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Computing Resources

Our department operates a variety of Linux computing systems to support both classes and research, including activities in computer science, bioinformatics, data science, mathematics and statistics. These pages give an overview of these systems and provide a variety of user documentation. Further technical questions or request should be addressed to our system administrator at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Table of Contents

Overview of Systems

All of our systems are Linux-based and rely on the same credentials. These include:

  • Linux workstations within classroom: Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering (ISE) 230
  • Linux workstations within classroom: Ritter Hall (RTH) 115
  • Linux workstations within "Linux Lab": ISE 216
  • Linux workstations in ISE 214 for Bioinformatics & Computational Biology graduate students
  • Linux workstations in various places for MS-CS, MS-SE, MS-AI graduate students
  • Remote access to server hopper.slu.edu (our primary remote server for computer science students)
  • Remote access to server mendel.slu.edu (our primary remote server for bioinformatics students)
  • Git server at git.cs.slu.edu (detals below)
  • Jupyter Notebook server at jupyter.cs.slu.edu (details below)
  • Various specialized systems for research labs
  • A distributed filesystem that supports all of the above systems

User Accounts/Passwords

We offer accounts on our systems for any students who are taking Computer Science or Bioinformatics courses, or for select Mathematics/Statistics courses, as well as for students engaged in one of our research labs.

  • Usernames on our systems are the same as your SLUNet IDs
  • However, the password for our systems is NOT the same as your standard slu.edu password.
  • Initial one-time passwords will be sent via email when a new account is created.
  • All passwords expire every 120 days, and you will be prompted to change upon next login.

The only way to change your password is through login either to one of the physical workstations within RTH/ISE, or remote login to hopper.slu.edu or mendel.slu.edu. If not already prompted to change your password (for example, if the current one is expired), you may use the passwd command from a terminal console.

  • It will first prompt you for your current password (though it will not visibly echo it while you type)
  • It will then ask you for the new password (again not visually echoing), and then for you to repeat the new password.
  • New passwords must be at least 10 characters long, use at least 3 of the 4 character types (uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols), and cannot be the same as a previously used password.

Appropriate Use Policy

All users of our systems are expected to adhere to both the University and Departmental policies on appropriate use. For further details see both the university policy and the departmental policy.

Remote Access

Coming soon...

File Systems, Home Directories, Quotas

Coming soon...

Linux Guide

Coming soon..

Fedora Linux

GNOME Desktop Environment

Terminal Console

Getting Help

Our department hires experiences students to hold drop-in tutoring hours in the ISE 216 Linux Lab. (Note: for Fall 2020, all tutoring hours will be via zoom). The tutors are available with no need for appointments, and can assist both with general use of our linux computing systems, and also to assists with course-related questions for various introductory and intermediate courses (assuming approval of course instructors).

For further details, see the current schedule of hours.

Student Webpages

Students with accounts on our system may do web development (in accordance with our Appropriate Use Policy). The URL is based upon the student's username. For example, a student with username aturing can serve content under the URL https://cs.slu.edu/student/aturing. The content of that site will be based upon materials stored within the ~/www subdirectory witin the student's home directory.

Git Repositories

Git is a distributed version-control system that is commonly used by technical teams for collaboration and for tracking changes is software or other projects. Many different sites provide project management with git (with github.com one of the most prominent). Our department operates its own git server at git.cs.slu.edu.

See: further details on use of git and our git server

Jupyter Notebooks

Coming soon...

Available Software

Coming soon...

Retrieving Backups

Coming soon...