Tux

OVERVIEW OF SERVICE

Tux is a Linux compute environment provided by CCI to support class requirements.  

DESCRIPTION & FEATURES

Tux nodes

• Three virtual machines that can be accessed through nodes (tux2-tux4)with 64 GB of RAM and 32 CPU cores and an underlying hypervisor running on AMD Epyc CPUs.
• Supports logins over SSH or Remote Desktop using Drexel authentication.

Shared Storage

• Provides 4GB of storage per user on the college's CEPH cluster, which provides 300TB of shared storage, including Tux file storage and space for virtual machines in the college's virtualization environments.

Git Lab

• CCI hosts a Git server, accessible to all CCI students, faculty, and staff. There is a limit of 10 personal projects set by default, but users may request an increase by sending a message to ihelp@drexel.edu explaining the need for more projects.
• Gitlab projects include an Issues board, which can be used for project management, planning, and task management. If the project is shared with multiple users, each user can contribute to the board. Custom labels and milestones can be set on a per-project basis. Gitlab projects also include a Wiki section for documentation.

Float and Double

• Float and Double are the college's shared GPU workstations, which are part of the Tux ecosystem. Each node has 32GB of RAM, 8 CPU cores (virtualized AMD Epyc cores), and an NVIDIA Tesla T4 GPU. Students, faculty and staff are welcome to use these resources as needed, but please keep in mind that these are shared resources. If a process is found to be preventing others from using the system, we reserve the right to contact the user(s) who are running those processes and request that they be stopped so others can use the system.
• Float and Double can be reached by SSH. Use the same instructions as connecting to Tux over SSH (Tux Account Information), but replace "tux.cs.drexel.edu" with "float.cs.drexel.edu" or "double.cs.drexel.edu". If off-campus, you will need to connect to the Drexel VPN (instructions at VPN) first.

Web Services

• All CCI students, faculty, and staff have access to a basic Apache web server, which is accessible on the public Internet. For information on setting up your website, please visit HTML Webpages on Tux.

Web Server

• Additional servers for Node.js, Python, and other web frameworks are also available as part of the Tux ecosystem. Information on using these services can be found at Tux Web Services.

GETTING STARTED

Student access is typically available on the first day of the term in which they are enrolled for a course, and faculty and staff access is granted shortly after new members' account information is provided to CCI IT. To log in to Tux, use your Drexel userid, such as "abc123" as your username. An example for SSH login for that user would be "ssh abc123@tux.cs". Use your Drexel password. To log in on Gitlab, please use the "DrexelConnect" login method. When on campus, please connect to Dragonfly3 rather than DrexelGuest, as the guest network sometimes causes issues with Tux access.

TRAINING AND DOCUMENTATION

Accessing Tux command-line environment by SSH:

• Mac
  • Video: Connecting to Tux from Mac SSH
  • Written: Connect to Tux from Macintosh and Linux - SSH
• Windows
  • Video: Connecting to Tux from Windows Using the Built-In SSH Client
  • Written: Connect to Tux from Windows - SSH
• Linux
  • Video: Connecting to Tux from Linux via SSH
  • Written: Connect to Tux from Macintosh and Linux - SSH
• iOS
  • Video: Connecting to Tux from Mac SSH
  • Written: Connect to Tux from Macintosh and Linux - SSH
• Android
  • Connecting to Tux from Android
• ChromeOS
  • Using SSH on ChromeOS

Accessing Tux graphical environment by Remote Desktop (RDP):

• First, connect to VPN if off-campus
• Connect to Tux from Windows - Remote Desktop (RDP)
• Connect to Tux from Macintosh - Remote Desktop (RDP)
• Connect to Tux from iPad - Remote Desktop (RDP)