FAQ
Q: https://ondemand.stanford.edu isn't responding to request, and I get an error
A: Visit https://ondemand-01.farmshare.stanford.edu ; a newer version of the software required the change and the old web address will eventually point to https://ondemand-01.farmshare.stanford.edu.
Q: Where do I find information on the farmshare service?
A: https://web.stanford.edu/group/farmshare/cgi-bin/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Q: OnDemand seems to be offline.
A: EE IT doesn't maintain that service. Kindly email SRCC staff at: srcc-support@stanford.edu.
Q: I can't launch my desktop.
A: You may need to go to the Jobs menu -> Active Jobs -> and delete your old desktop.
Q: I'm seeing errors when I source the tcsh/csh file or run tcsh command. For example, "Unmatched ." is posted to standard out when loading modules.
A: Edit the .tcshrc file and comment out (put a # on the far left start of the line) the "source $HOME/.tcshrc.set" line. You next attempt to use tcsh should now work.
Q: I have a permission issue error.
A: Open a terminal on your OnDemand Desktop and run “kinit” to authenticate followed by “aklog” to access AFS directories
Q: How many desktops may I run?
A: One, and it is reset in 30 days.
Q: How do I get access to the systems?
A: https://ondemand.farmshare.stanford.edu . Updated version is https://ondemand-01.farmshare.stanford.edu
Q: What is OnDemand?
A: Software which allows you to use remote resources via a web browser. More information found here ...
https://srcc.stanford.edu/farmshare
Q: Why should I use OnDemand?
A: It is much easier to use a web browser than to set up the other tools, and the vast majority of users already have a browser installed on their device.
Q: Why are there two options for interactive desktops?
A: Caddyshack desktops are the long term offering for EE and FarmShare Desktops are under development and should not be used.
Q: How do I load CAD or other Red Hat modules while in a terminal window in OnDemand?
A: Paste this without the quotes into the clipboard for OnDemand... "/farmshare/home/classes/ee/admin/software/bin/centos7.sh". This will load a container of CentOS that is able to run most commercial tools tied to Red Hat/CentOS. You may want to keep this running in a separate terminal window for those applications. In the older OnDemand environment is was that same path, but ended with "centos.sh".
Q: Is OnDemand easier than the other tools used in the past?
A: Yes, OnDemand provides an environment to run software and all you need is a modern web browser to access it. It allows you to reconnect to existing sessions and resolves issues with displaying graphical applications relative to that session that don't work natively with macOS and Windows clients.
Q: I was told to access the old caddy cluster. How do I do that in this environment?
A: Once you are on the OnDemand desktop, open a terminal window and type "ssh -XY caddy.best.stanford.edu" to get a session on the old cluster. Any applications you run there will display on this desktop, but will be slower than apps run natively here.
Q: I get a "Failed to submit session with the following error:" message
A: This means you already have a running desktop.
Q: I'm seeing a "WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED!" error when I try to connect via a ssh terminal shell.
A: Find the known_hosts file, and use a text editor to remove the offending key. On a Mac, the file will be in the /Users/yourusername/.ssh/ directory.
Q: The web browser icon isn't working.
A: Open a terminal and type firefox-esr. Keep the terminal open. The firefox-esr brower application requires it to continue running.
Q: How do I edit text files in the command line?
A: A good tutorial on using VIM (a text based command line editor) can be found here.