ALIs

kommt noch

Frequently asked questions

  1. What happens to my data when the reservation ends?
  2. The 'rvnc' command din't work. What's wrong?
  3. I still have an active reservation. How can I restart my visualisation application?
  4. I cannot log on to rvs1
  5. I cannot log on to gvs1 (or gvs2)
  6. I used vglconnect to log on to the remote visualisation server, but I don't get any graphics output on my screen
  7. My institute doesn't allow open ports. Can I still work with the remote visualisation server?
  8. The reservation system hangs with endless "qw qw qw qw ..."
  9. The reservation system complains: "Failed: ResultFailure: Start time must be in the future."
  10. I cannot access files from HLRB-II (or the Linux-Cluster). I need to visualise these files!
  11. I forgot my VNC password - can I ever connect to my remote desktop again?
  12. I would like to have an environment for collaborative work - is that possible?
  13. Direct Mode, Raw Mode, vglconnect vs. TurboVNC - you're confusing me. Can't you make it simple?
  14. I work on rvs1 and want to use /extern, but cannot write to it. What do I do?
  15. I want to use Amira/AVS-Express/Ensight/IDL/Mathematica/MATLAB, but it doesn't work.
  16. I would really like to use software xyz on the remote visualisation server - is that possible?
  17. I would like to use CUDA - is that possible?
  18. The visualisation applications you provide are all very nice, but I need to run my own OpenGL code - is that possible?
  19. I'm sorry, but non of these questions describe my problem. How can I get help?

  1. What happens to my data when the reservation ends?

    When your reservation ends, your visualisation application will stop taking any input and it will stop responding. This means that you will lose any un-saved data!!!
    If you want to continue working, you have to submit a new reservation, re-start your visualisation application and re-load your last saved data.

  2. The 'rvnc' command din't work. What's wrong?

    There are mainly two reasons why the 'rvnc' command could fail: If the error message is either

    Failed: ResultRailure: Start time must be in the future.

    or

    Failed: ResultFailure: Reservation could not be assured.

    you should use rvstat and rvdel to delete your queue, before you submit another 'rvnc' command. Follow this link to learn about queues and how to delete them.

  3. I still have an active reservation. How can I restart my visualisation application

    Make sure that you really still have a valid reservation by entering

    rvs1:> rvstat

    The output of this command will contain something that looks like this (assuming your username is lu66tes):

     

    lu66tes@rvs1:~> rvstat
========= status of remote visualisation server rvs1 ===========
                                                          V. 0.7
List of active reservations:
queue name            | gfx | start date  | starts @ | ends @   | mins.
-----------------------+-----+-------------+----------+----------+------
a2815ax1208155618038  | 1/1 | 14.apr.2008 | 08:47:00 | 13:47:00 |   300
lu66tes1208169663944  | 1/1 | 14.apr.2008 | 12:42:00 | 17:42:00 |   300
Graphics card usage in the next 6 hours:
.......................................................................
.......................................................................
#######................................................................
######################################################.................
        |           |           |           |           |           |
       14          15          16          17          18          19
lu66tes@rvs1:~>

    In this example, your reservation would still be good for the next 4 hours. You need your queue-id to start another visualisation application. The queue-id always starts with your user-id (in this example lu66tes). In our example the queue-id would therefore be

    lu66tes1208169663944

    If, for example, you wanted to start the visualisation application ParaView, you could do so by typing:

    rvs1:> qsub -q <queue-id> -l gfx=<#reserved gfx cards>
    /usr/local/qscripts/RUN.paraview

    (Replace <your queue id> and <#reserved gfx cards> appropriately; type ls /usr/local/qscripts/RUN.* for full list of available applications.)

  4. I cannot log on to rvs1

    Only users of HLRB-II have access to rvs1.

  5. I cannot log on to gvs1 (or gvs2)

    Only users of the Linux-Cluster have access to either gvs1 or gvs2. To get an account to the Linux-Cluster, follow this link.

  6. I used vglconnect to log on to the remote visualisation server, but I don't get any graphics output on my screen

    Make sure that you allow TCP traffic on port 4242 (check your firewall settings). If your personal firewall has port 4242 open, ask your institute's administrator (there probably is a proxy server somewhere that has this port blocked). If your institute's policy disallows to open this port, you have to use port forwarding (ssh-tunnelling). Read the next paragraph (you have to use 'vglconnect -s rvs1.hlrb2.lrz-muenchen.de').

  7. I want to use vglconnect, but my institute doesn't allow me to have port 4242 open. Can I still work with the remote visualisation server?

    Yes, you can still use the remote visualisation server, but you will experience a slower performance by 20-40%. You will have to use port forwarding, also known as ssh-tunnelling. Don't worry, it's easy, just use the following command to log on to the remote visualisation server:

    vglconnect -s <visualisation-server>

    You will be asked for your password twice(!), since vglconnect establishes two ssh-connections to the remote visualisation server (one for the OpenGL image stream, the other for control-information and user input). After these two connections are established, you can proceed as usual by making a reservation and starting your visualisation application. (If you follow this procedure, vglclient will automatically run in the background.)

  8. The reservation system hangs with endless "qw qw qw qw ..."

    This probably means that the reservation system experiences a hick-up. The letters "qw" stand for "queued, waiting". This means that the reservation system has allocated a reservation for you and is currently trying to start your application. Normally, this process takes about 1-2 minutes. If your application hasn't started after 5 minutes, its likely that the reservation system faces some internal conflicts that cannot be resolved automatically.

    It does not help to press CTRL+C to terminate the current reservation process and to submit the same command again!

    Instead, please let us know by submitting an Incident Report and we will try to resolve the situation as soon as possible. You can submit an Incident Report by following this link. (Please include your user-id, the name of the visualisation server you were using and mention that the reservation system hangs with endless "qw qw".)

  9. The reservation system complains: "Failed: ResultFailure: Start time must be in the future."

    Sometimes the reservation system will produce the following error message:

    Failed: ResultFailure: Start time must be in the future.

    No confirmation -- reservation attempt failed.

    The reason for this is that the system time just changed to the next minute, so that the reservation time you requested a few seconds ago is no longer in the future. Simply use the same reservation command again, but this time add one minute to the start time.

  10. I cannot access files from HLRB-II (or the Linux-Cluster). I need to visualise these files!

    This could be because one or more of the parallel file systems are currently unavailable (or HLRB-II or parts of the Linux-Cluster are down). Please check the website "Aktuelle LRZ-Informationen", you probably find an explanation why it didn't work. If you can't find anything there, please submit a Trouble Ticket (see previous paragraph).

    Please note that rvs1 no longer has direct access to /ptmp1 and /ptmp2. You can still access these file systems with sshfs (read here for more information).

  11. I forgot my VNC password - can I ever connect to my remote desktop again?

    Don't worry - you can simply set a new password for VNC. Log on to the remote visualisation server and type

    /usr/local/qscripts/RUN.paraview

    Simply type a new password and verify it by entering it a second time. You will then be asked

    Would you like to enter a view-only password (y/n)?

    If you answer yes ("y"), you will be asked for another VNC password. You can give this password to co-workers, so that they can log-on to your VNC session, e.g. to discuss new results over the phone. Your co-workers will see what you see, but their inputs will be ignored.

  12. I would like to have an environment for collaborative work - is that possible?

    Yes, and its simple, too. When you set a password for TurboVNC (vncpasswd), you are asked if you want to give a view-only password. In that case, there are two passwords you can enter when you connect with the TurboVNC viewer. You should always(!) use a vncpasswd that is completely different from your log in password. If you do so, you can give any of the two TurboVNC passwords to your colleagues. Give them your regular TurboVNC password, if you want your colleague to be able to move the mouse cursor or make inputs with the keyboard. If you give your colleague the view-only password, he can merely watch. In any case, anyone connected to your session will see the same remote desktop.

    Now, if you combine this with an instant messaging client like pidgin or skype that you start on your client PC, you have a complete environment for collaborative work readily available!

    (Keep in mind that you can always change your TurboVNC password again, so, basically, you can create per-session passwords.)

  13. Direct Mode, Raw Mode, vglconnect vs. TurboVNC - you're confusing me. Can't you make it simple?

    In the most simplistic terms, not-so-experienced users and Microsoft Windows users should use TurboVNC. It should be sufficient if you follow the 9 steps outlined in the section "Quickstart". This method of access is called "X11 image transport" or "Raw Mode".

    Mac OS and Linux users should give vglconnect a try. This mode gives you more flexibility, since windows from the remote visualisation server appear as regular windows on your desktop. Typically, this mode also offers better performance. However, to use this method, you should be comfortable with the command line. This method of access is called "VGL image transport" or "direct mode".

  14. I work on rvs1 and want to use /extern, but cannot write to it. What do I do?

    If you want to put files on the local RAID called /extern on rvs1, please send an email to Helmut.Satzger_at_lrz.de. We will then create a folder for you.

  15. I want to use Amira/AVS-Express/Ensight/IDL/Mathematica/MATLAB, but it doesn't work.

    All the above mentioned names are commercial software packages and their usage is limited. If you want to use any of the above software, please send an email to Helmut.Satzger_at_lrz.de. Please make sure that you include your Name, User-ID and your Institute. We will then check if our software licence includes you and enable the software for you.

  16. I would really like to use software xyz on the remote visualisation server - is that possible?

    We cannot promise that we install any kind of visualisation application, but we promise you that we will take a careful look. If the software could be useful for a broader set of users, we will install it on the remote visualisation servers. Please send an email to Helmut.Satzger_at_lrz.de. Please make sure that you include your Name, User-ID and your Institute. Of course, you also have to include which software you're interested in! We would also like to know which field you're working in and what kind of data you would be analyzing with this new software (data type, data size etc.).

    It is also possible that you compile and install your own software (use the opengl-xterm for this). Let us know if any dependencies are missing (libraries etc.).

  17. I would like to use CUDA - is that possible?

    Yes. CUDA will be available on the remote visualisation servers attached to the Linux-Cluster (gvs1.lrz-muenchen.de and gvs2.lrz-muenchen.de).
    Unfortunately, CUDA is not available on rvs1.lrz-muenchen.de (since the Nvidia Quadro FX 5500 graphics cards are not supported).

  18. The visualisation applications you provide are all very nice, but I need to run my own OpenGL code - is that possible?

    Yes! For users that want to run their own applications with hardware accelerated OpenGL, we provide an XTerm with OpenGL enabled. Click here for details.

  19. I'm sorry, but non of these questions describe my problem. How can I get help?

    If you have questions or problems that are not answered on this page, please submit an Incident Report and we will try to help you as soon as possible. You can submit an Incident Report by following this link.
    (Please include your user-id, the name of the visualisation server you were using and try to give us a detailed descrition of your problem - this will make it a lot easier for us to find a solution for you fast!)

  20. The reservation system and how to use it

    This section gives a more detailed description of the inner workings of the remote visualisation servers at the LRZ. You should read the next section if you want to work more than one hour with the remote desktop or want to have a bigger remote desktop. The rest of this page is then written for the power-user that prefers the command-line interface and wants to be in full control.