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🖥️ Tachyon File Manager – Shell Access Feature

The Shell Access feature in Tachyon File Manager empowers platform administrators and R&D users to interact with the FSx file system through a secure, built-in SSH terminal.
This allows for direct file operations and light scripting via the browser — similar to working in a local terminal.

⚙️ How to Enable Shell Access (Platform Admin)

Platform administrators can enable or disable Shell Access globally for all users.

Steps:

  1. Navigate to Admin → Settings → File Manager.
  2. Toggle Enable File Manager Shell Access to ON.
  3. Configure the number of concurrent SSH sessions (maximum 5).
  4. Select the AWS provider, account, region, and cluster.
  5. Click Save to apply changes.

Enable Terminal Access

📌 General Notes:
  • Shell access requires at least a t3.xlarge EC2 instance. All users share this file server.
  • The login node starts automatically when the first session is launched and is shut down after idle timeout.

👤 How to Enable Shell Access for R&D Users

Shell Access can also be provisioned or withdrawn per user by platform administrators.

Steps for User-Specific Enablement:

  1. Go to Admin → Manage Users.
  2. Select the user and click Edit.
  3. Check Enable Shell Access under user settings.
  4. Optionally, set a User Storage Limit.
  5. Press Update to save changes.

Enable Terminal Access

📌 General Notes:
  • This can be done during user creation or by editing existing users.
  • For new users, follow the onboarding guide in User Onboarding.

💻 File Manager – Accessing the Terminal

Once Shell Access is enabled, users will see a terminal (shell) icon on the File Manager page.

Access Options:

  • Open in SSH Tab (Multi-Terminal): Launches session within the File Manager tab.
  • Open in New Window (Full Screen): Opens the terminal in a separate browser window.

Terminal Access

Usage:

  • Run standard Linux commands (ls, mkdir, rm, etc.)
  • Perform file/folder operations
  • Write and execute light shell or Python scripts
  • Use multiple SSH tabs (multi-terminal experience)

Enable Terminal Access

📌 General Notes:
  • All users use the same login node but have isolated SSH sessions.
  • The node shuts down automatically after all sessions are inactive for the configured timeout.

🧰 Shell Functionality

Users Can Users Cannot
🗂️ Manage files/folders within their home directory ❌ Access HPC cluster nodes directly
🧾 Execute simple Python/Shell scripts (non-intensive) ❌ Submit or monitor simulation jobs
📂 Copy/move files to shared directories —

📊 Monitoring and Alerts

Platform administrators can monitor CPU and memory utilization of the shared login node.

Alerts:

  • Notifications can be configured for admins and users when utilization thresholds are reached.
  • Helps ensure optimal performance and resource management.

📎 Feature Summary

Feature Description
Access Control Enabled globally (per platform) or per user
Resource Shared EC2 login node with FSx mount
Session Handling Isolated SSH sessions for each user
Timeout Auto shutdown after idle period
Restrictions No job submission or cluster node access
Monitoring CPU & Memory stats with alert thresholds

📷 Example Workflow

  1. Enable Shell Access in Platform Admin Settings.
  2. Assign Shell Access for specific users via Manage Users.
  3. Access the Terminal from File Manager UI.
📌 General Notes:
  • If you encounter any UI issues or have questions about job submissions or status, please contact the Admin for support.
  • Ensure you have selected the correct cluster, region, and provider when filtering queue data.