Accessing the IDEA Cluster (Mar 2022)

• The Rensselaer IDEA Compute Cluster is a high performance computing environment with five Intel Xeon and two AMD compute servers in various configurations ranging from 24-40 cores (48-80), 256GB-1TB RAM, and up to four GPUs per machine (Tesla K40m or Titan RTX). The IDEA Cluster includes two dedicated storage servers totaling more than 40TB of usable space.
  • RCS credentials and VPN are required
  • Email John Erickson for access privileges: erickj4@rpi.edu
• Student Access:
  • Students of IDEA-sponsored courses (e.g. MATP-4400, MATP-4900) are automatically added for the term of the course
  • The Cluster provides access to: RStudio, Jupyter, Python, MATLAB, GPUs (on Nodes 2 and 5); lots of storage and computes
  • Access via the RPI physical network or VPN required
  • Priority is given to IDEA researchers and students in IDEA-sponsored courses (e.g. MATP-4910, MATP-4400)
• Web links to RStudio and Jupyter GUIs:
  • RStudio on idea-node-01: http://lp01.idea.rpi.edu/rstudio-ose/ 
  • RStudio on idea-node-03: http://lp01.idea.rpi.edu/rstudio-ose-3/ 
  • Jupyter on idea-node-02: https://bit.ly/idea-jupyter-02
  • Jupyter on idea-node-05: https://bit.ly/idea-jupyter-05
  • GUI access to MATLAB possible via port forwarding; command line recommended! (Contact John Erickson)
  • Linux terminal accessible from within RStudio "Terminal" or via ssh (below)
• Shared Data on the Cluster:
  • All idea_users have access to shared storage via /data ("data" in your home directories)
  • Permissions are best managed via the Linux terminal (see above)
• Shell access to individual nodes: You must access "landing pad" first, then a specific compute node:
  • ssh your_rcs@lp01.idea.rpi.edu, then ssh idea-node-XX
  • For example:
    1. ssh erickj4@lp01.idea.rpi.edu
    2. Then, ssh idea-node-02 (to access "Node 02," a GPU node)

Help for R users new to Linux

• Navigating the Linux File System via the RStudio Terminal Tab 
• Git usage "cheat sheet"
• Git Basics (minimal tutorial)

Help for IDEA Cluster Python Users

• See: Working with Python3 on the IDEA Cluster (pdf) (revised Mar 2022)
• See: Server Notes for Capstone Users (pdf) (especially helpful for cleaning up your processes!)(Mar 2022)

Help for General IDEA Cluster Issues

• Send an email to: itssc@support.rpi.edu
• Include "IDEA Cluster" in the Subject heading
• CC John Erickson erickj4@rpi.edu

Contact John Erickson for details! erickj4@rpi.edu