A familiarity with Linux and the Bash Shell is vital for using the HTC cluster. Submitting, monitoring, and managing jobs on the cluster largely involves command-line operations. We do not routinely teach beginning Linux classes, though we may offer hands-on sessions as a part of multi-topic workshops. However, we do expect you (and strongly encourage you) to be comfortable with the following Linux skills before submitting jobs on the HTC cluster:
- Know how to traverse directories
- Know how to create & remove files & directories
- Know how to copy/move files & directories
- Know how to edit a file using a simple text editor like nano or vi
- Read and write files with commands like head, tail, cat, and less
- Understand and modify Linux file/directory permissions
- Understand I/O redirection
Additional Linux skills:
- Pipe
- Simple search and replace using sed and grep etc
- Wildcard characters
- Find online help on a command
- Key strokes to kill a running command on the commandline
To test your Linux/Bash familiarity, take the NIH HPC quiz below.
Take the Quiz! (10 random multiple-choice questions)
If you score below 8/10, we highly recommend that you work your way through one or more of the following Linux tutorials (each link uses a different teaching/learning methodology):
The time invested in having good Linux skills will save you hours, if not days, in the future.