLASSE Compute Farm or on individual workstations - not on lnx201. Please email service-classe@cornell.edu if you woud like help setting up nomachine on your desktop or workstation.

X2Go

X2Go is mainly recommended for creating new virtual desktops and remotely launching individual X applications. Please see X2Go for detailed instructions.

LNX201 is available through X2Go as a general-use remote login node. Any CPU or memory intensive operations should be run on the CLASSE Compute Farm or on individual workstations - not on lnx201.

Zoom

Zoom can be used for sharing and remotely controlling a linux desktop at CLASSE. Please see ZoomRemoteControl for detailed instructions. .

VNC (Virtual Network Computing) (Prior to 7/29/2014)

Most X applications (such as matlab, total view, etc.) generate a large amount of X traffic. This can be very slow when tunneled through ssh to machines off of CLASSE's network. In addition to using X2Go, another option is to start a VNC server on the remote system (where your program will be running) and connect to it using a VNC client on the computer you're sitting in front of. For the client, CLASSE recommends TigerVNC, a free cross-platform VNC viewer. It is available for Windows, OS X, and Linux from http://www.tigervnc.org/

For more information on starting and using a VNC server to remotely access the desktop of your personal linux workstation, please see VirtualNetworkComputing .

Remote terminal access

SSH

You can generally ssh into any public Linux machine at CLASSE (such as lnx201.classe.cornell.edu) by typing

ssh <username>@lnx201.classe.cornell.edu

on Linux or Mac OS.

If you're running an X server on your local machine and have your display set correctly, you can also tunnel X through ssh to remotely run X applications.

1. Make sure your X server is working locally by testing a program such as xterm, xclock, or xeyes.
2. Log into the remote linux machine and tunnel X through ssh using, for example,

ssh -Y <username>@lnx201.classe.cornell.edu

CLASSE Windows computers are preconfigured to use Xming to provide an Xwindows display through PuTTY's ssh connection. For more information, see ConnectingToALinuxMachineFromWindows

If you encounter the error below, please follow the instructions at ClasseAuthentication

Permission denied (publickey,gssapi-keyex,gssapi-with-mic,password).

Remote file copy

Globus

Globus is a high-speed file transfer system that was originally developed for Grid computing applications, and is our recommended data transfer solution for both on and off-site visitors. Please see GlobusDataTransfer for more information.

SFTP

For secure file transfers using SFTP from a Linux or macOS terminal window:

sftp <username>@lnx201.classe.cornell.edu
[type in your CLASSE password when prompted]
cd <target directory>
ls  [to see the directory contents]
get <filename>  [to transfer a file from CLASSE to your local computer]
put <filename>  [to transfer a file from your local computer to CLASSE]
exit

SCP

For secure file transfers using SCP from a Linux or macOS terminal window:

scp <username>@lnx201.classe.cornell.edu:<target directory>/<filename> .
[type in your CLASSE password when prompted]