Windows Servers in the Protected Environment

The Protected Environment includes Windows servers for statistical analyses and software that is only available on Windows devices.

The CHPC provides large-memory compute nodes with the Windows operating system for your convenience. The Windows servers represent a small fraction of all computational resources available in the Protected Environment. They're intended for software that requires a Windows environment. If you find that you need more computational resources and your software can run on Linux, we recommend using the Redwood cluster and trying Open OnDemand, which provides a web interface to launch common software.

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Prerequisites for Access to Windows Systems in the Protected Environment

Access to Windows systems in the Protected Environment requires a Protected Environment account. You must also be on the University of Utah network. If you are connecting from off-campus, you will need to connect to the University of Utah VPN.

Windows Servers

The current Windows servers in the Protected Environment include pe-rds01, Narwhal, and other Windows systems for specific projects.

The local disks on Windows servers are not backed up. If you have important data on a Windows server, please consider storing additional copies in a project space or on separate hardware. Files on local disks that are lost to accidental deletion or hardware failures cannot be recovered.

Restrict your memory usage to prevent taking over the whole system. The Windows servers are shared resources that many researchers rely on for research computing workflows. We ask that all researchers limit their usage of the resources (memory and CPU) to a third of what is currently available. This means that if only 128 GB of memory is available, you should only use ~40 GB at most for your computation to allow other users of the system to use the system without interruption. The continued availability of the Windows servers depends on the cooperation of all researchers who use them.

Disconnecting and logging out are different. If you close the remote desktop window or disconnect from the session, your Windows session remains active and software continues running. Applications such as RStudio can continue to hold memory after you disconnect, so please quit applications when your analyses are complete and log out when you are finished using a Windows server. This releases the resources you were reserving to other active users on the Windows server.

The pe-rds01 Windows Server

pe-rds01 is the current Remote Desktop Services (RDS) system in the Protected Environment. pe-rds01 has 48 physical cores (across two CPUs), 1.5 TB of RAM, and local disk space that is limited to 60 TB. It has mounts of your Protected Environment home and project storage spaces, so you can access your personal and project files.

Accessing pe-rds01

To connect to pe-rds01, use a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) client. On Windows, use Remote Desktop Connection. On Linux, use xfreerdp or another RDP client. On macOS, use the Windows App available from the App Store.

Confirm that you have an active Protected Environment account and are connected to the University of Utah network. If you are off campus, connect to the University of Utah VPN before starting the remote desktop session.
Start a new remote desktop connection to pe-rds01.chpc.utah.edu
Configure the RD Gateway server pe-gw01.chpc.utah.edu for the connection (see the gateway section for details)
Use ad\uNID as the username, replacing uNID with your University of Utah ID (uNID)
Authenticate with your password and complete Duo two-factor authentication. You can enter push to send a Duo push notification to your phone or enter the 6-digit code generated by Duo.

Configuring the Protected Environment Gateway (pe-gw01) for pe-rds01

A gateway server acts as a bridge for remote desktop connections; all connections pass through the gateway to reach remote desktop hosts. When configuring remote desktop connections to Windows servers in the Protected Environment, you will need to configure the pe-gw01 gateway.

pe-rds01 requires the Protected Environment gateway, pe-gw01. In Remote Desktop Connection on Windows, click Show Options, open the Advanced tab, and configure the gateway before connecting:

Click Settings... under Connect from anywhere
Select Use these RD Gateway server settings
Enter pe-gw01.chpc.utah.edu as the server name
Check Use my RD Gateway credentials for the remote computer

pe-rds01 Storage Locations

When you open 'This PC' on the pe-rds01 File Browser, you will see storage local to pe-rds01 and CHPC Protected Environment project storage mounted onto pe-rds01. Use the mounted project and home storage for work that must be retained long-term. Use local storage only when you need temporary working space on pe-rds01.

Location Use

Local Disk (C:) Local storage on pe-rds01. Users cannot write to the root of C: and may only write local files inside their Windows profile directory, such as C:\Users\uNID. Replace uNID with your University of Utah network ID.

Location	Use
Local Disk (C:)	Local storage on pe-rds01. Users cannot write to the root of `C:` and may only write local files inside their Windows profile directory, such as `C:\Users\uNID`. Replace `uNID` with your University of Utah network ID.
Project directories (R:, S:, T:, U:)	Network-mounted Protected Environment project storage. Save Protected Environment project work here. Project folders commonly begin with `IRB_` or `proj_`.
Home directory (Z:)	Network-mounted home storage. This is the same home directory that is available from the Redwood Linux cluster.

Project directories

(R:, S:, T:, U:)

Network-mounted Protected Environment project storage. Save Protected Environment project work here. Project folders commonly begin with IRB_ or proj_.

Home directory (Z:) Network-mounted home storage. This is the same home directory that is available from the Redwood Linux cluster.

Files stored locally on pe-rds01 are not backed up. Any files stored locally on the C: drive under your profile are not backed up. Move results and any files that need to persist to mounted home or project storage.

Narwhal

Narwhal is the predecessor of pe-rds01. Narwhal has 24 physical cores, 512 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of local disk space. It has mounts of your Protected Environment home and project storage spaces, so you can access your personal and project files.

Narwhal is a legacy system. It remains available for projects that have used it in the past. It should not be used for new projects. If you have a new project that requires Windows resources in the Protected Environment, please use pe-rds01.

Accessing Narwhal

To connect to Narwhal, use a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) client. On Windows, use Remote Desktop Connection. On Linux, use xfreerdp or another RDP client. On macOS, use the Windows App from the App Store.

Confirm that you have an active Protected Environment account and are connected to the University of Utah network. If you are off campus, connect to the University of Utah VPN before starting the remote desktop session.
Start a new remote desktop connection to narwhal.chpc.utah.edu
Use ad\uNID as the username, replacing uNID with your University of Utah ID (uNID)
Authenticate with your password and complete Duo two-factor authentication. You can enter push to send a Duo push notification to your phone or enter the 6-digit code generated by Duo.

Narwhal Storage Locations

When you open 'This PC' on Narwhal via the File Browser, you will see several local and network storage locations. Use the project and home drives for work that must be retained, and use local drives only for temporary or performance-sensitive work.

Location Use

Local Disk (C:) Provides convenience paths to Protected Environment storage, including paths such as \uufs\chpc.utah.edu\common\HIPAA\IRB_00123456. Folders under C: may be symbolic links to mounted project and home storage locations.

Local Profile Directory (D:) Local SSD storage for your Windows profile. This can provide better I/O performance than network-mounted home or project storage, so it is useful for staging input files before running statistical jobs. Move final results back to project storage when the job is complete.

Local Scratch (E:) Local scratch storage for intermediate files created during a job. It is local to Narwhal and cannot be accessed from Redwood. Treat it as temporary space.

Project directories (R:, S:, T:, U:) Network-mounted Protected Environment project storage. Save Protected Environment project work here. Project folders commonly begin with IRB_ or proj_.

Home directory (Z:) Network-mounted home storage. This is the same home directory that is available from the Redwood Linux cluster.

Location	Use
Local Disk (C:)	Provides convenience paths to Protected Environment storage, including paths such as `\uufs\chpc.utah.edu\common\HIPAA\IRB_00123456`. Folders under `C:` may be symbolic links to mounted project and home storage locations.
Local Profile Directory (D:)	Local SSD storage for your Windows profile. This can provide better I/O performance than network-mounted home or project storage, so it is useful for staging input files before running statistical jobs. Move final results back to project storage when the job is complete.
Local Scratch (E:)	Local scratch storage for intermediate files created during a job. It is local to Narwhal and cannot be accessed from Redwood. Treat it as temporary space.
Project directories (R:, S:, T:, U:)	Network-mounted Protected Environment project storage. Save Protected Environment project work here. Project folders commonly begin with `IRB_` or `proj_`.
Home directory (Z:)	Network-mounted home storage. This is the same home directory that is available from the Redwood Linux cluster.

Files on Narwhal local drives are temporary. Files on the C:, D:, and E: drives that are older than 60 days may be deleted automatically. Deleted files do not go to the recycling bin and are removed permanently. Save work that needs to persist to the mounted home drive (Z:) or project drives (R:, S:, T:, and U:).

Narwhal Usage Considerations

Because local storage is limited, avoid installing large applications such as conda environments into your profile or other personal locations on Narwhal. Many common applications are installed under Program Files for shared use. If required software is not available, contact the CHPC at helpdesk@chpc.utah.edu.

Other Windows Servers

You may have access to another Windows server for a specific project. If you have access to such a system, the CHPC or your research group can provide information about logging in. The login instructions will be similar to the instructions for pe-rds01, but the hostname will differ. You will need to configure the gateway, pe-gw01, as part of the configuration of the remote desktop connection.