VS code

Visual Studio Code is a text editor that can be configured to write almost any language.

Connecting to the cluster

  • Install the Remote ssh extension

    • This extension allows you to connect to remote hosts (like the cluster) via ssh You can use the remote extension to connect your local vscode with the cluster.

  • Recommended: create an ssh config

If you want to connect to the cluster outside of a vpn, you’ll need your config to look something like this: 

Host vscode-cluster
    HostName bmiclusterp1.chmcres.cchmc.org
    User USERNAME
    ProxyJump USERNAME@ssh.research.cchmc.org

This config first connects to USERNAME@ssh.research.cchmc.org, then connects to USERNAME@bmiclusterp1.chmcres.cchmc.org inside ssh.research.cchmc.org session.

This will also allow you to use ssh vscode-cluster in the command line to get the same environment as vscode.

Otherwise, if you’ll be connected to the vpn, you can simply connect to the p1 cluster: 

USERNAME@bmiclusterp1.chmcres.cchmc.org

Why is the 1 needed?

  • If you are used to connecting via ssh, you’ll notice that the normal bmiclusterp.chmcres.cchmc.org address is changed to bmiclusterp1.chmcres.cchmc.org
  • The head nodes on the p2 and p3 clusters, which are the default, are on CentOS 7, a very old, unsupported operating system
  • The compute nodes are on RHEL 9, a fairly new operating system
  • vscode is incompatible with CentOS 7, but citrix, an old way to connect to the cluster, is only supported by the old head nodes, not the new RHEL 9 nodes.
  • p1 head nodes are on RHEL 9, so vscode can connect

Supplementary material