Login-Web Interface¶

Login-Web is a “one stop shop” for access to our High Performance Computing resources. With Login-Web, it is possible to upload and download files, create, edit, submit, run GUI applications, and connect to nodes via SSH, all via a web browser, with no client software to install and configure.

System Requirements¶

Currently, the site is confirmed to work with newer versions of Chrome (22+), Firefox (16+), and Internet Explorer (11+). We are still working to expand availability to additional clients, and are planning on including compatibility for mobile devices (phones and tablets) in the future.

Connecting¶

To connect to Login-Web, visit https://login-web.hpc.cam.ac.uk. The first page of the Login-Web site redirects you to the login page.

Logging in¶

Login with your CSD3 HPC credentials: CRSid and password.

Once completed you will be presented with this page:

Or this page if your browser window is more compact:

The three-lined icon to the right of the compact page expands when clicked to show the full toolbar available on the non-compact page. At this point, it is possible to access the tools available in Login-Web.

Note

We are using 2FA to secure access to Login-Web. If you need to reconfigure your 2FA please contact support@hpc.cam.ac.uk and request a token reset.

File Transfer and Management¶

This function allows the transfer of data to and from Research Storage Services project areas, or your CSD3 home directory. To use the file transfer client, select Files in the main menu.

Login-Web provides a web-based File Explorer that can be used to upload and download files to/from your CSD3 home directory or project directory, and copy, delete, rename, and edit files. Below you can see a screenshot of the main interface:

Navigating¶

By default, the file browser will be looking at your home directory. If you have access to a RDS or RCS project space, browse to the rds or rcs subdirectories of your home directory as normal; alternatively if you know the full path to the directory you can move stepwise through the path near the top of the window. In addition, you can use the Go To option in the top menu to type the path you wish to navigate to. Both the directory path and Go To button are highlighted in red in the image above.

Switching Folders¶

On the left side of the screen is a tree view of the directory structure. You can navigate this tree the same way you might on a normal desktop GUI to select the folder you wish to use.

Uploading and Downloading Files¶

There are several methods of uploading files. The first is to simply navigate to the desired destination, and then drag the file from your local desktop or window navigator to the Login-Web window. You can also click the Upload button to open a dialog that will allow you to navigate your local computer and select which files you want to upload. This process is highlighted in the image above.

To download files, you must select the file or files you wish to download, and then use the Download button. If you select multiple files (Ctrl + Mouse click or Shift + Mouse click) or a folder, the server will zip the files up and download a single zip archive to your desktop machine.

File Operations¶

Most file operations can be accomplished by selecting the file in the main window pane and selecting the desired operation from the main menu.

Viewing and/or Editing a File¶

The application also includes several built-in file editors. To access these editors and viewers, select the file you wish to view or edit, and select Edit from the main menu. This will open up a text editor in a new tab.

Job Management¶

This function allows you to create, edit, submit, and monitor jobs. To access the job management tools, use the Jobs menu.

Login-Web provides two related job management tools: one allows you to create and submit jobs via your web browser, and the other allows you to monitor queued and running jobs.

Job Composer¶

Selecting Job Composer in the Jobs menu will open an application which allows you to inspect the results of jobs submitted, and to create new jobs and submit them to the cluster via this tool.

New Job¶

Use the following steps in order to create a job:

Create a new job by using an existing job template by clicking +New Job and then From Template (or alternatively From Default Template). Select the job template to copy, then click Create New Job. The template directory will be copied and a new job row will be added to the top of the jobs table on the page titled Jobs:

Select the job, then modify and/or add any files to this job by clicking Edit Files:

Select the job and click Job Options to change the cluster, job name, or job script, if necessary:

At this point, you can submit the job using the green Submit button from the Jobs page; or return to this job later to modify it further. You can also monitor the job status here. Currently you must reload the page to see job status changes.

Job Management¶

On the main screen for Jobs, click on a job to examine it.

Submit Job¶

If the job has not been submitted, the Submit Job button will be active, and will submit the selected job to the queue.

Stop Job¶

The Stop button will allow you to kill a running job.

Delete Job¶

The Delete button will allow you to delete a job.

Active Jobs¶

The Active Jobs application will show all of your jobs currently in the queue (running or queued), regardless of how the jobs were submitted. You can click the button at the top to switch from:

All jobs submitted from your CSD3 user account

All jobs submitted by all CSD3 users

You can also use the Filter tool to search jobs based on system, status (running, queued, or held), CSD3 user account, etc.

Job Inspection¶

Clicking the arrow to the left of each job will show more information about the job.

Shell Access¶

Login-Web provides the ability to SSH to a CSD3 login node from inside your web browser. To obtain a terminal, select the Clusters menu and choose the desired flavour of login node.

Note

Please note that this action will open a “pop-up” window. If your browser is configured to block pop-ups, you will not see the terminal.

Interactive Apps¶

This function launches a browser-based remote Linux desktop on which to run GUI applications, without the hassle or performance problems associated with X11 forwarding or custom VNC clients. To use this feature, please select an item from under Desktops, GUIs or Servers from the Interactive Apps menu.

Remote Desktop¶

This option will launch a full remote desktop in a browser tab. Select Remote Desktop and you will arrive on the page shown below. Click Launch. You may need to wait for a few minutes for the application to launch. If you’d like to receive an email notifying you of when this has happened, please select I would like to receive an email when the session starts.

To access the desktop you can choose from Launch Remote Desktop to reach your desktop as shown below and interact with it normally, or View Only (Shareable Link) to share your desktop with colleagues in View Only mode.

Once the desktop is ready to be used, your session manager will show a job which looks like the image below:

The remaining options shown under Interactive Apps will use the same functionality to launch specific applications, rather than full desktops.

MATLAB¶

MATLAB allows matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, creation of user interfaces, and interfacing with programs written in other languages, including C, C++, C#, Java, Fortran and Python.

Accessing through Login-Web¶

All the desktop apps can be found within the Interactive Apps drop-down in the Login-Web web portal as shown in the image below:

After selecting MATLAB, you will arrive at this page:

Here you can select the resources you would like your MATLAB session to have using the menu on the right hand side of the page. After clicking Launch, a new session will be queued. Once the session is active your page will look like the image below:

To access the interface you can choose from Launch MATLAB to reach the application as shown below and use it normally, or View Only (Shareable Link) to share the application interface with colleagues in View Only mode.

Using MATLAB¶

Once you have entered your session, you should see a new tab. Allow MATLAB a moment to start up, then your screen should eventually look like the image below:

This is a typical MATLAB interface that should be familiar:

Current Folder — Access your files.
Command Window — Enter commands at the command line, indicated by the prompt (>>).
Workspace — Explore data that you create or import from files.

The desktop also includes these applications:

Web Browser
Terminal Emulator
File Manager

Further Reading: MathWorks support page

Jupyter Notebook¶

The Jupyter Notebook is an open-source web application that allows you to create and share documents that contain live code, equations, visualisations and narrative text. Uses include: data cleaning and transformation, numerical simulation, statistical modeling, data visualisation, machine learning, and much more.

Accessing through Login-Web¶

All the desktop apps can be found within the Interactive Apps dropdown in the Login-Web web portal. After selecting Jupyter, you will arrive at this page:

Here you can select the resources you would like your Jupyter session to have using the menu on the right hand side of the page. After you click Launch, a new session will be queued. Once the session is active your page will look like the image below:

You can choose Connect to Jupyter to start your session and create a New Python 3 notebook.

This is a new notebook with a familiar interface:

Reference¶

Login-Web is based on Open OnDemand

This documentation is based on Ohio Supercomputer Center user documentation for their Open OnDemand deployment (OSC OnDemand).

More detail can be found at:

App Developers¶

If you’d like to develop your own app through OnDemand, see the link below for detailed instructions.

Open OnDemand App Development