Using your CS Linux Account

You can use the SSH command from a command prompt or terminal on any of the major operating systems to access CS Linux systems. You will want to connect to the Titan system (titan.cs.uregina.ca) as this is accessible from anywhere on or off campus.

You would type in at the terminal:

ssh <your-username>@titan.cs.uregina.ca

Replace <your-username> with your University of Regina username using all lowercase letters.

You will be prompted for your password for your CS Linux account. Once you enter your password you will be on the Titan Linux system. (This assumes this isn't your first time using your CS Linux account, see the Using CS Linux account the First Time below.) From here you can create files, directories as required.

Each Linux system has an online manual that you can access using the man command (e.g. man ls). You can also get help about the 'man' command by using: man man on the command line.

Some basic Linux command line commands you may be using:

  • ls - list directory contents
  • mkdir - make a directory
  • cp - copy file(s) or directory to another location
  • mv - move a file(s) or directory to another location (or rename file or directory)
  • rm - remove a file(s)
  • touch file.txt - create an empty file name file.txt
  • nano file.txt - edit file.txt using the nano editor
  • vim file.txt - edit file.txt using the ViM editor

When you want to disconnect from the system just type exit at the command line and you will be logged out of the CS Linux system.

Using your CS Linux account the First time

 

After you enable your account using the CS Services Account page (https://services.cs.uregina.ca/access/account.php) you will be given a temporary password you have to use to login for the first time.

Once you use SSH from the command prompt or terminal you may be asked, The authenticity of host 'titan.cs.uregina.ca (142.3.200.160)' can't be established ... Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? You will want to answer yes to the question. This question typically appears only the first time you have used a computer to connect to Titan for the first time.

After answering yes to the above question you are prompted for the password for your account, this is where you will use the given temporary password received from the CS Services Account page above when you enabled your account.

You will be using this password twice, once to login and then once again to validate your current password to begin the password change process.

You are then prompted for a new password for your account. You will be asked to retype your new password and if you didn't run into any errors you are logged into the command line of the CS Linux system. The new password rules can be found on the CS Services Account page.

NOTE: As you type your password, the characters are not displayed as you type. Carefully enter your passwords while you are connecting to your account.

The above process will be repeated any time you use the Reset Password and/or Enable option as part of the CS Services Account page for your account.

 

Other Software you can use with your CS Linux Account.

 

There is other free software you can use to assit you with working with your CS Linux account via transferring and editing files. All this software is available for free for any of the operating systems.

FileZilla (https://filezilla-project.org/)

You can download the client for FileZilla. This will help you transfer files from your computer to your CS Linux Account. When setting up a connection in the Site Manger you will want the following settings:

  • Protocol: SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol
  • Host: titan.cs.uregina.ca
  • Logon Type: Ask for password
  • User:  <your CS Linux account username>

You can then connect to Titan with the software. Your local computer directories will be on the left and your CS Linux account directories will be on the right after a successful login. You can then transfer files from either system via the software.

Visual Studio Code (https://code.visualstudio.com/)

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a text editor and much more. With the Remote Development extension pack installed for VS Code you can SSH to Titan using the Remote Explorer menu option.

You will be able to edit files directly on Titan using VS Code as your file editor. Any development you do for class work you will need to connect to that system (langs, os1 etc) instead. You can also use the terminal window as part of VS Code to access other CS Linux systems.

When always setting up a SSH connection you will want to have the following:

  • Host: titan.cs.uregina.ca
  • User: <your CS Linux account username>