Connecting to Unity

1 What is Unity?

Unity is the high-performance computing cluster we use to run analyses that are too large for a personal laptop. For RNA-seq, Unity gives us access to more storage, more memory, and more computing power.

Most of the work in this tutorial happens in a terminal after you log in to Unity.

2 Before you start

You will need:

  • A Unity account
  • Your Unity username
  • An internet connection
  • A terminal application
  • Duo or another multi-factor authentication method, if required by your account

On macOS, you can use the built-in Terminal app. On Windows, you can use PowerShell, Windows Terminal, or an SSH client.

3 Connect with SSH

From your terminal, run:

ssh your_username@unity.rc.umass.edu

Replace your_username with your own Unity username.

For example:

ssh kfloer_smith_edu@unity.rc.umass.edu

Example output:

The authenticity of host 'unity.rc.umass.edu' can't be established.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])?

If this is your first time connecting, type:

yes

Then enter your password and complete multi-factor authentication if prompted.

4 Check where you are

After logging in, your terminal prompt should change. It may look something like this:

(base) kfloer_smith_edu@login1:~$

This means you are on a Unity login node.

Run:

hostname

Example output:

login1

5 Important login node rule

The login node is for light work only, such as:

  • Editing files
  • Moving files
  • Checking directories
  • Submitting jobs
  • Starting interactive sessions

Do not run large RNA-seq analyses directly on the login node.

Warning

nf-core pipelines can use a lot of CPU, memory, and disk space. Run pipeline work through the appropriate Unity compute resources, not directly on the login node.

6 Disconnect from Unity

When you are finished, run:

exit

Example output:

logout
Connection to unity.rc.umass.edu closed.