Connecting with Terminal

Use of Duo two-factor authentication is required to access HCC resources.
Please see Setting up and Using Duo.

Starting Terminal:

MacOS

To start a terminal on MacOS, launch Spotlight by pressing Command - spacebar. Type “Terminal” and press enter to launch the application. You should see a prompt, which is a string of text, followed by a $ or > character and a blinking cursor. Continue to connect by following the connection directions below.

Linux

Terminal can be opened on most Linux systems by pressing the Ctrl + Alt + T keys simultaneously. You should see a prompt - a string of text, followed by a $ or > character and a blinking cursor. Continue to connect by following the connection directions below.

Windows

The command prompt on Windows systems can be used to connect to HCC Resources. To start the command prompt, open the start menu and type cmd. Press enter to run. You should see a prompt - a string of text, followed by a $ or > character and a blinking cursor. Continue to connect by following the connection directions below.

If you are using an older versions of Windows, you will need to download an SSH client such as PuTTY.

Connecting To HCC Clusters

Once you have opened your terminal and you have a prompt, you can connect using the ssh command. For example, to connect to the Swan cluster type the following in your terminal or Command Prompt window:

$ ssh <username>@swan.unl.edu

where <username> is replaced with your HCC account name.

The first time you connect to one of our clusters from a computer, you will be prompted to verify the connection:

The authenticity of host 'swan.unl.edu (129.93.227.88)' can't be established.
ECDSA key fingerprint is SHA256:qcyi6CEw1gUgumEghA+TcXFmu39MAO4Pyrt8rT6+ymk.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])?

Type yes to indicate that you do intend to connect to Swan.

You will then be prompted for your password.

Note that when entering your password, the characters you type will not be displayed on screen for security reasons.

Once the account password is entered successfully, two-factor authentication prompt will appear.

Duo two-factor login for demo01

Enter a passcode or select one of the following options:

 1. Duo Push to XXX-XXX-4247
 2. Phone call to XXX-XXX-4247
 3. SMS passcodes to XXX-XXX-4247

Passcode or option (1-3):

Enter the number which corresponds to your preferred option. You will know you have connected if your prompt changes to the following:

[<username>@login1.swan ~]$

Next Steps:

Now that you are connected, check out these resources to learn more:

If you are not familiar with using command line Linux, check out these resources: