Overview

As mentioned on the main page, Axon is a computer cluster where a scheduler program is used to submit compute tasks, called jobs, to one or more nodes in the cluster. Jobs are submitted to the cluster via a login node (axon.rc.zi.columbia.edu) as show in the diagram below:

Accounts on Axon

There are two types of accounts on Axon:

• Lab Accounts: Accounts that associate a set of resources that a lab has access to on Axon with the members of that lab.
• Individual Researcher Accounts: Individual members of a lab that are associated with a lab account.  Individual researchers are granted or denied access privileges on Axon based on their membership in lab-level accounts.

In order to be able to access the login node and submit jobs, you must first make sure that your lab has an account on Axon.  You must then obtain an individual researcher account.

Currently Active Lab Accounts

To determine your eligibility for an individual researcher account, first check the table below to see if your lab is already participating in Axon and has an active lab account:

The lab account name is an abbreviation associated with your lab that is used by the cluster manager on Axon and as a mechanism to separate your lab's files from another lab's data on the filesystem.

Obtaining a Lab Account

Lab accounts are open to the groups which have purchased nodes in the cluster or to labs that are participating in the rental tier. If you are a researcher whose lab is presently not using Axon, email rc@zi.columbia.edu to either request access to the Axon rental tier or discuss purchasing nodes to add to the cluster.

Obtaining an Individual Researcher Account

If you are a member of a lab listed in the lab account table above, send an email to rc@zi.columbia.edu and we will add you to the cluster.  You will then be able to access the login node using the instructions below.

Once you've been added to the cluster, you will also be subscribed to the axon-users Google Group / mailing list.  axon-users is used to send out occasional announcements about configuration updates and cluster outages.  A searchable archive of all previous axon-related announcements can be found here (requires UNI login).

Connecting to the Cluster

Using SSH to Access to the Login Node

Secure Shell (SSH) is the software used by Axon to provide you with a terminal interface. To connect to Axon using this software, you must have a command line interface on your personal computer such as Windows Terminal in Windows 10 or Terminal for Macs. Older versions of Windows may require a third-party program such as Putty or MobaXterm.  Once you have a command line interface on your computer, you can use the instructions below to access Axon from either on-campus or remotely.

Connecting from inside the Columbia network or on the VPN

The Axon login node can be accessed when you are on the Columbia campus or using the VPN by using command below:

➤ ssh aa3301@axon.rc.zi.columbia.edu
aa3301@axon.rc.zi.columbia.edu's password:
Last login: Fri Dec 27 15:35:33 2019 from adm.rc.zi.columbia.edu
[aa3301@axon ~]$

Connecting from outside the Columbia network

The Axon login node can be accessed anywhere outside the internal Columbia network by using command below:

> ssh -p 55 aa3301@axon-remote.rc.zi.columbia.edu
aa3301@axon-remote.rc.zi.columbia.edu's password:
Last login: Thu Apr  2 17:01:47 2020 from adm.rc.zi.columbia.edu
Welcome to the Axon GPU Cluster!
...

You can make an ssh config file to abbreviate the above command. By creating a file named ~/.ssh/config (if it doesn't already exist) you can connect using a shorter name:

Host axon-remote
    HostName axon-remote.rc.zi.columbia.edu
    User aa3301 
    # change aa3301 above to your uni
    Port 55

Once you have ~/.ssh/config in place you can run the abbreviated ssh command shown below:

> ssh axon-remote
aa3301@axon-remote.rc.zi.columbia.edu's password:
Last login: Thu Apr  2 17:53:41 2020 from vpn-10-192-140-203.dyn.columbia.edu
Welcome to the Axon GPU Cluster!
...