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Department of Computer Science

Logging On

This page provides a quick step by step walkthrough of getting logged into your CSX account for the first time. Following through with your own information is highly recommended. At the end of the session, you should be able to log into your account from both on and off campus, as well as transfer files and use the handin program. Suggestions for further elements are always welcome.


  • Finding your Username

    ✓ Find and write down your username

     

    If you haven't already activated your O-Key account, you will need to do that before proceeding any further. O-Key is the central authentication service operated by OSU's IT department and in this session will be used to identify yourself to the CS password reset application.

     

    On the CSX and related systems we use the same short usernames as O-Key provides, so you won't need to remember a separate account name. However, it's important to know the difference between the long and short account names! Log into your O-Key account and look over your Personal Profile that appears. Right under your name is an entry called O-Key Account Username which is a short series of characters you'll use to log in. Typically it's formed from parts of your name which will hopefully help you remember it. This is not the same as the O-Key Login Address further down the page which is basically an email address with your full name! The short username shouldn't be any longer than 8 characters and doesn't include @okstate.edu or anything like that.

  • Setting your Password

    ✓ How to setup/reset your CSX password

     

    When your CSX account was created, the password was initially set to something long, random, and unknown to anyone. This keeps unused accounts from being a security liability, but of course isn't useful for actually using the account. Furthermore, nobody can unencrypt your password (ever!) so there's no way to know what it is. So you'll need to reset your password before using your account. This same procedure can be used any time, for example if you forget your password.

     

    What you will need:

    • → Your short username from the previous step
    • → Your O-Key password

     

    In whatever web browser you like (please, no old versions of Internet Explorer, though!), open the Password Reset page. You should see something that looks like this:

    password reset page

     

    Type the username from the previous step into the input blank and click the Check UID button, which should expand the form to include a new blank and button.

     
    What if my username isn't recognized? If you weren't enrolled in a Computer Science course until very recently, your account may not have been created yet. Try again tomorrow! If a few days pass and it still hasn't been created, contact the technical staff who will be happy to investigate -- use the Support Request Form for best results.
     

    Next, you'll enter your O-Key password and click the Check Password button. You can actually hit the ENTER key instead of clicking these buttons if you like! Assuming you typed your password correctly, you should now see a grey box with a reminder of what's going to happen after you click the final button. Make sure and read this text, at least the first time you do this. At this point, the page should look similar to this:

    password reset page

     

    When you're ready, go ahead and click the big Reset My CSX Password button and you'll receive a randomly set password. Don't worry, if you don't think you'll want to use it in the long term, you can change it once you've logged into a CSX server.

  • Using the VPN

    ✓ How to install Cisco AnyConnect (if needed)

    ✓ How to connect to the campus VPN (if needed)

     

    If you're only going to access the servers from the Stillwater campus, you can probably ignore this step entirely. But if you're ever going to connect from somewhere else, you'll need to use the university's Virtual Private Network. A VPN effectively makes your device part of the campus network, and thus able to "see" campus systems and not be blocked by firewalls that otherwise prevent unwanted visitors.

     

    OSU uses the Cisco AnyConnect VPN, and if you go to https://osuvpn.okstate.edu/ it will try to download the appropriate software for you after you log in using O-Key. For Windows and Mac devices, this should work, although you may have to use the Manual link it may provide. Other devices (for example mobile devices) should have Cisco AnyConnect in their appropriate app stores. There's even a Chrome version that Chromebooks can use! Linux users may wish to install openconnect as it has been proven to work with the campus VPN.

     

    Once you have the software for your device installed, start it and you should get a login screen that asks for a hostname, a username and a password. (Specifics may vary from device type to device type, but these three things will always be what you need.) The hostname will always be osuvpn.okstate.edu regardless of what server or other system you wish to connect to. Think of osuvpn.okstate.edu as the entryway to the campus network -- you have to pass through it first to get to other systems. The username will be your O-Key username and likewise the password will be your O-Key password. Make sure you read this carefully -- your CSX password will not work here! Remember, you're still going through the entryway.

    vpn1

     

    vpn2

    Connecting to the VPN from a Windows 10 machine
     

    Once you've given it the right information, the prompt should go away quietly and you'll be connected to the VPN. You probably won't notice any difference, except that now you can get to campus systems as if you were connected directly to the campus network. As a useful side effect, your communication with campus is also now encrypted, which can be particularly desirable on a public network such as a coffee shop.

  • Logging into a CSX Server

    ✓  How to login into the CSX server

     

    All shell logins (that is, logins where you can enter commands) to CSX must be done using the SSH protocol. Prior to April 2018, or in versions of Windows prior to Windows 10, it was necessary to use a third-party program called PuTTY, and users are welcome to make use of it (or any other third-party SSH software), but for the sake of simplicity it is no longer discussed here.

     

    To use the ssh command it is necessary to use a command line. On a Mac this involves opening Terminal.app; in Windows 10 you will need to open either cmd or PowerShell. Once you are at a command line, you'll type something similar to the following:

    ssh myusername@csx2.cs.okstate.edu

     

    You should use your own short username as discussed under password resets above, of course, and not literally myusername. Don't worry too much about the hostname yet -- you'll get more information below if you keep reading. Once you hit enter, you should get a password prompt. Use the CSX password you set above -- not your OKEY password!

     

    Linux hostnames

    The Linux server group (informally referred to as CSX for historical reasons) consists of several servers available for user login. There are no rules on which of these hosts you may use and you are welcome to change your mind each time or settle on a preference (bearing in mind that sometimes one might be down and you'll need to use another; this is rare but happens.) They are roughly identical so it should make no substantial difference (although only the hostnames starting with csg have added GPUs for GPU computing). The hosts are named as follows: 

    csx0.cs.okstate.edu
    csx1.cs.okstate.edu
    csx2.cs.okstate.edu
    csx3.cs.okstate.edu
    csx4.cs.okstate.edu
    csg1.cs.okstate.edu
    csg2.cs.okstate.edu
  • Uploading Files: An Example

    How to upload files to CSX

     

    Upload using SSH:

    Just as SSH is required for logging into CSX machines, an SSH-based transfer protocol is required for uploading and downloading files. Generally there are two such protocols in use: SCP and SFTP. It really doesn't matter which you use, and there are many GUI clients for multiple platforms that support one or both. As before, Mac, Linux and Windows 10 since April 2018 have the command line tools scp and sftp, and so uploading files can be as simple as:

    scp myfile.txt csx3.cs.okstate.edu:.

     

    Of course, the filename and hostname are just examples. You could even use the -r option to recursively copy a directory; generally scp works much like the normal UNIX cp command.

     

    Upload using WinSCP (Windows Only):

    WinSCP is an application for Windows that can use the SCP protocol, amongst others, and is free.

    Here is an example of using the WinSCP application to upload files.

    winscp

    Creating a new site configuration. SFTP protocol has some advantages.
     

    Once you're connected using WinSCP, it's just drag and drop to transfer files.

  • Turning In Homework with handin

    Learn how to turn in homework with handin (if required)

     

    While many CS classes use Canvas now, some still ask students to use handin, a venerable command line tool that the department has made available for over 25 years. It may seem a little unobvious at first glance, but it's actually pretty straightforward from the student end. First, a few things you'll need to have before running handin:

    1. The files you wish to hand in already uploaded to CSX (see previous section for help)
    2. The name of the class account (for example, cs1113)
    3. The name of the assignment directory (for example, pgm1)

     

    Here are a few examples of running handin using the above example names (note that these commands must be run on a CSX node):

    handin
    Gives a very brief usage line
    handin cs1113
    Lists all of the available assignment directories for a class account
    handin cs1113 pgm1
    Lists all files you have already submitted in this directory
    handin cs1113 pgm1 myfile.txt
    Submits the file and emails you a confirmation
    What if I get an error? Check to make sure you've provided all the information correctly. If the problem persists and you're sure you've got your command line correct, notify your TA or professor that there's a problem.

     

    You can list multiple filenames when submitting rather than have to run handin once for each file. As with many Linux commands, you can run man handin to see a description of the program.

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