Getting an ACCESS Account

COSC 365 · Fall 2026 · Using the Anvil supercomputer

The rest of the semester, we will run programs on Anvil, a supercomputer at Purdue University. Each of its CPU nodes has 128 cores, compared with 4 on a PicoCluster node. Our class gets time on Anvil through ACCESS, the National Science Foundation program that shares supercomputers with colleges and universities.

Getting in takes two steps:

  1. Today: create your own ACCESS account and send me your ACCESS username.
  2. In a day or two: after I add you to our class project, log in to Anvil.
NoteWhat you need

Your Wofford email address and your phone. If you create an ACCESS password, you will also set up the Duo Mobile app for two-step sign-in. Accounts are free; our class project pays for the computer time.

Step 1: Create your ACCESS account

TipAlready have one?

If you used ACCESS (or XSEDE, the program before it) for another class or research, do not make a second account. Use your existing one, and reset your password at account.access-ci.org/password if you need to.

  1. Go to account.access-ci.org/register.
  2. Enter your Wofford email address. ACCESS sends you a message to confirm it. Open it and follow the instructions.
  3. Choose how you will sign in, called your identity provider:
    • If Wofford College is in the list of organizations, you may choose it and sign in with your Wofford login.
    • Otherwise, choose ACCESS CI. You will make an ACCESS password and set up Duo on your phone.
    Either choice works. Remember which one you picked, since you must choose the same one every time you sign in.
  4. Fill in your profile. For your organization, choose Wofford College. For your role, choose the one that fits you as a student.
  5. When you finish, the site shows your ACCESS username (your ACCESS ID). You can find it again any time by signing in at account.access-ci.org.
ImportantSend me your ACCESS username

Email me your ACCESS username so I can add you to our class project. I cannot add you without it.

Step 2: Log in to Anvil

Wait until I tell you that you have been added. It can take a day or so after that for your account to appear on Anvil.

In a web browser (start here)

  1. Go to ondemand.anvil.rcac.purdue.edu.

  2. Sign in with ACCESS. Choose the same identity provider as in Step 1.

  3. From the Clusters menu, open Anvil Shell Access. You now have a terminal on Anvil, much like logging in to the PicoCluster.

  4. Find your Anvil username:

    whoami

    It starts with x-, and it is not the same as your ACCESS username. Write it down.

The Files menu lets you upload and download files without a terminal.

From your own terminal (optional)

Anvil does not accept passwords over ssh. It needs an SSH key instead. You set it up once:

  1. On your laptop, make a key, if you do not already have one. Press Return to accept the default file.

    ssh-keygen -t ed25519

  2. Show the public key, and copy the whole line it prints:

    cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

  3. In the Anvil Shell Access terminal from above, add that line to your list of allowed keys. Paste your key between the quotes:

    mkdir -p ~/.ssh
echo "PASTE-YOUR-KEY-HERE" >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
chmod 700 ~/.ssh
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

  4. Back on your laptop, connect with your Anvil username:

    ssh x-yourname@anvil.rcac.purdue.edu

Only ever copy the file ending in .pub. The other file is your private key, and it never leaves your laptop.

Be a good neighbor

When you log in, you are on a login node shared by many people. Edit files, compile, and run quick tests there, but do not run long or many-thread programs on it. In class, we will learn to submit jobs that run on Anvil’s compute nodes. Every job uses some of our class’s shared allocation, so only run what you need.

If something goes wrong

Problem What to try
Your password or sign-in does not work Make sure you chose the same identity provider as when you registered.
Anvil says you have no account You may not be added yet, or Anvil has not caught up. Wait a day after I add you, then let me know.
ssh asks for a password or says Permission denied Your key is not set up yet. Repeat the SSH key steps, and check that you used your x- Anvil username.
Something else Let me know. You can also search the Anvil user guide and ACCESS support.
Back to top