Kickstart Setup

Thank you for registering for HCC's Kickstart! To ensure you are ready for the workshop, please follow the instructions under the tab that corresponds to the sessions you will be attending.

If you have any difficulties with any of the steps, HCC staff will be on hand before the workshop starting at 8:30 am to assist. Or you may contact us hcc-support@unl.edu for assistance prior to the event.

All attendees will need an active HCC account. If you do not already have an HCC account, please complete a new user request form.

Select the tab(s) that corresponds to the session(s) you are attending:

SSH Client

To connect to the Holland clusters, we will use an SSH client. SSH stands for Secure SHell and is the protocol used to connect securely to a remote computer.

Windows Mac OS X Linux

For Windows, we recommend the PuTTY Client. To install PuTTY, download the PuTTY Package file (not the alternate binary file) appropriate for your machine and double click the file to run it. Follow the onscreen prompts, accepting the default settings provided.

All versions of Mac OS X come with Terminal, which has SSH capabilities. See the Git installation video tutorial for an example on how to open the Terminal. You may want to keep Terminal in your dock for this workshop.

Most flavors of Linux come with a built in terminal or with XTerm preinstalled. There is no need to install anything extra.

Github Account

You will need an account at github.com for parts of the Git lesson. Basic GitHub accounts are free. We encourage you to create a GitHub account if you don't have one already. Please consider what personal information you'd like to reveal. For example, you may want to review these instructions for keeping your email address private provided at GitHub.

SSH Client

If you did not attend Day 1, please ensure you have an SSH client installed by reviewing the setup instructions from Day 1.

Globus

We will be using Globus Connect to transfer files to and from the clusters. Please set up an account by visiting the Globus website and clicking the "Login In" button. Individuals from UNL and UNMC can login using their institutional credentials, otherwise you can set up a Globus ID to use for login.

After successfully logging in, please set up a Globus Connect Personal Endpoint on your personal machine by following the directions below which correspond to your operating system.

Windows Mac OS X Linux

Detailed installation information for Windows can be found on the Globus website.

Detailed installation information for Mac OS X can be found on the Globus website.

Detailed installation information for Linux can be found on the Globus website.

Remote Desktop

To connect to an Anvil virtual machine running Windows, we will use a remote desktop client that will allow us to simulate the desktop environment. Please follow the directions below to install a compatable client.

Windows Mac OS X Linux

Windows comes with Remote Desktop by default. No additional installation is necessary.

Remote Desktop client is available on iTunes for free. Please download the client and install by following on screen prompts.

Remmina or rdesktop are both Remote Desktop clients available for Linux. To install Remmina, open the Terminal and enter the command `yum install remmina` or `apt-get install remmina` depending on your distribution of Linux.

VPN Client

To connect to the Anvil dashboard or any Anvil instance, you must first connect to the Anvil virtual private network (VPN). A VPN allows users to securely connect to other computers even if they are using an unsecured or public network.

If you have already connected to the VPN provided by your institution it is likely that you already have the correct software installed. If you have the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client installed on your computer, you do not need to do anything else.

If you are a member of the NU system, the easiest way to install a VPN client is to connect to the VPN provided by your campus.

Click on the link below which corresponds to your home institution. Follow the onscreen prompts to install the necessary software.

If you are not an NU affiliate, we recommend the OpenConnectGUI client.

To install OpenConnectGUI, follow the directions below:

Windows Mac OS X Linux
  1. Download the latest OpenConnectGUI release for Windows.
  2. Run the downloaded application and follow the steps below:
    1. Click on "Next".
    2. Accept the License Agreement by clicking on "I Agree".
    3. Keep "Do not add openconnect-gui to the system PATH" selected and click on "Next".
    4. Click on "Next" to accept the default install location.
    5. Click on "Next".
    6. Click on "Install".
      • If you are prompted to install additional software, click "Yes".
      • Click on "Finish".
  1. Download the latest OpenConnectGUI release for MacOSX.
  2. Run the downloaded application and follow the steps below:
    1. Click on "Agree"
    2. Drag the `openconnect-gui` icon over the `Applications` icon

OpenConnect-GUI is not available natively on Linux. To install it, you will need to download the source code and compile it on your machine. You can find the latest version here: https://github.com/openconnect/openconnect-gui/releases. For assistance with this procedure, please plan to arrive at 8:30 am on the day of the workshop.