Setting Up SSH
On your personal machine:
- Begin by opening a terminal on your Mac. Yes, your very Mac has a terminal! To open it, press cmd + spacebar, type in Terminal, and hit enter.
- In the Terminal, run the following command. RSA is an encryption algorithm that uses a public and private key. This establishes a secure connection between your remote computer and a Sunlab machine whenever you ssh into a Sunlab machine.
ssh-keygen -t rsa
- Press enter when it prompts you for a file in which to save your key. This saves the key file in your .ssh directory (~/.ssh is the default location).
- Enter a secure passphrase. The characters you type will not show up on the screen. That's okay! It's to prevent people from looking over your shoulder at your password as you create it.
- Run the following command to copy the public key (id_rsa.pub) to your desktop:
cp ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub ~/Desktop
- Now you should have a file called id_rsa.pub on your Desktop. Log into your Brown e-mail address and e-mail it to yourself as an attachment.
On a CS computer in the Sunlab:
- Log into your Brown e-mail once more and download the id_rsa.pub file you just sent to yourself. It should download to your Downloads folder by default.
- In a Terminal, run the command "ssh-key-setup key" where key is full path to where you stored the id_rsa.pub key in your home directory. If you copy/save it to your Downloads folder by default, then the command would be:
/contrib/bin/ssh-key-setup ~/Downloads/id_rsa.pub
- If you've done this correctly, you should receive some output. The last two lines should be:
Ensuring correct permissions set. All done. Your ssh key is ready to go.
Using SSH
Connecting from a remote computer:
- In a Terminal, run the command
ssh -Y username@ssh.cs.brown.edu
(where username is your CS login). - Enter your key passphrase (the one you just made a few minutes ago, not the one you use to log in to your CS account).
- You will receive a prompt that asks if you you're sure you want to connect (yes/no). Type yes and hit enter.
- You are now connected to a CS department computer.
Almost Done! FastX Setup
- You're almost there! The department recommends you do all of your remote work through a nifty program called FastX. The guide for the remainder of the setup can be found here.
Optional - Easy File Transferring with Cyberduck!
- Cyberduck is an easy way to transfer files between your personal computer and the department machines. SImply drag and drop to upload/download files. You can also edit remote files with local programs.
Installation
- Visit https://cyberduck.io and download the mac version.
- Open the zip file with the Archive Utility
- Drag Cyberduck.app to your applications folder (you can find this in your favorites on the right side of a finder window)
- Double Click on Cyberduck. It may ask you to donate (just click later for now)
Settings
- Create a new Cyberduck bookmark with the '+' icon in the lower left.
- Select SFTP (SSH File Tranfer Protocol) at the top
- Nickname: Sunlab
- Server: ssh.cs.brown.edu
- Username: <Your cs login>
- Under more options, make sure 'Use Public Key Authentication' is checked, the path beneath it should read '~/.ssh/id_rsa'. This is the path to your private key, called 'id_rsa'.
- Close the edit window.
Cyberduck Instructions
- From the 'Bookmarks' tab double click on 'Sunlab' to connect. You may be prompted to enter your passphrase associated with your key. Afterwards you should see all the folders in your home directory on the department machines.
Optional (In Case You Dislike FastX) - X11 Forwarding
To run programs with GUIs written according to the X display protocol, like gedit or Eclipse, you need an X server.
Start by downloading the program XQuartz here.
Once the install wizard finishes, log out of your personal computer and log back in to finish the installation process.
From now on, instead of using Terminal to ssh, open XQuartz. (Note: Depending on your version of Mac OS, you might see the program referred to as X11).
- In an XQuartz Terminal, run the command
ssh -Y username@ssh.cs.brown.edu
(where username is your CS login). - Enter your key passphrase.
- You are now connected to a CS department computer and can use graphical applications.
