Remote access to CSE lab machines

By default, users don't have permission to log into CSE lab machines over SSH - you can only log in at the physical console

If you need to work remotely in the CSE computing environment, you should use the login servers or VLAB instead.

Special case exceptions

In (rare) special cases, we may be able to grant remote access to lab machines - for instance, for distributed-computing experiments.

As in-person teaching has to take absolute priority, we have some strict guidelines around the process:

You must discuss your needs with your supervisor, and get their approval before requesting remote lab access.
CSG have the final say, and we might not grant access if we think it will affect users or teaching in the labs.
You must not run any remote processes while the labs are booked for classes.
You must not run processor- or IO-intensive tasks while the labs are open.
CSG will be monitoring load on the lab machines, and we will terminate any remote processes that inconvenience local users.
If this happens too often, we may revoke your remote access.

You're free to configure whatever kind of remote access you prefer to your personal computer.

However, there are a couple of things to be aware of:

You can't remotely connect to a machine on the wireless network; you will need to connect it to the CSE wired network first.
There are firewalls in place that block incoming network connections by default.
We recommend that you use the UNSW VPN to get through the firewall if possible.
If this isn't suitable, you can use the CSE VPN or configure an SSH tunnel instead.
As a last resort, you can open a port in our firewall - however this is the least-secure option as it can expose your machine directly to the entire internet.