Connecting with MobaXterm

Use of Duo two-factor authentication is required to access HCC resources.¶

Please see Setting up and Using Duo.¶

This quick start will help you configure your MobaXterm installation to work with HCC resources.

Access to HCC Supercomputers using MobaXterm¶

To connect to HCC resources using MobaXterm, open the application and select the Session Icon. MobaXterm window with Session circled

Select SSH as the session type. Enter the cluster you are connecting to, in the example, swan.unl.edu, is used. Check Specify username and enter your HCC username in the the box. Note that <username> should be replaced by your HCC account username. If you do not have a HCC account, please contact a HCC specialist hcc-support@unl.edu or go to https://hcc.unl.edu/newusers. Session settings window with SSH selected

Select OK. You will be asked to enter your password and to authenticate with duo. prompt asking for password Swan terminal in MobaXterm

File Transferring with HCC Supercomputers¶

Using MobaXterm¶

MobaXterm allows file transfering in a 'drag and drop' style, similar to WinSCP. MobaXterm also allows editing of files from a built in text editor or an editor of your choice already installed on your local machine.

Uploading from local to remote

The above example transfers a folder from a local directory of the your computer to the $HOME directory of the HCC supercomputer, Swan. Note that you need to replace <group name> and <username> with your HCC group name and username. two windows with MobaXterm and local storage side by side Downloading from remote to local

The above example transfers a folder from the $HOME directory of the HCC supercomputer, Swan, to a local directory on your computer. transferring a folder from Swan to local folder Editing remote files

By double clicking on a file in the toolbar of the left, you are able to open the file in the editor from MobaXterm.

file in the left toolbar selected, with file editor open on the right

There is the option to use your own choice of editor already installed on your local machine. Under the General Tab in MobaXterm's settings, set the path of the editor's installation.

MobaXterm window with Settings, General, and Default text editor program circled

In the example above, Notepad--- is used as the choice editor. Once the editor is selected, it becomes the default editor for double clicking files and editing.

Using an SFTP Session¶

With HCC Clusters, MobaXterm requires an additional option to be marked to allow SFTP sessions to properly work. MobaXterm will still prompt you for DUO authentication, but will not properly work unless the 2-Steps Authentication checkbox is enabled in your session settings

To accomplish this, go to the Advanced Sftp Settings when creating a new SFTP session and select 2-Steps Authentication

MobaXterm window with a 1 pointing to Session, 2 pointing to SFTP, 3 pointing to Advanced Sftp settings, and 4 pointing to select 2-steps authentication

Generating SSH Keys¶

With Anvil, you will need to generate SSH keys in order to access your instances. These are able to be generated in MobaXterm.

MobaXterm with Tools dropdown open and MobaKeyGen selected

In the Generator window, click Generate and move your mouse around in the Key box randomly to generate the key.

MobaXterm SSH Key Generator window with Generate button circled

After the key is generated, go to the Conversions tab and select Export OpenSSH key and save it to your local machine.

MobaXterm SSH Key Generator with Conversion dropdown open and Export OpenSSH key selected Treat the private key file the same as you would a password. Keep your private key in a secure location and do not share it with anyone.