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Get on Sphinx

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Meg Staton edited this page Aug 7, 2024 · 5 revisions

In this section, we will go over how to log into Sphinx, one of two UTIA computational servers .

Server Access

  1. As a student of the course, Dr. Staton has already submitted an OIT help ticket to add you to the statonutia group, so your account should be ready to go by the first day. If you signed up last minute or if you're having trouble logging in, please let Dr. Staton know as soon as possible. It takes about 24-48 hours for OIT to respond to a ticket.

  2. Now you must set posixAccount attribute and associated metadata on your LDAP entry - this can be done by visiting https://setuplinux.utk.edu/. Make sure you click "Create Account" so you can access the server.

  3. Once you're able to log in (see below log-in instructions prior to this step), update your ~/.bash_profile with your favorite text editor (i.e. nano or vim) to include the following:

# .bash_profile

# Get the aliases and functions
if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then
	. ~/.bashrc
fi

# User specific environment and startup programs

export SPACK_ROOT=/pickett_shared/spack
PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin:$SPACK_ROOT/bin
. $SPACK_ROOT/share/spack/setup-env.sh

exec newgrp statonutia

How to Log In

In order to log into either computational server, you must be connected to UTK's VPN, which can be done by installing Pulse Secure. Please follow this link for more details.

Once you are connected to the VPN via Pulse Secure, open up your shell (Terminal for Mac, Powershell or Command Prompt for Windows), and type the following:

ssh [email protected]

ssh stands for secure shell, which allows you to securely login to a remote server.

The password for login will be the same as your UTK passcode. Please note that nothing appears as you type your password; this is expected, as it provides a user additional security. Press enter/return after typing.

If you are a first-time user, you will receive the following message:

The authenticity of host 'sphinx.ag.utk.edu (160.36.238.143)' can't be established.
ECDSA key fingerprint is <string_of_numbers>.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])

Type yes and enter. Now you have access to Sphinx!

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