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Logging into Biowulf

  1. You must be on VPN (Virtual Private Network) or the NIH campus internet to access Biowulf. Request VPN at NCI.

  2. If you have a Biowulf account but have not used it in 60 days, please send email to staff@hpc.nih.gov and ask them to unlock your account.

  3. If you do not have a Biowulf account: You will be assigned a Student ID and Password for class help sessions.

  4. WARNING: When you log into Unix systems, you will not be able to see your password as you type it. The cursor does not move, and you may think you are doing something wrong. This is a safety feature on Unix systems- someone looking over your shoulder can not see your password. Just type in the password and it will work.

  5. If this is the first time you are logging into Unix/Biowulf, you will see a Security Alert as soon as you log-in. Answer “yes” to the security prompt.

  6. Logging into Biowulf from a Mac:

    a. Open the Terminal program in Applications/ (Try cmd spacebar to open a search tool and type Terminal)
    b. ssh username@biowulf.nih.gov where username is your username or student id if you are using a student account

  7. Logging into Biowulf from a PC. You may need to go to service.cancer.gov to install one of these options if not included.
    a. Windows 10/11 has OpenSSH
    b. Windows 10 OS has built-in SSH using the Power Shell
    c. Older OS will need to download PuTTy. Under “Alternative binary files” , download 64-bit x86 putty.exe (this will work for most installations).