iPython Notebook

From the IPython Notebook webpage:

"The IPython Notebook is a web-based interactive computational environment where you can combine code execution, text, mathematics, plots and rich media into a single document."

For some neat examples of what Ipython can do, visit http://nbviewer.ipython.org/.

• Instructions for setup
• How to use the Notebook
• More info

Instructions for setup:

Select a server from where you will execute the IPython Notebook.

Note that the Ipython Notebook only works withPython 2.7.3 installed at /uufs/chpc.utah.edu/sys/pkg/python/2.7.3. For RHEL 6 systems the path is /uufs/chpc.utah.edu/sys/pkg/python/2.7.3_rhel6.

We also assume that you use the BASH shell (mutatis mutandis for TCSH shell).

Setup:

Begin by logging into your hosting server and executing the following commands:

ssh -Y $UNID@$server.chpc.utah.edu
source /uufs/chpc.utah.edu/sys/pkg/python/2.7.3/etc/python.sh
which python
ipython profile create $profile_name
ipython

In IPython execute the commands:

In [1]: from IPython.lib import passwd
In [2]: passwd()
Enter password:
Verify password:
Out[2]: 'sha1:67c9e60bb8b6:9ffede0825894254b2e042ea597d771089e11aed'
In [3]: quit

The returned string 'sha1:67c9e60bb8b6:9ffede0825894254b2e042ea597d771089e11aed' is the password hash that you will need later on.

A subdirectory profile_$profile_name will be created in $HOME/.config/ipython (the default location) which contains among others the following files:

ipython_config.py
ipython_qtconsole_config.py
ipython_notebook_config.py

Note that the ipython profile path may be named differently (e.g. in case you already used ipython previously). In the subsequent files we have to edit the aforementioned file 'ipython_config.py'

Directly below the line

c = get_config()

add the following lines:

c.IPKernelApp.pylab = 'inline'
# the following tells ipython not to try to launch a browser on the remote host
c.NotebookApp.open_browser = False
c.NotebookApp.password = u'<sha1 hash from above>'
# choose a port number between 10000 and 60000
c.NotebookApp.port = $port_number

Restrict the access to your config files that were just created

chmod -R go-rwx $HOME/.config/ipython

How to use the Notebook:

Log into $server.chpc.utah.edu using port tunneling:

ssh -L $port_number:127.0.0.1:$port_number $UNID@$server.chpc.utah.edu

Launch the ipython Notebook on $server

source /uufs/chpc.utah.edu/sys/pkg/python/2.7.3/etc/python.sh
ipython notebook --profile=$profile_name

Open a browser on your local machine and type in the following web address:

http://127.0.0.1:$port_number/

More info:

http://archive.ipython.org/media/PyCon2012-IPythonTutorial-Notebook.pdf