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Connecting to the Cluster

This guide explains how to connect to the ACE HPC Cluster using SSH.

Prerequisites​

  • An active ACEBDIS HPC account.
  • An SSH client (e.g., OpenSSH on Linux/Mac, PuTTY on Windows).

Login Nodes​

  • Primary login Node: biocompace.ace.ac.ug
  • Old Biocompace1 server: biocompace1.ace.ac.ug
  • Old Biocompace2 server: biocompace2.ace.ac.ug

Connecting via SSH​

  1. Open a terminal or SSH client.
  2. Use the following command (replace username with your actual username):
  • Primary login Node: 
    ssh <username>@biocompace.ace.ac.ug
  • Old Biocompace1 server: 
    ssh <username>@biocompace1.ace.ac.ug
  • Old Biocompace2 server: 
    ssh <username>@biocompace2.ace.ac.ug
  1. Enter your password when prompted.

Connecting to the ACE HPC Cluster off-site​

This guide provides instructions for users to connect to the African Centre of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Data Intensive Sciences (ACEBDIS) High Performance Computing (HPC) Cluster from off-site. Follow the steps below to establish a secure connection.

Prerequisites​

  • An active ACEBDIS HPC account with a username and password.
  • A computer with an SSH client installed (e.g., OpenSSH on Linux/Mac, or PuTTY on Windows).
  • Access to EduVPN credentials provided by the African Centre of Excellence in Bioinformatics.

Step 1: Connect to the ACE Network Using EduVPN​

To access the ACEBDIS HPC Cluster from off-site, users must first connect to the ACE network using EduVPN. Follow these steps:

  1. Download and Install EduVPN
    Visit the official EduVPN website to download the client:
    EduVPN Download
    Install the EduVPN client on your computer by following the provided instructions for your operating system.

  2. Launch EduVPN and Select Your Institution
    Open the EduVPN application and select "African Centre of Excellence in Bioinformatics" as the institution from the list.

  3. Authenticate with Your Credentials
    Log in using the EduVPN credentials provided by the African Centre of Excellence in Bioinformatics. Once authenticated, the EduVPN client will establish a secure connection to the ACE network.

Step 2: Connect to the ACE HPC Cluster via SSH​

After successfully connecting to the ACE network through EduVPN, users can access the HPC cluster using SSH. Follow these steps:

  1. Open a Terminal
    Launch a terminal application on your computer. For Windows users, this could be a tool like PuTTY or the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) terminal. For Mac and Linux users, the default terminal application will suffice.

  2. Enter the SSH Command
    In the terminal, enter the following command to connect to the ACEBDIS HPC Cluster:

    ssh <username>@biocompace.ace.ac.ug