Connecting VS Code to HPC using SSH

Introduction

Important

Users are encouraged to use the Web version of VS Code (Code-Server) available on the HPC. The Code-server can be found in the Interactive Apps section of the HPC Web Interface (https://ood.hpc.abudhabi.nyu.edu/)

This documentation provides step-by-step instructions on how to connect your local VS Code to a High-Performance Computing (HPC) system using SSH. By establishing an SSH connection, you can leverage the power of the HPC resources while utilizing the familiar and feature-rich VS Code editor.

The below steps also achieve the following:

  • This will connect to the compute nodes and not the login nodes and hence prevent any overloads on login nodes.

  • Eliminate the possibility of the non terminated vs code-related background processes which may cause login issues on the HPC

Important

It is recommended to have enabled passwordless ssh on your private PC’s for seamless experience. Find the guide here Passwordless SSH

Caution

Connecting directly to the login nodes leaves backgrounds processes running in login node for each new connection thus accumulating over time until you reach the threshold after which no more processes for a user are allowed on login which further results in login failures

Prerequisites

  • A local installation of VS Code.

  • Basic knowledge of SSH and working with remote systems.

Step 1: Modify SSH Config File

Add the following configuration to your SSH config file:

  • For Mac OS and Ubuntu

     Host hpc
   HostName jubail.abudhabi.nyu.edu
  User <NetID>

Host hpc-job
   ForwardAgent yes
  StrictHostKeyChecking no
  UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null
  ProxyCommand ssh hpc "/opt/slurm/default/bin/salloc --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=8 --time=9:00:00 /bin/bash -c 'nc \$SLURM_NODELIST 22'"
  User <NetID>

    Replace <NetID> with your username. This configuration allows you to connect to the “hpc-job” host.

  • For Windows

     Host hpc
   HostName jubail.abudhabi.nyu.edu
  User <NetID>

Host hpc-job
   ForwardAgent yes
  StrictHostKeyChecking no
  UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null
  ProxyCommand ssh hpc "/opt/slurm/default/bin/salloc --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=8 --time=9:00:00 /bin/bash -c 'nc $SLURM_NODELIST 22'"
  User <NetID>

    Replace <NetID> with your username. This configuration allows you to connect to the “hpc-job” host.

Tip

Please refer to the following link SSH Config for instructions on how to open the SSH config file.

Step 2: Connect with VS Code Remote-SSH Extension

To remotely connect VS Code to one of the compute nodes, perform the following steps:

  1. Install the Remote-SSH extension in your local VS Code instance.

  2. Set up your SSH Config file as described above.

  3. Increase SSH Timeout to 200 seconds in your VS Code Settings.

  4. Enable Passwordless SSH (recommended)

  5. Open the Command Palette in VS Code (press Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P).

  6. Search for and select the Remote-SSH: Connect to Host option.

  7. Choose the hpc-job host from the list of configured hosts.

  8. VS Code will establish a remote SSH connection to the compute node.