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Start Lynx Session with only Pluto Server

If this is your first time to run Pluto on Lynx, then first make sure you have an account on Lynx and have completed the initial setup steps. Then, each time you want to start a Jupyter Lab session on Lynx, you'll follow the instructions below:

  1. Browse to portal.lynx.hpc.psu.edu.

Using "guest" or "incognito" mode is recommended. Login and authenticate (as necessary).

  1. Under Interactive Apps, choose _HPC for Astro Pluto

  2. Select:

    • Environment setup: source /storage/egroup/hpc4astro/default/astro_528/scripts/env_setup

    • Number of hours: 2 (can choose longer if you plan to continue after class or outside of class)

    • Number of cores: 3 (or more if running parallel computation)

    • Memory: 16 GB

    • If necessary, feel free to select the Enable advanced Slurm options box to directly enter additional Slurm resource directives. Note that these may override any previous selections, and the session will not successfully start if there are any mistakes in the provided directives.

  3. Click Launch, and your session request will appear in the My Interactive Sessions list. Wait while your job starts.

  4. Once the Click to Connect to Pluto.jl Server button appears, click it.

    • A new browser tab should open with a Pluto session.

    • The first time you open Pluto it will take a few minutes and is likely to time out. Just wait a few minutes and try again. (Behind the scenes, it's installing a lot of packages.)

    • Open a Pluto notebook

      • For a blank notebook, click "Create a new notebook"

      • To open an existing notebook, or enter the path to the notebook in the text box under "Open a notebook" and click the "Open" button. (I find using tab completion is very helpful.)

    • Do your work in the Pluto notebook.

    • Save your notebook (Ctrl+S or button in top right of page),

  5. Note that you don't have access to a Lynx terminal from the Pluto server. To commit your changes and push to github, you'll need to have access to a terminal on Lynx

  6. See Starting & Submitting Assignments for more information on accessing and submitting assignments.

  7. When you're done, close the browser tab(s) with Pluto, go back to the "My Interactive Sessions" tab in the Lynx Portal, click "Delete" for this Jupyter session and confirm.