The Spring 2021 RCS tutorial sessions will be offered remotely over Zoom and, in some cases, with videos which students should watch in advance. In order to fully participate in the hands-on tutorial sessions, students will want to install certain software packages in advance. In some cases, this will vary based on the operating system your machine is running; we will focus on Windows and Mac.
Using the SCC (free)
For students of: “Introduction to BU’s Shared Computing Cluster”
There are two main methods to access and use the SCC. The first is using a program called an SSH client and we have explanations on doing this for various operating systems. The second method is via your web browser using SCC OnDemand (documentation). If you do not currently have an SCC account, you will not be able to log in to the SCC until the tutorial instructor provides you with instructions although you can also request a 3 month trial account now. If you are planning to use the SSH method of access, you should make sure you have the necessary software and know how to run it.
For Macintosh people using or planning to use the SSH method of connecting to the SCC, you may also want to consult our information on installing a file transfer program and enabling X Forwarding so that graphical programs on the SCC will work for you. For Windows people using MobaXTerm, both of these items are built-in to MobaXTerm so they don’t require doing anything special. SCC OnDemand also has built-in support for both of these things.
Accessing the SCC via SSH (free)
For students of: “Introduction to Linux” and “Intermediate Usage of the SCC”
You need to have access to an SSH client to connect to the SCC. Mac and Linux have a built-in application, called ‘Terminal’ on the Mac and ‘ssh’ on Linux.
If you have a Windows machine, please install mobaXterm by following the steps below:
- Go to https://mobaxterm.mobatek.net/download.html.
- Select Free Home Edition.
- On the next page select “Installer Edition”.
- Download the zip file.
- Important: Please unzip the content of the file before starting the installation process.
- Click on the installer file and follow the directions.
Installing MATLAB
Prior to the tutorial, please download and install MATLAB. License details are available. Detailed installation instructions are also available.
Installing R and RStudio (free)
All of the R tutorials will be using Rstudio as a graphical interface to the R programming language. Please install R and Rstudio in the following order:
R: https://cran.r-project.org/
Rstudio: https://rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download/ (select Rstudio Desktop free version)
Installing Git (free)
For the Version Control and Collaboration with Git and GitHub tutorials, please install Git on your local computer before attending.
https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Getting-Started-Installing-Git
Getting SAS (there may be a cost)
SAS is only available for Windows and is needed for the Hands-on portion of this tutorial. If you do not currently have it, you can purchase version 9.4. You can also email the instructor, Jack Chan of IS&T RCS (jack@bu.edu), to see if you may qualify to get it free from BUMC IT; do this at least a week in advance of the tutorial.
Installing SPSS (free for BU people)
Prior to the tutorial, current BU students, faculty, and staff members should download and install SPSS for free.
Installing Python (free)
Prior to the tutorial, download and install the Anaconda distribution of Python. Choose the 64-bit download from the Python 3.7 options. This will install Python, numerous libraries, and the Spyder and Jupyter development environments that will be used in the Python tutorials. If you have previously installed Anaconda follow their instructions to update your software.
Accessing Perl (free)
The four part “Introduction to Perl” tutorial is not hands-on so it is not required that you be able to access Perl during the tutorial. The tutorial will be done on the BU Shared Computing Cluster (SCC) and if you have an SCC account, you also have access to Perl as it is shown during the tutorial.
Basic information on accessing Perl on a Macintosh is available. It should already be installed and available.
For Windows, you need to install Perl and here is a page with instructions on installing Strawberry Perl and a Perl IDE/editor.
Installing ImageJ (free)
Prior to the tutorial, please download and install Fiji, which includes ImageJ.
Installing QGIS (free)
Go to the QGIS download page (https://qgis.org/en/site/forusers/download.html) and select your operating system. Then select the appropriate QGIS download file for your machine. It is recommended to download the installer for QGIS 3.10 Long Term Release version, as the 3.16 version is considered to be in “testing” phase and maybe unstable.
ArcGIS Online Account Creation (free)
At BU, ArcGIS Online accounts are managed by CAS IT. At the moment there is no cost of having an ArcGIS Online account created. For those who register for Introduction to ArcGIS Online Part One or Part Two, the instructor (Dennis Milechin) will submit a request to CAS IT, on your behalf, to have the account created before the tutorial. When an account is created you will receive an email that looks similar to the one below:
Please note that in the e-mail it will specify the username assigned to you, typically with “_bucas” appended to the end. Click on the link to finish the account creation process. You will need to create a password and also create a security question. Then you will need to read and accept some terms and conditions for using BU’s ArcGIS Online service. The registration is complete once you get to your profile setup page, similar to the one below:
You have now completed your registration. To test your login credential, click on your name in the top right, and click on “Sign Out”.
This should bring you back to the log in screen. Type in your username and password and click on sign-in. Remember, the username you will use was sent to you via e-mail.
If you have questions regarding the creation of the ArcGIS Online account for the tutorial, please email the instructor, Dennis Milechin, at milechin@bu.edu.