GUI Jobs
This page is under construction! We cannot guarantee completion or accuracy of information herein while in development.
Overview
Open OnDemand, which is an NSF-funded open-source HPC portal, is available for users and provides web browser access for graphical interfacing with HPC. This service is available from https://ood.hpc.arizona.edu/
Why use OOD?
Since there are multiple methods of accessing HPC, including the command line terminal, why should one use OOD? Here are a few of the main reasons:
GUI software available. Many commonly used research software, such as RStudio and ANSYS, have graphical interfaces that streamline analysis workflows. These GUIs can also be activated via X-forwarding, but OOD is the recommended method.
New user friendly. The OOD GUI includes an interactive desktop, which mimics the environment found on standard Windows and Mac. This environment may be more efficient to navigate when familiarizing oneself with the HPC.
Standardized batch access. OOD includes forms to submit batch jobs which include all the relevant parameters in one place.
List of available functions through OOD:
Basic Functions | GUI Software | Servers | Batch/Slurm |
|---|---|---|---|
File Browser | Abaqus | Jupyter Notebook | Job Composer |
Interactive Desktop | Ansys | RStudio Server | Job Viewer |
| Mathematica | Shell Access |
|
| Matlab |
|
|
| Stata |
|
|
| VS Code |
|
|
Contrast with command line access
The other main option to access HPC is the command line. While it is possible to access a command shell via OOD or through an interactive desktop, this must be contrasted with using a terminal client program on one's local machine and accessing HPC via an SSH command. This is a text-only method of access that requires users to enter commands in a bash environment and manually navigate the various nodes on HPC. This method offers substantially more flexibility, but also requires basic knowledge of bash commands and linux systems.
More information:
File Browser
Overview
The file browser provides easy access to your /home, /xdisk, and /groups directories and allows you to view, edit, copy, and rename your files. You may also transfer small files between HPC and your local workstation using this interface. For larger transfers, see our section on Transferring Data for more efficient methods.
Access Files
In the browser at the top of the screen, select the Files dropdown
You will be able to select your home directory, /groups, or /xdisk. If you select /groups or /xdisk, enter your PI's NetID in the Filter field to find your shared group space.
Editing Files
First, navigate to the file you wish to edit. Then, click the vertical ellipses on the right-hand side and select Edit
This will open a file editor in your browser where you may select your color theme, text size, and syntax highlighting.
Uploading Files
In the file browser, navigate to the directory where you would like to upload your files, then select "Upload" :
This will bring up a popup where you can open a file browser to search for your files. Alternatively, you can drag/drop files/directories onto the tile.
Downloading Files
To download small files from your HPC account to your local workstation, navigate to the file(s) you'd like to to transfer and check the box(es) on the left. Clicking download will initiate the transfer to your local Downloads directory.
