FASTER Quick Start Guide
FASTER Usage Policies
Access to FASTER is granted with the condition that you will understand and adhere to all TAMU HPRC and FASTER-specific policies.
General policies can be found on the HPRC Policies page.
FASTER User Guide
Please visit the FASTER User Guide for additional documentation.
Portal login (TAMU)
Users can login using the Portal by visiting:
https://portal-faster.hprc.tamu.edu
Please visit the Portal kb page for additional information.
SSH login (TAMU)
To connect to FASTER, you must use SSH (Secure Shell). SSH is a client-server software that provides for secure (by encryption) logins and other communication between two hosts. SSH is freely available on the Internet for Linux/Unix and PC Windows (in the guise of MobaXterm).
To initiate a SSH connection to a FASTER login node from a terminal enter
[username@localhost ~]$ ssh [NetID]@faster.hprc.tamu.edu
where the faster.hprc.tamu.edu address is a DNS round-robin alias for faster[1-2].hprc.tamu.edu. You will be prompted for your NetId password in order to establish authentication. Once you login succesfully, you will land on one of the 2 login nodes. The shell's prompt will show the actual node you logged into, e.g. [NetID].faster1.
If you are connecting for the very first time, you will see a message similar to the following before arriving at the password prompt:
The authenticity of host 'faster (xxx.xx.xx.xx)' can't be established.
ECDSA key fingerprint is SHA256:SfQPtDJW30sj4kG2c4KGFw7LcEduSOFeXGIlsf4WhEA.
ECDSA key fingerprint is MD5:9c:ea:ba:22:0f:6f:1e:b9:0c:21:d4:b6:70:0f:a0:d5.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?
Type yes and you will then be presented with the password prompt.
Warning: Permanently added 'faster' (ECDSA) to the list of known hosts.
NetID@faster.hprc.tamu.edu's password:
Login Nodes
There are a total of 2 login nodes on FASTER. Connecting to faster.hprc.tamu.edu will direct you to one of the 2 nodes based on a round-robin queue. You can connect to a particular node by utilizing the node-specific names. For example, to connect to FASTER login node 2:
[username@localhost ~]$ ssh [NetID]@faster2.hprc.tamu.edu
MobaXterm Users
MobaXterm is an enhanced terminal for Windows with a built-in X11 server, tabbed SSH client, built-in file editor, SFTP functionality, and other useful features. You may download MobaXterm from: http://mobaxterm.mobatek.net/download.html
You will need to choose which license (free Home edition, or professional) and then select the Portable or Installer edition. The Installer edition works best on your personal machine, when you have the privileges to install software. The portable version may be necessary when using a lab workstation, for example. (Be sure to check if MobaXterm is already installed in the Windows Start menu.)
You may create saved sessions for connecting to faster.hprc.tamu.edu. See http://mobaxterm.mobatek.net/documentation.html#1_2 for instructions. For example:
IMPORTANT: When asked if you would like to save your password, choose "No" to avoid potential security exploits or getting locked out of the system when your password is changed.
Off-campus Access (TAMU)
For connecting to cluster login nodes from outside the campus, you need to activate Virtual Private Network (VPN) first, then initiate SSH connection to the cluster login nodes. You can find VPN installation instruction from TAMU ServiceNow Knowledge Base page on VPN.
WSL and Windows Users Attention: There is a known issue with VPN where users using WSL on Windows 11 cannot log into cluster at this time. You will instead need to use PowerShell.
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PowerShell: you will use syntax similar to when you use WSL: "ssh[NetID]@faster.hprc.tamu.edu"
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Shell Access via the portal: you will access portal-faster.hprc.tamu.edu. On the top bar, choose "Clusters" then choose the "Shell Access" option.
Getting an account (ACCESS)
Users can apply for an account on FASTER through ACCESS. See the ACCESS Active Resources page in the ACCESS documentation to learn how to apply.
Portal login (ACCESS)
Authorized ACCESS users can login using the Portal:
https://portal-faster-access.hprc.tamu.edu
Please visit the Portal kb page for additional information.
SSH login (ACCESS)
Jump Host
ssh login to FASTER is available through the faster jump host for authorized ACCESS users that have supplied their ssh keys.
[user@localhost ~]$ ssh -J [username]@faster-jump.hprc.tamu.edu:8822 [username]@login.faster.hprc.tamu.edu
You can find your username under your ACCESS profile: https://allocations.access-ci.org/profile
Generating SSH Keys
If you do not already have an ed25519 type key-pair you can use the below instructions to generate your ssh-keys on the host you will use to login from. The keys should automatically be generated in $HOME/.ssh/ Do NOT change the name of the generated keys or the location
Instructions for Windows users
Please use the Windows PowerShell to generate your keys.
Once you have launched the Windows PowerShell App type:
ssh-keygen -t ed25519
The command will output the following text:
Generating public/private ed25519 key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (C:\Users\username/.ssh/id_ed25519):
If you already have a .ssh directory, the follow text will not be displayed.
Created directory 'C:\Users\username/.ssh'.
Hit Enter at the following prompt.
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Hit Enter at the following prompt.
Enter same passphrase again:
More text output:
Your identification has been saved in C:\Users\username/.ssh/id_ed25519.
Your public key has been saved in C:\Users\username/.ssh/id_ed25519. pub.
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:long_string_of_text_here
The key's randomart image is:
(many lines of characters here)
Instructions for Linux and Mac users
Launch a terminal on your Linux or Mac system and type:
ssh-keygen -t ed25519
The command will output the following text:
Generating public/private ed25519 key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/abhinand/.ssh/id_ed25519):
If you already have a .ssh directory, the follow text will not be displayed.
Created directory '/Users/username/.ssh'
Hit Enter at the following prompt.
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Hit Enter at the following prompt.
Enter same passphrase again:
More text output:
Your identification has been saved in /Users/username/.ssh/id_ed25519.
Your public key has been saved in /Users/username/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:long_string_of_text_here
The key's randomart image is:
(many lines of characters here)
How to submit your id_ed25519.pub key ?
Type the following command to show the contents of the id_ed25519.pub file.
cat $HOME/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
The cat command should output a single line of text that starts with
ssh-ed25519 many_characters_here username@host
This should be strings of text specific to your key and system:
Copy the output text from the above cat command and include it in the email to keys@hprc.tamu.edu or attach the file id_ed25519.pub in your email
Do NOT send your private key. You will be notified by email when your pub key has been installed and your account is active.
MobaXterm users
MobaXterm offers the capability to use a jump host to connect to a server in a secured network zone. You can configure your SSH session to use a jump host to save time with the login process.
Click on the Session tab to create a new session. Next click SSH* in the top ribbon.
Enter login.faster.hprc.tamu.edu into the Remote host * box.
Enter your ACCESS username in the Specify username box.
Open the Advanced SSH Settings tab check the Use Private Key box. Then enter the path to your private key.
Go to the Network Settings tab and enable Connect through SSH gateway (jump host) and enter respective login data. The gateway host should be faster-jump.hprc.tamu.edu and port should be 8822. Click OK.
Start the session by double clicking the session login.faster.hprc.tamu.edu (username) in the left hand ribbon or under the Sessions tab.
