Documentation

Getting started with NCAR systems

Created by BJ Smith, last modified on 2023-02-01

Once you are authorized to use NCAR compute and storage resources, and you have an account and the necessary software, you can follow the procedures described below to log in.

These pages provide information on compiling your code, submitting jobs, and performing other common tasks on all NCAR resources unless otherwise noted:

Compiling code
Starting and managing jobs with PBS
Managing your allocation (Cheyenne/Casper)

Additional Derecho-specific documentation is in development.

Also see: New user orientation

Don’t run sudo on NCAR systems

If you need help with tasks that you think require sudo privileges, or if you aren’t sure, please contact HPC User Support before trying to run sudo yourself. The command fails when unauthorized users run it and sends a security alert to system administrators.

Logging in

To log in, start your terminal or Secure Shell client and run an ssh command as shown here:

ssh -X username@system_name.ucar.edu 
OR 
ssh -X username@system_name.ucar.edu

Some users (particularly on Macs) need to use -Y instead of -X when calling SSH to enable X11 forwarding.

You can use this shorter command if your username for the system is the same as your username on your local computer:

ssh -X system_name.ucar.edu 
OR 
ssh -X system_name.ucar.edu

After running the ssh command, you will be asked to authenticate to finish logging in.