The CLAIX Cluster offers the option to authenticate yourself using SSH. What this means for everyday cluster use is detailed in this article.
You can associated already uploaded SSH public keys with your HPC account by clicking Set SSH Key underneath the service blurb on the main dashboard or via the menu ribbon at the top: Registered Services → RWTH High-Perfomance Computing → Set SSH Key.
If you have not registered with the HPC service, you will need to do that first. You will also need to upload your SSH key to RegApp before you can associate it with a specific account.
Available SSH public keys that can be associated with the service are listed under Set SSH Key below the list of already associated SSH keys. For each key, the name and expiration date is listed.
To add it to the service account, click the ADD button. This brings up a dialogue to specify how the key should be associated. Two usage types are available: Interactive, i.e., to be used by the user when logging in to a session, and Command.
The latter option is intended for scripts that are executed without the user being present. A key that is associated with a command can only be used for executing that command and needs administrator approval before use.
Once you have filled out this dialogue, click Add. The SSH key is now associated with your HPC account and is either waiting for administrator approval (Command-type association) or can be used immediately (Interactive-type association).
Note: Access to the login18-4.hpc.itc.rwth-aachen.de login node requires password and second factor on first connection within a certain time frame. If you use an ssh config file (a file in your .ssh folder named config; for more info query your preferred search engine or start here), make sure that for this domain (e.g., *.hpc.itc.rwth-aachen.de) you are not using the public key as your preferred authentication method (i.e., do not set PreferredAuthentications publickey for this domain). Doing so will prevent the password request and thus login.