Single Sign-on (SSO) from a TeraGrid Resource

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The fastest method to start grid computing on TeraGrid, that is, computing or moving data across multiple resources, is to use Single Sign-on from the command line of a TeraGrid resource. This does not require installation of any additional tools on your local machine, and when you receive your account information packet, your account will be configured on TeraGrid resources for you. Your packet will contain your TeraGrid-wide login (the same as your Portal login) in addition to login information for each individual resource where you have an allocation.

To start a session, you will need to create a certificate proxy following the steps below. Once you have created the session, you will be able to access all the allocated resources without the need to authenticate repeatedly.

1. Initial login: Log in to the TeraGrid resource that you've chosen as a starting point using the instructions for that resource from your account information packet.
   
2. Check for existing proxy: At the command line, type grid-proxy-info. If you already have a proxy, you can start computing. If you receive an error saying that you do not have a temporary proxy, then continue below. (If this is your first time logging in to a TeraGrid resource, you can skip this step.)
   
3. Create certificate proxy: Run myproxy-logon -l <username> You will get a prompt to enter your MyProxy passphrase. Use the TeraGrid-wide (Portal) username and password that you received in your packet for this step.
   
4. Verify proxy: Run grid-proxy-info again.
   

After starting a proxy session, use GSISSH to connect to other resources. You will not be challenged for a password again during that session. By default, proxies last 12 hours, so you will need to run myproxy-logon each day. If you wish to destroy a proxy before its expiration, run grid-proxy-destroy.

Example of command line to log in to SDSC's cluster:

gsissh tg-login.sdsc.teragrid.org

If this is not your first time creating a certificate proxy, and you have previously run myproxy-init to store a credential, myproxy-logon will use this credential, and you will need to enter your previously-chosen myproxy-init passphrase instead of your TeraGrid-wide password.