Graphical Login (VNC) ... with Strudel
| Strudel (Scientific Remote Desktop Launcher)
Strudel is a cross-platform application which is helps to access interactive desktop sessions on high performance computing systems and cloud environments. DISCLAIMER: Strudel is research software and it may contain bugs ... Download: |
|
|---|
Preparation
Very Important !!'''
- SSH key agent must be running on your system.
- SSH key for JURECA must be loaded into the SSH key agent.
- SSH tunnel cipher must NOT be a arcfour128 -> please choose 3des-cbc.
Please test your system before you proceed.
Execute the command with your JURECA-userid on your local workstation.
It must return with nothing else than the word 'success'.
Linux/MacOSX:
ssh -A -T <YOUR-USERID>@jurecavis.fz-juelich.de ssh -A -T <YOUR-USERID>@jureca echo "success"
Windows/Putty:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\PuTTY\plink.exe" -ssh -A -T <YOUR-USERID>@jurecavis.fz-juelich.de ssh -A -T <YOUR-USERID>@jureca echo "success"
What if I do not see the word 'success'?
1) Please try the joined commands separately (without '-T' first and in verbose mode '-v'):
ssh -v -A <YOUR-USERID>@jurecavis.fz-juelich.de and from there (jurecavis) call ssh -v -A <YOUR-USERID>@jureca
This might give a hint already.
2) You need to login with SSH to the machine Strudel will be possibly using at least once.
This adds them to your local SSH known_hosts file.
Login to jurecavis01.fz-juelich.de, jurecavis02.fz-juelich.de from your local machine.
3) You have no SSH key agent running or you key is not loaded.
Check additional information below.
4) You have MacOS X >= 10.12.2. Make sure you have read THIS.
Installation
- Linux
- Windows
- MacOS X
- download & install Oracle Java Runtime Environment
- download & install VNC viewer TurboVNC for Oracle Java (download TurboVNC-*.dmg, but NOT TurboVNC-*-AppleJava.dmg)
(you will need to install a Java Runtime Environment, we recommend version 8) - download & install Strudel
Post-Installation
- "Remember me"-Option must be choosen in Strudel
- JURECA must be chosen in Strudel->'File->Manage sites'
- Please add the following URL to 'File->Manage sites' if not available:
- https://gitlab.version.fz-juelich.de/vis/strudel/raw/master/conf/jsc_jureca_flavours_v2.0.json
- Please add the following URL to 'File->Manage sites' if not available:
- Note: the menu "Identity" is of no use on JURECA - just ignore it.
|
Download: TurboVNC installation files |
|---|
Background Information
Authentication:
Strudel communicates with remote sites via multiple Secure Shells (SSH).
It is mandatory that the remote site trusts Strudel and is 100% sure
that the incoming connection is by a certain user and no none else.
Hence, each new SSH connections starts with an authentification procedure.
SSH supports different authentification methods, but not all are available on any site.
Strudel uses the most secure Public-Key Authentification (PKA) as it is supported by all sites.
PKA is based on a SSH key-pair with a private key and a public key.
The private key never leaves the local machine and the public key must be installed on the remote machine.
Anyone who knows the private key can now connect to the remote machine.
Hence, the private key is in general encrypted with a passphrase for security reasons.
But it is not desirable to involve the user in each of the multiple authentification procedures.
Hence, Strudel relys on an running SSH key agent on the local machine.
A SSH key agent loads private keys and ask for the passphrase once.
For a new SSH connection the SSH key agent can now provide the private key without user interaction.
How this required SSH key agent is started and what private keys are loaded depends on YOU:
- in general Linux and MacOSX starts a SSH key agent on login
- if this is not the case: run 'ssh-agent $SHELL' and start Strudel in the same terminal
- load your key to a SSH key agent before you start Strudel
- Linux: 'ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa'
- MacOS X: 'ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa'
- for MacOS X >= 10.12.2 you must read this additional information HERE
- Windows: use Putty's Pageant
- choose "Remember me" as Authentication Option in Strudel (this will ensure, that the available SSH key agent is used)
Known Installations & QuickFixes:
| Version | Success? | QuickFix | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | 7,8,10 | YES | |
| MaxOSX | YES | ||
| CentOS | 6 | YES | |
| CentOS | 7 | YES | |
| Fedora | 23 | YES | |
| Fedora | 24 | NO->YES | delete <STRUDEL>/bin/libssl* and <STRUDEL>/bin/libcrypto* (ensure package 'openssl' is installed on your system) |
| openSUSE | 13.1 | NO->YES | delete <STRUDEL>/bin/libgio-2.0.so.* |
| Debian | 8.5 | NO->YES | overwrite <STRUDEL>/bin/libpython2.7.so.1.0 with system one |
| ArchLinux | Jun-2016 | NO->YES | delete <STRUDEL>/bin/libxcb* and <STRUDEL>/bin/libreadline.so.6 |
Strudel packages come with lots of system-libs from the build system included to increase portability between different Linux distributions.
But for some distributions these libs do not fit. A possible solution is to use libs installed system-wide if available.
If you delete a lib in <STRUDEL>/bin, strudel will search for it system-wide.
Please send me the name and version number of your operation system you run Strudel on (or failed to run Strudel on).
Other Sites Using Strudel
- Pawsey Supercomputing Centre
The Pawsey Supercomputing Centre is supported as part of the Australian Government's measures to support national research infrastructure under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and related programs through the Department of Education
More
Link to previous and developer releases of Strudel
any feedback welcomed - h.zilken@…, j.goebbert@…
Attachments (5)
- Strudel_manageSites_2.png (23.6 KB ) - added by 8 years ago.
- Strudel_manageSites.png (18.0 KB ) - added by 8 years ago.
- strudel_icon.png (27.8 KB ) - added by 8 years ago.
- jsc_jureca_flavours.json (75.3 KB ) - added by 8 years ago.
- Strudel_GUI.png (32.2 KB ) - added by 6 years ago.
Download all attachments as: .zip
