Texas Tech University

Connecting to HPCC Systems using Putty on Windows

If you are connecting to the Linux clusters from the wired TTU network or the TTUnet wireless network, then you are considered to be "on campus". Connections made from TTUHSC, the TTUguest wireless network or any other off campus site is treated as an "off campus" connection.

Table of Contents

1. Downloading the SSH Client
2. Connecting from "On Campus" using PuTTY on Windows
3. Connecting from "Off Campus" using PuTTY on Windows

 

Downloading the SSH Client

  • PuTTY SSH Client - Available for all versions of Windows
    • PuTTY is a lightweight SSH client that can be run with or without installation on the host machine.
    • PuTTY can be downloaded (for free) from the PuTTY website.

 

Connecting from "On Campus" using PuTTY on Windows

PuTTY does not generate profiles that can be moved between machines. Instead you will need to create the profile yourself using the following steps and the image below for reference. Please note that although the image included here shows the configuration for connecting to Quanah, the newer multi-node HPCC login service at login.hpcc.ttu.edu is the preferred login destination for general use.

  1. In the "Host Name (or IP address)" textbox you will need to put the address to the server you wish to connect to:

    • To connect to the primary RedRaider login service (preferred) use the address: login.hpcc.ttu.edu
    • To connect to Quanah use the address:  quanah.hpcc.ttu.edu (This is a secondary login resource useful to prepare and submit jobs to the older quanah partition.)
  2. Make sure the "Connection type" is set to SSH - this should be selected by default.
  3. In the "Saved Sessions" text box, type in a meaningful name for this connection profile.
  4. Click the "Save" option to save the profile, you should now see it listed in the selection box under "Saved Sessions".

Setting up a Quanah profile on PuTTY

On your first connection to an HPCC server, you will be required to accept the host key of the login node you have selected. You will not be able to connect to the server until you select the "Yes" option, for reference see the image below.

PuTTY first time connecting to Quanah

 

Once connected you will be prompted for you eraider username followed by your eraider password. Once you have typed each of these in and hit the Enter/Return key you will be logged into the login node where you can prepare, edit, and submit jobs.


 

Connecting from "Off Campus" using PuTTY on Windows

Unlike Bitvise, PuTTY does not generate profiles that can be moved between machines. As such the HPCC cannot provide a working PuTTY profile for you to use. Instead you will need to create the profile yourself using the following steps and the image below for reference:

  1. In the "Host Name (or IP address)" textbox you will need to put the address to the server you wish to connect to:
    1. To connect to the SSH gateway use the address: ssh.ttu.edu
  2. Make sure the "Connection type" is set to SSH - this should be selected by default.
  3. In the "Saved Sessions" text box, type in a meaningful name for this connection profile.
  4. Click the "Save" option to save the profile, you should now see it listed in the selection box under "Saved Sessions".

Setting up SSH gateway profile on PuTTY


On your first connection to the SSH gateway server, you will be required to accept the gateway's host key. You will not be able to connect to the server until you select the "Yes" option, for reference see the image below.

PuTTY first time connecting to Quanah

Once connected you will be prompted for you eraider username followed by your eraider password. Once you have typed each of these in and hit the Enter/Return key the system will respond back with:

You are now connected to the TTUnet SSH Gateway. Please specify the following information to continue connecting via SSH to a device on the network. This connection will automatically timeout in 24 hours
Hostname or IP Address of SSH instance:
#Enter login.hpcc.ttu.edu (preferred), quanah.hpcc.ttu.edu
User account to connect with:
#Enter your eraider username

You will be prompted for your eraider password and once you have entered it you will be logged into Quanah or Ivy where you can begin submitting jobs. 

High Performance Computing Center