Accessing OSCAR

CCV uses the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol for interactive logins and file transfers. SSH is normally available on Linux, MacOS and other Unix-like systems. A free SSH client application for Windows is available on the CIS software download web page.

CCV systems are accessed through a single login portal called ssh.ccv.brown.edu. To login to the Oscar system:

  • ssh yourusername@ssh.ccv.brown.edu
  • Enter your password

You are now connected to either login001 or login002, the primary interactive frontend nodes for the cluster. (If you are not, you may need to execute an additional ssh oscar command.)

Note: please do not run computations or simulations on the login nodes, because they are shared with other users. You can use the login nodes to compile your code, manage files, and launch jobs on the compute nodes.

Passwords

To change your Oscar login password, use the command:

  • yppasswd
  • (enter old password)
  • (enter new password twice)

To change your Samba/CIFS password, use the command:

  • smbpasswd
  • (enter old password)
  • (enter new password twice)

Linux

Oscar runs the Linux operating system. General Linux documentation is available from The Linux Documentation Project, which contains a good general introduction to Linux.

Once logged into the Oscar frontend, your home directory will contain a "README" file with some quick-start information, and a sample batch script file which can be modified for submitting computing jobs to the batch system. You can view the README with more README (press 'q' to quit and 'space' to scroll).

The preferred method for transferring files to and from the Oscar system is to use either scp or sftp (the secure shell copy and ftp protocols). Alternatively, you may choose to mount your Oscar home directory on your laptop or workstation via CIFS.

Shells

A "shell" is a program that enables you to interact with a Unix system through a command-line interface. You may wish to change your default shell. To do this:

  • ypchsh
  • Enter your password
  • Enter either /bin/bash or /bin/tcsh (note: CCV supports only these two shells)