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Requesting access

Generating the SSH key

To get access to the IKIM computing infrastructure you need an SSH key.

Linux and MacOS

Use the command below to create your SSH key. When prompted, make sure to choose a strong passphrase and save the passphrase in your password manager.

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/id_ikim
Example: output of SSH-keypair generation. When executing the command above, you should should see output similar to this: 
Generating public/private ed25519 key pair.
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in /Users/<user>/.ssh/id_ikim
Your public key has been saved in /Users/<user>/.ssh/id_ikim.pub
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:PQyNrogYs001Y0IlsG75teDBFVlDmd7xSJPNI1lrQr4 user@<host>
The key's randomart image is:
+--[ED25519 256]--+
|..o...++o.*.     |
| o . ..o+X +.    |
|. . =.. =oBo.    |
|. o+.o o *+.     |
|o+.+ .  SE+      |
|.Bo.+...   .     |
|o oo...          |
|                 |
|                 |
+----[SHA256]-----+
Note that two files were created in your home directory in the `.ssh` subdirectory: 
$ ls ~/.ssh
config  id_ikim  id_ikim.pub  known_hosts
- `~/.ssh/id_ikim` - This is your private SSH key. Treat this file like a password. Do not share it with anyone. - `~/.ssh/id_ikim.pub` - This is your public SSH key. This should be shared with your project coordinator. You can open it with any text editor. The contents of `~/.ssh/id_ikim.pub` look similar to this: 
$ cat ~/.ssh/id_ikim.pub
ssh-ed25519 [long random string] <user>@<host>

Windows

Windows requires the OpenSSH client, which has been permanently integrated into the system since the October 2018 Windows 10 update. If this is not available (so you can't use the command ssh-keygen), simply follow the instructions at the following link: OpenSSH

Open Powershell and Use the command below to create your SSH key. When prompted, make sure to choose a strong passphrase and save the passphrase in your password manager.

ssh-keygen -t ed25519

You can accept the default settings for the path, but name the key id_ikim when prompted. The private and public key will appear by default at C:\Users\<username>\.ssh\ (note that the name of this directory begins with a dot and is therefore invisible by default) as id_ikim and id_ikim.pub respectively.

Sending the request

Please send the public key along with following contact details to your project coordinator:

  • First name
  • Last name
  • Email address (domain uk-essen.de or uni-due.de if available)
  • Public SSH key (~/.ssh/id_ikim.pub)

Afterwards, an account will be created for you in the central user management. When this is done, you should be able to SSH into the cluster.