Getting started with Alliance Canada

Registering for an account

Before you can use the Alliance Canada resources you will need to register for an account. Your account will be linked to a “sponsor”, so before you start the registration, send an email to your supervisor (Jinko or Brad) and ask them for their Alliance Canada user ID (CCRI).

Next, go to the Alliance Canada login/registration page at

https://ccdb.alliancecan.ca/security/login

and click on “Register” near the bottom right. Fill out the following application pages. When asked about your “Position” say MSc or PhD student, as appropriate, under “Sponsored User”. After you submit the form, the Alliance Canada system should send your supervisor an email to approve your request. Please let them know when you submit the form so that they can keep an eye out for the approval email.

Getting to know Unix

The Alliance Canada servers run the Unix operating system. If you are unfamiliar with Unix, you can consult an online tutorial, such as this one.

Logging in to cedar

The cluster that we use most is fir.alliancecan.ca (formerly cedar.computecanada.ca). You will need to log in to cedar with an SSH client. See the Alliance Canada documentation on SSH for more information.

Transferring data

Copy data files to/from cedar using scp or globus. More information is available at https://docs.alliancecan.ca/wiki/Transferring_data