You can access HMDC-managed systems from your desktop workstation, from workstations in the public labs, or from workstations outside the Harvard network, by means of our robust and secure remote access service.
One advantage of our remote access service is that user sessions can be suspended and resumed at will; this means that you can begin a session from an office workstation, suspend it, move to a lab workstation and resume the previous session, suspend it again, and then move to a home computer and resume the same session, all with no disruption of your environment. During this time the location and contents of windows remains consistent, processes and applications run without interruption, and any interface customizations remain in effect.
Our remote access service provides a familiar, consistent user experience to all HMDC affiliates. Since the RCE is built on open standards and does not require specialized or proprietary software, you can access the full Research Computing Environment from any modern workstation with a graphical user interface and a high-speed internet connection.
Remote access provides three categories of services:
This is an historical guide that describes how to access the Research Computing Environment (RCE) through a legacy secure network connection. A newer version of this guide is available from this web site's Accessing the RCE menu option.
Refer to the guide Working in the RCE for information about how to use the desktop applications, tools, and utilities after you connect.
You can use the Easy Connection script if you connect:
You can connect manually to the RCE if you use a Mac OS or Linux workstation. Before you connect to the RCE, read Setting Your Password in the guide Connecting to the RCE.
Note: If you connect to the RCE from a public machine, read Security Issues for Public Machines.
This guide describes how to access the Research Computing Environment (RCE) through a secure network connection. Refer to the guide Working in the RCE for information about how to use the desktop applications, tools, and utilities after you connect. For information about how to exit from the RCE, see Exiting the RCE.
You use the NX Client application to connect to the RCE from a Windows, MacOS, or Linux workstation. The NX Client is available free of charge from NoMachine, a division of Medialogic S.p.A., at the following web site:
http://www.nomachine.com/download.php
Note: Before you connect to the RCE, read Setting Your Password.
This guide provides information about basic features and functions that might be useful when you begin working within the RCE. The RCE supports the following applications, tools, and utilities described in this guide:
Before you can use any of the applications and tools available in the RCE, you must connect to the RCE successfully. Refer to the guide Connecting to the RCE for detailed information.