Changes between Version 4 and Version 5 of User Guide/Portal

Timestamp:

Mar 4, 2026, 7:38:08 PM (4 hours ago)

Author:

editor

Comment:

Fix SSH access: username on consoles only, root on nodes with baseline images

User Guide/Portal

@@ -16 +16 @@
 1. Go to [https://www.cosmos-lab.org/register_usr Register User]
 2. Fill in your details:
-   * '''Username''' -- 3-16 characters, must start with a letter. Only lowercase letters, digits, hyphens, and underscores are allowed. This becomes your Linux login name on all testbed nodes.
+   * '''Username''' -- 3-16 characters, must start with a letter. Only lowercase letters, digits, hyphens, and underscores are allowed. This becomes your login name on testbed console servers and other infrastructure machines.
    * '''First Name, Last Name''' -- ASCII characters only
    * '''Email''' -- must be a valid institutional email. Some organizations enforce domain restrictions (e.g., only @university.edu addresses).
@@ -83 +83 @@
 * '''Delete a key''' -- remove individual keys you no longer need
 
-You can upload multiple keys (e.g., one from your laptop and one from your desktop). These keys are deployed to all testbed consoles and nodes, giving you SSH access during active reservations.
+You can upload multiple keys (e.g., one from your laptop and one from your desktop). These keys are deployed to testbed console servers (jump hosts), giving you SSH access during active reservations. On baseline node images, root SSH access is granted automatically for the duration of your reservation.
 
 [[Image(portal-ssh-keys.png, width=40%)]]
@@ -111 +111 @@
 Once you have an approved reservation and your SSH key uploaded, you can connect to testbed nodes via SSH through the console server for your reserved domain.
 
+'''Important:''' Your portal username is used to log in to the '''console servers''' (jump hosts) and other testbed infrastructure. On the testbed '''nodes''' themselves, you log in as '''root''' when using baseline images, or with whatever username you configure on your own custom/derivative images.
+
 === Basic SSH Connection ===
 
 The general pattern for connecting to a testbed node is:
 {{{
-ssh -J <username>@<console>.cosmos-lab.org <username>@<node>
-}}}
-
-The `-J` flag sets up a '''jump host''' (also called a ''bastion host'' or ''proxy jump''), routing your SSH connection through the console server to reach the internal testbed node. For example, to connect to node1 in sandbox SB1:
-{{{
-ssh -J myuser@sb1.cosmos-lab.org myuser@node1-1
+ssh -J <username>@<console>.cosmos-lab.org root@<node>
+}}}
+
+The `-J` flag sets up a '''jump host''' (also called a ''bastion host'' or ''proxy jump''), routing your SSH connection through the console server to reach the internal testbed node. Your portal username authenticates you on the console; on the node itself you typically log in as `root` (baseline images). For example, to connect to node1-1 in sandbox SB1:
+{{{
+ssh -J myuser@sb1.cosmos-lab.org root@node1-1
 }}}
 
@@ -126 +128 @@
 {{{
 Host sb1-*
-    User myuser
     ProxyJump myuser@sb1.cosmos-lab.org
 
 Host node1-1
     HostName node1-1
-    User myuser
+    User root
     ProxyJump myuser@sb1.cosmos-lab.org
 }}}
@@ -141 +142 @@
 '''Local port forwarding''' -- forward a port from a remote testbed node to your local machine:
 {{{
-ssh -L 8888:localhost:8888 -J myuser@sb1.cosmos-lab.org myuser@node1-1
+ssh -L 8888:localhost:8888 -J myuser@sb1.cosmos-lab.org root@node1-1
 }}}
 This makes port 8888 on node1-1 accessible at `localhost:8888` on your machine. Useful for Jupyter notebooks, web UIs, and other services.
@@ -147 +148 @@
 '''Dynamic SOCKS proxy''' -- create a SOCKS proxy to route all traffic through a testbed node:
 {{{
-ssh -D 1080 -J myuser@sb1.cosmos-lab.org myuser@node1-1
+ssh -D 1080 -J myuser@sb1.cosmos-lab.org root@node1-1
 }}}
 Then configure your browser to use `localhost:1080` as a SOCKS5 proxy.