NoMachine Client

One may use NoMachine to get a virtual desktop of the Linux Clusters, which will give you the graphical interface of programs. However, the configuration might be a little bit sophisticated. You will need to do this only once on a computer. After that, you can easily connect to the cluster and get the desktop that you set up.

  1. Download NoMachine from: https://www.nomachine.com/download and install it.
  2. If you are not on Boston College campus, you will need to download and install EagleVPN from https://bcservices.bc.edu/service/vpn before connecting.
  3. Start NoMachine. Click the ‘Add’ button in the main menu:
  1. Enter ‘Name’ (can be anything you want, we use Andromeda here), ‘Host’ (andromeda.bc.edu), and ‘Port’ (4440) as shown below. Then click the ‘Connect’ button.
  2. For the first-time connection, the ssh keys will be set up. Click ‘Yes’ when being asked to verify the host authenticity.
  1. Enter your Andromeda username and password. Then click ‘Login’. If you do not have an account, check the ‘Request a New Linux Cluster Account’ section on the university Linux Cluster page. You may save the password if you want. DO NOT save your password on a public computer.
  1. Double click ‘Create a new virtual desktop’.
  1. Select ‘Change the remote display resolution to match the window’, then ‘Don’t show anymore for this connection’, and after that click ‘OK’.
  1. Sometimes there may come a window asking for administrator password to refresh system repositories, click ‘Cancel’ to enter the virtual desktop on Andromeda.
  1. In the virtual desktop on Andromeda, click ‘Activities’ to view available applications.
  1. To open a Terminal, click on the Terminal icon in the sidebar.
  1. To log out, click on the power button in the upper right corner, then your name, then on ‘LogOut’.
  1. Click “Log Out” to go back to the main menu.
  1. After the first-time connection, NoMachine will remember the connection settings. Click the Andromeda icon in the main menu to start another connection. This time you will start from step 5 (enter your Andromeda username and password).
  1. NoMachine, by default, will start a server to allow connections to your computer. To disable this (recommended), click on ‘Settings’ in the main menu.
  1. Then click on ‘Status’.
  1. After that, click on ‘Shut down the server’.
  1. Select ‘Do not run NoMachine server at the next startup’, and click ‘Continue’.

You can now go back to the main menu.

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