CSU Summit User Guide

Logging into Summit requires Duo two factor authentication. See our Duo Two Factor Authentication page for set-up instructions if needed.

Access to Research Computing resources is available by way of the Secure Shell, or ssh, protocol. Access is provided via a dedicated login node.

The ssh command can be run from the Linux and OS X command-line:

ssh csu_NetID@colostate.edu@login.rc.colorado.edu

where you should replace “csu_NetID” with your NetID.

When logging in from Windows, we recommend the PuTTY application.

To log in with the Duo smartphone app:

When it asks for your password, type in your CSU password, followed by a comma, followed by the word “push”:

csu_password,push

Don’t forget the comma! The Duo app on your phone will ask you to approve the request.

Alternatively: you can ask the Duo app to generate a 6-digit code called a Duo key. Use your CSU password, followed by a comma, followed by the 6 digit number generated by your app.

csu_password,DUO_key

Don’t forget the comma!

NOTE: The DUO_key mentioned above cycles every 15 seconds. If you do not log in within 15 seconds of generating the key, it will expire and you’ll have to generate another key.

To log in without the smartphone app:

When it asks for your password, type in your CSU password, followed by a comma, followed by the word “phone”:

csu_password,phone

You will receive a call at your registered phone number and will be asked to use the keypad to authenticate.

If you are having trouble logging in and you suspect Duo is the issue, contact the Division of IT Help Desk at (970) 491-7276 or help@colostate.edu.

For other questions, email rc2-request@colostate.edu.

Transferring files to Summit is typically facilitated by ssh File Transfer (sftp) or Globus.

ssh File Transfer:

ssh File transfer (sftp) is recommended for smaller files. A good rule of thumb is that if you’re willing to sit through the file transfer, sftp is a good option. You can use sftp from the command line or other software. The login credentials are the same ones you use to ssh into the login node. Please see the section on remote login for more details.

Command Line:

sftp csu_NetID@colostate.edu@login.rc.colorado.edu

csu_password,push

OR

sftp csu_NetID@colostate.edu@login.rc.colorado.edu

csu_password,DUO_key

Other sftp clients:

You can also use other file transfer software like:

•FileZilla, a multi-protocol, multi-platform file-transfer application

•WinSCP, a basic SCP/SFTP file-transfer application for Windows

Generally, the information you need to use this method is as follows:

•Host: login.rc.colorado.edu

•Protocol: choose “SFTP – SSH File Transfer Protocol”

•User and password: the same credentials that you use to ssh into Summit (see remote login section)

Note: since Research Computing uses one-time passwords for authentication, you must disable password retention/saving in your file-transfer client if you are using the Duo key authentication method. Failure to do so may cause your account to be temporarily disabled after the client attempts and fails to authenticate repeatedly in the background.

Globus:

For more information about using Globus, including populating transfer endpoints (such as Research Computing, a local machine, etc.), see the documentation provided by CU Boulder research computing.

CSU has joined Globus to provide researchers a means to transfer and share data among researchers between institutions. To find out more and start using the system, go to the Globus website and login with your NetID.

•On the Globus home page select “Log In” at the top right-hand corner

•Select “Colorado State University” as your organization

•Select “Continue” to go to the CILogin page

•Use your NetID and NetID password to log on to CILogin

•You will land on the Globus File Manager page

•Click in the “Collection” field, where it says “Start here”

Follow the prompts from Globus. You may need to install Globus Connect Personal to make your local computer an endpoint. If Globus Connect Personal is already installed, click “Your Collections” to see the endpoints you already have.

Summit users have 3 main directories: Home, Projects and Scratch

Home directory

The home directory (/home/csu_NetID@colostate.edu) has 2 GB of storage that is backed up locally into a hidden directory (.snapshot/) at 2 hour, daily, and weekly intervals and to a second site for disaster recovery nightly. Because the home directory is not on high-performance storage, it should not be written to by compute jobs.

Project directory

The projects directory (/projects/csu_NetID@colostate.edu) is intended to store software builds and smaller datasets and to share data and software with other users. It has 250 GB of storage that is backed up locally into a hidden directory (.snapshot/) at 6 hour, daily, and weekly intervals and to a second site for disaster recovery nightly. Like the home directory, because projects is not on high-performance storage, it should not be written to by compute jobs.

Summit scratch directory

The Summit scratch directory (/scratch/summit/csu_NetID@colostate.edu) is intended for input and output for compute jobs running on Summit and uses GPFS (General Parallel File System) for fast parallel I/O. Each user is limited to 10 TB of scratch storage and a total of 20 million files and directories. If you need a larger allocation, email rc-help@colostate.edu. Files in the scratch directory are automatically purged 90 days after their creation, are NOT backed up, and may be purged at any time. Transfer your data to the projects directory or to permanent data storage soon after your job completes.

For more in-depth information, and a table of backup frequencies for each directory, see the CU Boulder RC User Guide topic on Filesystems.

Summit uses a module system that allows the installation of multiple versions of common software packages that users can switch between. To use the software, the module must be loaded first. Loading a module will alter aspects of your environment, such as the $PATH variable. Finally, you must be on a Summit compile node to load modules.

After logging in on Summit, type:

ssh scompile

to move to a compile node.

Summit uses Lmod environment module system to simplify shell configuration and software application management. See CU Boulder RC Summit User guide for more information about the module system, including commands for module loading and exploration.

Pre-installed software

Summit uses a module system to publish software. See the Lmod documentation to learn how to see which modules are installed and how to load them.

Installing custom software

Users should install custom software in the project directory. Users may also take advantage of the module system to publish local module files to configure a running environment for the software. Such a module could be adopted as a centrally supported module if it has wide community use.

Most custom software should be installed using one of the Summit compile nodes. These nodes are identical to the general Summit compute nodes, which is ideal for compiling software to run on the system. Once you are connected to the login node via ssh, you can connect to a compile node by running the following:

ssh scompile

Software Compilation

For information on how to compile your software on Summit, please see the CU Boulder RC Summit User Guide.

SLURM is the batch queuing system used on Summit. For more information on batch queuing and job scheduling on Summit, see the CU Boulder Research Computing User Guide.

For more information about using Summit, see the CU Boulder Research Computing Tutorial Wiki

Note that the CU examples will include information about how they log in to Summit. Please substitute the information from our Remote login section.