Helix Systems > Systems
 

Doublehelix (doublehelix.nih.gov)
 

  • About Doublehelix
  • Connecting to Doublehelix
  • Transferring files
  • Using Doublehelix
  • Applications

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    About Doublehelix

     Doublehelix.nih.gov is a 16 CPU (8 X 3.0 GHz Dual-Core AMD Opteron 8222) Sun Microsystems SunFire X4600-M2 with 32 GB of memory running RedHat Enterprise Linux 5.

    Connecting to Doublehelix

    Users connect via ssh to doublehelix.nih.gov. X-windows connection software will usually provide better terminal emulation, and is necessary to run any X-windows graphics applications. Unix workstations (including Macs with OS X) can handle X-windows by default. We provide free X-windows emulation software for Macs and PCs users of the Helix Systems.

    Transferring Files

    Users will not be able to use FTP to transfer files between their desktop machines and Doublehelix. Instead, users should use one of the secure file transfers alternatives to transfer files to their /home/username, /data/username, or /scratch/username directories on Doublehelix.

    General Information

    Passwords: Your initial password is the same as your password on Helix at the time the Doublehelix account was created. Passwords on Helix, Doublehelix, and Biowulf are not synchronized at this time. Accounts on this system are managed according to the NIH Password Policy. Passwords must be changed every 180 days using standard Linux/Unix methods. Doublehelix accounts not accessed within a six-month period are automatically locked as a security precaution. A user may request their account to be unlocked by sending email to staff@helix.nih.gov.

    Shells: The Bourne shell ('bash') is the default shell. Other available shells, including csh and tcsh, are listed in /etc/shells.

    Home Directories: Your Doublehelix home directory is not the same as your Helix home directory. However, the quota on home directories is shared between /home/<username> on Helix and /home/<username> on Doublehelix. When logged in to Doublehelix, data in the Helix home directory can be accessed via the path /helix/<username>. For those users with Biowulf accounts, the home directory on Biowulf and Doublehelix is the same.

    Mail: Mail should be read on the main Helix Systems machine, helix.nih.gov. Users who do not read e-mail on helix are required to forward mail to their alternative e-mail address. (Directions for forwarding Helix mail)

    Disk Storage: Storage options are the same as on the Helix Systems SGIs. In addition to their /home/<username> directory, all users can access the /scratch area which is also accessible from Helix and Biowulf. Files in /scratch which have not been accessed for 14 days are automatically deleted.

    Programming Tools/Libraries: The Doublehelix systems run the RedHat Operating System. A full complement of programming tools and libraries is available. The compilers available are the same as on the Biowulf cluster. Details are available in the Biowulf user guide.

    Questions? Problems? Contact the Helix staff at staff@helix.nih.gov.