Accessing ALICE

ALICE can be accessed from both on and off the University of Leicester network. It is not necessary to be connected to the VPN service or to be using a managed University of Leicester device to access ALICE.

Some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) or institutes restrict outgoing connections, please check with local support if you are unable to make a connection to ALICE.

Multi Factor Authentication (MFA)

When logging in from anywhere else and if your account is enabled for MFA, you will also be prompted for your MFA authentication code. This applies if you are using a TOTP authenticator app, or SMS.

If you use the Microsoft authenticator app or phone call authentication then you will not be prompted for an authentication code and instead must respond on your device before the authentication process completes and you are logged in.

NoMachine

The NoMachine software can be used to run a graphical virtual desktop on the ALICE system which is similar to the Windows/MacOS graphical desktop on your laptop/desktop computer. You can disconnect from and then reconnect to a running NoMachine desktop, the desktop will continue running when you are disconnected. If you are disconnected for more than 3 days, your desktop will be terminated to save resources.

The following connection file can be used to connect to the new ALICE NoMachine service from a NoMachine client running on managed or unmanaged systems:

ALICE.nxs

Download and double click on the file to start a NoMachine connection.

Alternatively, you can create a new connection with the following parameters:

  • Host: alice-nx.le.ac.uk
  • Port: 4000
  • Protocol: NX
  • Authentication method: password
  • If connecting on campus via wired connection, please enable "Use UDP communication for multimedia data"

Note

When prompted for your username, this should be of the form 'abc1', not your friendly email address

University Windows PCs

On a University Windows 10 PC, install the NoMachine Enterprise Client from the Software Centre

  • Once installed, the NoMachine client can be found in the program menu. Once started, launch the NoMachine connection to ALICE. If the ALICE connection is not shown, use the ALICE.nxs file linked above
  • Enter your University IT user name and password when prompted. Do not select the "save this password" checkbox, this feature is disabled.
  • You will be connected to the University of Leicester ALICE / HPC gateway. If this is the first time you have logged in, a new desktop will automatically be opened for you. If you have a previously disconnected session running you will have the option to connect to this.

Other computers

Download and install the appropriate package for your operating system from the NoMachine Enterprise Client page. Installation packages for the following operating systems are provided:

  • Windows
  • Mac OSX
  • Linux

The client for iOS and Android devices can be installed from the relevant app store.

  1. Once the client is installed, download the ALICE.nxs connection file.
  2. Save this file.
  3. Next time you start NoMachine player select "open" from the options and open the file you downloaded. Subsequently, the session should appear in your favourites as "ALICE" Alternatively, you can save the ALICE.nxs connection file on your desktop and double click on it to start a connection.

Using secure shell from Linux / Mac OS X

You can login to ALICE using SSH from Linux / Mac OS X using:

ssh alice.le.ac.uk

or

ssh username@alice.le.ac.uk

where 'username' is your username, not your friendly email address

To enable X-forwarding:

ssh -X alice.le.ac.uk

  • If this is the first time you have logged in you will be prompted to accept the server key - check that it matches one of the following key fingerprints and respond with "yes". Depending on your client you may be presented with either a ECDSA or ED25519 fingerprint, hashed with either MD5 or SHA256, so any one of the fingerprints listed below could be presented to you.
SHA256:Eb/sf5wuFykgqceulujTL5HgI0FvADHUSCkEPWJ1G78 (ECDSA)
MD5:70:e2:ca:62:cf:0e:56:95:cf:c6:5d:1c:79:83:85:6b (ECDSA)
SHA256:008vN8az9CZ0SIwBOka+lO0fNzhHPlYBHGiWUuQewkc (ED25519)
MD5:3c:07:cf:f1:d9:1a:bf:03:35:96:e5:89:ce:c3:4d:79 (ED25519)
SHA256:pkaElU254aw86fOh7FJwGvX9Z72YymxJbYl/jlmgTCM (RSA)
MD5:73:b8:22:d8:26:0e:8a:93:81:86:bf:7d:eb:da:20:84 (RSA)

Using PuTTY from managed windows desktops / laptops

Open PuTTY from the Start menu - enter the following hostname alice.le.ac.uk and click on the "Open" button. Enter your username (not your friendly email address) and password when prompted.

  • If this is the first time you have logged in you will be prompted to accept the server key - check that it matches one of the following key fingerprints and click "accept":
ssh-ed25519 255 SHA256:008vN8az9CZ0SIwBOka+lO0fNzhHPlYBHGiWUuQewkc