RCC has deployed additional capacity for its Tinaroo Remote Desktop service due to many UQ researchers working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
RCC has increased the capacity of this service from about 30 to 105 users at any time to provide additional support for remote work.
The Tinaroo desktop is available via any Web browser, and provides command-line access to not only Tinaroo, but also other UQ HPCs Awoonga and FlashLite via a Web interface.
“This means that someone can be sitting on the couch at home, checking on the progress of their HPC jobs with nothing more than a Web browser on their phone,” said RCC HPC Manager Dr David Green.
One of the drivers for the expansion of the Tinaroo desktop was a remote teaching IT support request that RCC was asked to help with.
The service may be used, for example, to enable a student workshop to access research software from off-campus.
“The Tinaroo Remote Desktop lands you deep inside the HPC within the UQ network space, so you can access research software from that vantage point,” said David.
When using a Tinaroo desktop session, a program will remain running during network disconnections or dropouts, making it ideal when working on the go.
A session may be used to submit and manage batch jobs. GUI interface programs that require large memory or CPUs, may be run via interactive batch jobs.
RCC first introduced remote desktop access to Tinaroo in December 2016.
Tinaroo is a traditional HPC exclusively for use by UQ research staff and research students.
For further information, or for help with the Tinaroo Remote Desktop service, please contact the RCC Support Desk.
