Getting ATLAS Computing Accounts

Getting account at CERN

Note: Many E-mail addresses below contains the insertion of NOSPAM in the address to avoid auto web page snifers to snatch that address for spams. You need to remove the NOSPAM in actual usage. 

• Access to CERN computers:
  • UNIX (PLUS) login: ssh lxplus.cern.ch
  • Windows (NICE) login: Web Windows Terminal Server
    "Remote Desktop Web connection" on top center of WTS Tools section. You need to do a trivial one click registration first through the "Register here to use the Service" link just below at first login.
• There are two distinct passwords. One is your EDH Authorization password, which is used to sign documents electronically. The other is what you use for other activities like Linux log-in, access to ATLAS protected pages, CERN email, etc. Both passwords can be changed at Change Password tab of Account Management page.
• You can manage your CERN account -- default shell, home directory space and so on -- from Applications and Resource tab of Account Management page.
• For E-mails to some of the main services and mailing lists like atlas-support@cernNOSPAM.ch, you can only send them from your default primary E-mail ID, as registered at the AIS when creating the computing accounts. For example, if you registered your CERN computing account with default E-mail at SLAC, they won't be accepted if you send them from your CERN account directly, even you think that might have more chance to succeed.

Getting account at BNL

• BNL life/Guest No.: most likely you don't have one and need to following link on the top of the form page to apply for a guest number. This unfortunately is a long multipage process. The temporary GR**** number will allow you proceed with the computing account processing, and some weeks later you will receive the proper guest ID of Y****.   
• Contact: Howard Gordon; gordon@bnlNOSPAM.gov; x3740

Getting the GRID Certificate

This is unfortunately way too complicated than it needs to be and the instructions are very confusing. This is in part due to several separate GRID organizations. The first step is to obtain a personal Digital Certificate (sometimes called a PKI or X509 certificate) from an US national GRID organization, in our case is DOE GRID. The DOE GRID certificate service has some links leading to actual request forms, but it is a rather disorientating page. The Particle Physics Data GRID (PPDG) page has more precise instructions relevant for SLAC people for actually making request for personal GRID certificate. Note that SLAC's affiliation is OSG/SLAC and the sponsor is Marilyn Cariola as instructed in step 2. You will receive an E-mail a few days later with a PKI assigned, for which you have to use the same computer and the same browser as you submitted the certificate request from to 'import the certificate' following the instructions in the E-mail. You then have to extract the certificate for GRID use by 'export' your certificate and the pair of keys for GRID use, following these instructions, from the browser into a file. This file can then be moved to the Linux nodes and extracting two files into ~/.globus for actual GRID usage. There has been a recent attempt (Jul/06) on an improved guide of the GRID usage on the US ATLAS page. There is unfortunate one more step after the GRID certificate to join the ATLAS VO to gain access to ATLAS dataset. For which you can follow the US ATLAS instruction for joining ATLAS VO, which will take a day or two complete.   

Last modified: Tue Jan 4 19:18:38 PST 2011