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Logging In and Navigating Open OnDemand

Open OnDemand provides a web-based interface for accessing VHPC. This page explains how to connect, sign in, and locate the portal’s primary features.

Before You Begin

To use Open OnDemand, you need:

  • An active Kennesaw State University NetID
  • An active VHPC account
  • A current web browser
  • A connection to the KSU VPN-Groups service

Open OnDemand uses your existing VHPC account and permissions. Signing in does not grant additional access to projects, storage, software, or computing resources.

Connect to the KSU VPN

Before opening Open OnDemand, connect to the KSU VPN-Groups service.

You'll need to connect to our VPN to access the Kennesaw State University VHPC. To begin, open your web browser to vpn-groups.kennesaw.edu, then install the appropriate GlobalProtect VPN client for your computer.

Warning

If you already have a GlobalProtect VPN client installed, make sure you have a connection for vpn-groups.kennesaw.edu, not vpn.kennesaw.edu. Using the vpn.kennesaw.edu gateway will not allow you to access the VHPC.

Access Open OnDemand

After connecting to VPN-Groups, open:

https://ondemand.kennesaw.edu

Sign in using your Kennesaw State University NetID and complete any additional authentication prompts.

After authentication, Open OnDemand displays the dashboard.

Note

Open OnDemand uses your NetID to identify your VHPC account. You do not need a separate Open OnDemand username or password.

The Dashboard

The dashboard is the main landing page for Open OnDemand.

Near the top of the page, Recently Used Apps provides shortcuts to applications and tools you have used recently.

The dashboard may also display announcements, maintenance notices, or other information from the VHPC administrators. Review these messages before beginning work.

The navigation bar provides access to the primary Open OnDemand features:

  • Files
  • Jobs
  • Clusters
  • Interactive Apps
  • My Interactive Sessions
  • All Apps

Files

The Files menu provides shortcuts to your primary VHPC storage locations:

  • Home Directory
  • Work
  • Staging

Selecting one of these entries opens it in the browser-based file manager.

The file manager can be used to:

  • Browse files and directories
  • Upload and download files
  • Create files and directories
  • Rename or delete items
  • Make light edits to text files

For more information, see Managing Files in Open OnDemand.

Jobs

The Jobs menu includes:

  • Active Jobs
  • Job Composer
  • Project Manager

Use Active Jobs to view jobs currently queued or running on VHPC, inspect job details, and cancel jobs when necessary.

Job Composer and Project Manager provide additional job-submission and workflow features and are not covered in this introductory guide.

For more information, see Monitoring and Managing Jobs.

Clusters

The Clusters menu includes:

  • Module Browser
  • VHPC Shell Access
  • System Status

Module Browser

Use the Module Browser to search for software modules available on VHPC.

You can expand a search result to view available versions, dependencies, and the corresponding module load command.

The Module Browser helps you find software, but it does not load the module automatically. Copy the displayed command into a VHPC shell or Slurm job script.

VHPC Shell Access

VHPC Shell Access opens a command-line shell on a VHPC login node in a new browser tab.

The shell provides the same account, permissions, storage, and software environment available through a traditional SSH connection.

For more information, see Using the Open OnDemand Shell.

System Status

System Status displays a high-level summary of current VHPC activity, including:

  • Available and in-use nodes
  • Available and in-use processors
  • Available and in-use GPUs
  • Running jobs
  • Queued jobs

This page provides a general snapshot of the system. It does not predict when a particular job will start.

Interactive Apps

The Interactive Apps menu contains applications that can be launched on VHPC compute nodes.

Current application groups include:

Desktops

  • VHPC Desktop (NEW)
  • GaussView

Servers

  • Jupyter
  • MATLAB on VHPC

Selecting an application opens a form where you choose the account, runtime, and resources needed for the session.

Launching an interactive application submits a Slurm job. The application becomes available after Slurm assigns the requested resources.

For more information, see Running Interactive Applications.

My Interactive Sessions

My Interactive Sessions displays interactive applications you have requested.

You can also select an application from the left side of this page to open its launch form.

A session may appear as:

  • Queued
  • Running
  • Completed
  • Failed

From this page, you can:

  • Check whether a session is queued or running
  • Connect to a running application
  • Reconnect after closing an application tab
  • Review the allocated resources and remaining runtime
  • Cancel a queued or running session
  • Delete a completed session card

Closing an application’s browser tab does not necessarily stop its VHPC job. Return to My Interactive Sessions and cancel the session when you are finished.

All Apps

All Apps provides a searchable catalog of tools available through Open OnDemand.

The catalog includes applications and portal features from several categories, such as:

  • Interactive applications
  • Active Jobs
  • Job Composer
  • Files
  • Cluster tools

Use the search field when you know the name of a tool but are unsure which menu contains it.

Some entries, such as Files, provide additional choices after they are selected.

Browser Notifications

Open OnDemand can use browser notifications to alert you when the status of an interactive session changes.

Notifications must be permitted for:

ondemand.kennesaw.edu

If your browser has blocked notifications, use its site-permission settings to allow them before enabling notifications in Open OnDemand.

Browser and operating-system behavior varies, so notification controls may appear differently on different devices.

Opening Tools in Browser Tabs

Different Open OnDemand tools open in different ways:

  • VHPC Shell Access opens in a new browser tab.
  • Jupyter opens in a new browser tab after you connect.
  • Remote graphical applications such as the VHPC desktop normally open in the current tab.

Tip

Before connecting to a remote graphical application, consider opening My Interactive Sessions in a separate browser tab. This keeps the session controls available while the application uses the other tab.

Closing a browser tab may disconnect you from an application, but it does not necessarily stop the underlying Slurm job.

Returning to the Dashboard

Select the Open OnDemand logo in the upper-left corner to return to the dashboard.

You can keep several Open OnDemand pages open at the same time, such as:

  • The dashboard
  • The file manager
  • A VHPC shell
  • My Interactive Sessions
  • Jupyter or another interactive application

Session Timeouts

Your Open OnDemand web session may expire after a period of inactivity.

If this happens, sign in again using your NetID.

An Open OnDemand authentication timeout does not necessarily stop an interactive session that is already running. After signing in again, open My Interactive Sessions and reconnect.

Interactive applications also have requested runtime limits. The underlying Slurm job ends when its time limit is reached, even if you remain signed in to Open OnDemand.

Logging Out

When you are finished using Open OnDemand, open the user menu in the upper-right corner and select the logout option.

On a shared or public computer:

  1. Log out of Open OnDemand.
  2. Log out of any remaining Kennesaw State University authentication pages.
  3. Close all browser windows.

Closing the browser alone may not immediately end your authenticated Kennesaw State University session.

Next Steps

Getting Help

If you cannot sign in, cannot locate an expected feature, or receive an unexpected error, contact the Kennesaw State University Service Desk.

Method Students Faculty/Staff
Web ServiceNow ServiceNow
E-Mail studenthelpdesk@kennesaw.edu service@kennesaw.edu
Phone 470-578-3555 470-578-6999

When reporting a problem, include:

  • Your NetID
  • The approximate date and time the problem occurred
  • The page or feature you were attempting to use
  • Any visible error message
  • The browser you were using