The Department provides graphical linux desktop sessions using an application called “Nomachine”. This app runs on Windows, Mac, or Linux and allows you to access our Linux servers from laptops or desktops. You get a full Linux desktop environment, including terminal windows, browsers, virtual studio coding, and other applications.

Your Nomachine sessions are persistent across connections. So if you setup applications, browser windows, terminal windows, etc., then disconnect from Nomachine, the next time you connect, you can select that previous session and all your apps, windows, etc. will still be there for you to use.

For more information, see: www.nomachine.com

Download the Nomachine application onto your laptop or workstation from https://www.nomachine.com/download. Then run the downloaded Nomachine app and specify nx.cs.virginia.edu as the server to which to connect.

Here are detailed instructions for using Nomachine in the CS Dept.: nx-setup_v3a.pdf

When you log into a Nomachine session, it's just like you are logging in to any of our Linux servers. You will find your home directory just like anywhere else.

Most common linux software is already installed and available on these servers. Take a look at our software modules page for more information.

If you are a first time CS account user (you've never logged in before), it is best to reset your temporary password (as provided to you in an email from the Dept when your account was setup) on the portal cluster, THEN login via Nomachine. To do so, open a terminal window and type ssh <userid>@portal.cs.virginia.edu (for example, ssh abc1de@portal.cs.virginia.edu). You will be asked for your current (temporary) password, then asked to enter your new password, which you will verify. Then start up the Nomachine app and login with your new password.

• Conda init NX session crash
  • Due to an unknown bug with NoMachine client sessions, conda init blocks within /u/<computing ID>/.bashrc files will sometimes cause the session to crash unexpectedly or simply not start.
    1. To fix this, simply omit the STDERR redirect '2>' to have '>' in the line __conda_setup="$('/sw/ubuntu-22.04/anaconda3/2023.03/bin/conda' 'shell.bash' 'hook' 2> /dev/null)". The result should look like the following __conda_setup="$('/sw/ubuntu-22.04/anaconda3/2023.03/bin/conda' 'shell.bash' 'hook' > /dev/null)"
    2. Alternatively, enclose the init block into an if statement with the following conditional

       if ! pgrep -x "nxnode.bin" > /dev/null; then
         __conda_setup=...
         ...
       fi