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There are two main ways to login to your workspaces.
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On the other hand, Workspaces with a Command Line Interface can be accessed via SSH.
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Prerequisites
When following along with one of these step-by-step guides, make sure that you have a running workspace (see How to get on board).
Workspace Access to Jupyter Notebooks through SRAM
To log in to a Jupyter Notebook workspace you can just use the same credentials as you use for the Research Cloud portal.
Most probably these are your institute's credentials - or EduID.
Workspace Access with TOTP
Preinstalled services like web access (e.g. R-studio, Jupyter Notebook) or other login services (Windows, Ubuntu Desktop) that require a username and password can be accessed by using a "time-based one time password" (TOTP).
On the "Profile" tab of the Research Cloud portal you can review your username:
If you have not yet registered for TOTP, you will see a notification like this on the same page:
Click on it, in order to register.Otherwise, if there is an earlier TOTP registration, just use the menu under the three stacked dots ("ellipse") in the upper right and choose of the profile display card.
Select "Reset time Time based password" .
Both ways, you will be presented with a screen with further instructions and a QR-code:
Follow the instructions, there.
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If you have more than one CO, make sure that you edit the name of the new entry in your app such that you can recognize which CO it is for. |
and scan the displayed QR code with an authentication app on your smartphone.
(Google Authenticator or Authy work fine.)
Now your smartphone app will provide you with a temporary number code that you can fill in in the workspace's login screenOnce you have registered, you can access your workspaces with TOTP.
Go to your workspaces overview on your Research Cloud Dashboard page and select a workspace with a web interface (like R-Studio, Jupyter Notebook etc.).
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The username is the username that is given on your "Profile" tab in the Research Cloud portal.
Have the The password is generated by your chosen two factor authentication app on your smartphone. In the app, use the entry that matches the CO of the workspacesmartphone's authentication app.
That way, you can access your workspace through your browser.
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The only other thing that is required is a Remote Desktop Protocol (rdp) client on your local computer.
- If your local computer is running Windows, you already have one built-in (look for "rdp").
- On a Mac, you can install "Microsoft Remote Desktop".
- For Linux, several applications can be installed - e.g. "Remmina".
If the access button does not work directly, just copy/paste the workspace's ip address into the rdp client and it should work. While adding a workspace to the RDP client always choose to put your username in the options. This forces the RDP client to use our custom windows credential provider. This credential provider allows you to login with your Research Cloud username and the TOTP password. That way, the procedure is the same as the login with TOTP that is described above.
For standard catalog items the basic access doesn't give administrator rights. Please add users who need administrator rights to the "src_co_admin" group of the Collaborative Organisation in SURF Research Access Management as described here: Flag a CO-member as SRC administrator.
For more explanation about these steps please watch this Here is a video that demos the login procedure to a Windows workspace: Windows login [4:14]
Access a workspace with SSH
SSH access is only needed if you'd like to connect to your server directly. SSH access to a workspace is only possible by OpenSSH Key.
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Authentication from a local Windows computer
Some users with local Windows computers use the Authy desktop application to log in with TOTP.
With Authy, you probably don't see the code that has to be filled in for authentication.
In this case consider to use the open source WinAuth application where right-clicking the displayed QR code suffices:
To couple the Authy Desktop app, paste the image link into the form there and click "verify authenticator":
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Windows-, and some Linux-workspaces are configured such that only members of the src_co_admin group can get administrator or sudo access. When you are prompted for your password to use your administrator/sudo rights, you fill in the TOTP password that is generated by your authenticator app. |
Workspace access with SSH
SSH access is needed if your workspace has no desktop or web-interface. Or if you want to use the scp command to upload and download data to and from your workspace.
You will need a private/public key-pair
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to use ssh.
A private/public key-pair is created on your local computer an allows you to identify that device to other services and devices.
The private key will always stay on your device, the public key can be put on other devices to prove the identity of your local device.
If you are using more than one local device, you create one key-pair for each device. You can submit multiple public keys for ResearchCloud. ResearchCloud automatically copies your public key to any workspace you are entitled to log in to.
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Any user of the collaboration is entitled to log in to a workspace. However, users must have logged in to the Research Cloud portal at least once. ( https://portal.live.surfresearchcloud.nl/ ) Otherwise their public key will not be present on the machine. |
We will explain these three steps that will get you logged in:
- Create a private/public key-pair on your local computer - if you don't have one, yet. This is a one-time action.
Most key generators use RSA as the default format.
When the text of your public key starts with "ssh-rsa" your key-pair is in the right format.
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- Add the public key into SRAM. (You only have to do that once, too.)
This will set your public key into your profile. - Access the workspace with SSH.
Use your favourite/available own SSH client to connect to your workspace.
1. Create a private/public key-pair
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When creating your private/public key-pair, it does not matter much which OS your local computer is running.
If you choose the right terminal-application:
Linux and Mac
When you are working from a Linux machine, the SSH commands are already installed and ready to be used from a terminal.
On a Mac the SSH command is also available by default.
Windows 10 or Windows Server 2019
If your local computer runs Windows 10 or Windows Server 2019, SSH is supported, too.
Use a Powershell terminal to issue ssh commands.
You can generate a private/public keypair with:
ssh-keygenJust use all the defaults by hitting enter directly, or do enter a passphrase if you wish.
To find the public key file, check the screen output of this command.
The location of the *.pub file is given there.
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We advise you to use a key-pair of the RSA format. If you have a key of a different format, you can create another one that is based on RSA. Most key generators use RSA as the default format. When the text of your public key starts with "ssh-rsa" your key-pair is in the RSA format. |
2. Add public key in SRAM. (only has to be done once for a key)
To SSH login to your workspace you have to add your public SSH key into you account. It needs to be added to the SRAM authentication website.
- Open the SRAM page : https://sbs.sram.surf.nl/home
- In the top right click on the "Login" button to login.
- Enter your mail address to be redirected to your SSO login page. (Depending on your institute and identity provider this page can be different for different users)
- Once When you are logged in, click on the downward arrow next to your name in the top right of the page. Select the "Profile" menu item.
- In the SSH public key field, you can enter your public key from your local public key file. We recommend to use the file upload button for this in order to prevent copy-paste errors. (See the illustration below.)
- Click the "Update" button at the bottom of the page.
- The update of the public key can take up to 5 min to take effect in Research Cloud.
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There are several ssh clients to access your workspace and you can use the one you like as long as it supports public keys.
Linux and Mac
When you are working from a Linux machine, the SSH commands are already installed and ready to be used from a terminal.
On a Mac the SSH command is also available by default.
Windows 10 or Windows Server 2019
If your local computer runs Windows 10 or Windows Server 2019, SSH is supported, too.
Use a Powershell terminal to issue ssh commands.
You can generate a private/public keypair with:
ssh-keygen(Just use all the defaults by hitting enter, or do enter a passphras if you wish.)
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As soon as you generate a new key-pair on your local computer using the same name, the public key that you have submitted here and your local key will not match, anymore. Make sure that you update the public key when the key on your local computer has changed. |
3. Log in with ssh
In your terminal application (or Powershell window) typeYou log in with:
ssh <ResearchCloud username>@<workspace ip address>
The ResearchCloud username is given on the "Profile"-Tab of the ResearchCloud portal page.
The ip-address of the workspace is displayed on the (extendable) display tile of the workspace in the main ("Dashboard") tab.
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If you want to read more on ssh on Windows you can check here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/openssh/openssh_install_firstuse https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/openssh/openssh_keymanagement Mind you, you You only have to install and configure the SSH client. (In the case of Research Cloud, the "server" is the workspace you will log in to and SSH is already installed, there. |
Older Windows versions
If you are running older versions of Windows, we recommend GitHub Desktop or MobaXterm.
These separate pages describe how to set up these tools:
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Workspace access with SRAM
SURF Research Access Management (SRAM) is a service to manage access to research resources, intended for Dutch led research collaborations.
Jupyter Notebook workspaces that are created after 18st of January 2024 can be accessed using SRAM.
To access a workspace based on SRAM authentication select your institute (or EduID) and follow the instructions on the screen.
Older Jupyter Notebook workspaces or earlier derivates of the Jupyter Notebook catalog item still require TOTP. (See above for TOTP)
You can add SRAM authentication to your own custom-made catalog item. For that, see the page Catalog item with SRAM login.
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