Shell Access (SSH)

To access your College of Engineering account from a location off campus, just follow these easy steps:

  1. Open the PuTTY SSH client.  If you do not have this program, you can obtain a copy here.
  2. Type in shell.engr.arizona.edu in the "Host Name" box.     
  3. Click 'Open' to start the session.
    • The first time you connect to a host, you'll get a warning about a PuTTY Security Alert.  This is expected the first time you connect; if it shows up later, it may indicate a problem with security.  Press yes, and it won't show up again for that host.
  4. Type in your NetID when prompted.
  5. Type in your NetID Password when prompted.


P.S. If you need to use a Linux shell to run more resource-intensive applications like MATLAB or Cadence, you'll want to use this server instead of shell.engr.arizona.edu:

compute.engr.arizona.edu

This server has much faster hardware than shell.engr.arizona.edu, and it won't slow down shell users that just want to update their websites.  You should probably also read a little about how to use the 'nice' command here:

How can I alter the priority of a process using nice or renice?


File Transfer (SFTP)

If you need to transfer files to or from your home directory, use the WinSCP client available here.  During installation I recommend using the 'Commander Interface'.

  • Open the client and enter the hostname shell.engr.arizona.edu, your NetID, and your NetID Password where prompted.
  • In the Commander Interface, your local files will be on the left and the server files will be on the right, as shown here:
  • If you don't see your home directory, you may need to navigate to it directly using the 'Open Directory/Bookmark' icon next to the folder drop-down on the right panel (in the above picture, next to '/ <root>').  Home directories are 'automounted' on our Linux systems, so they don't appear in the file browser until they're specifically requested by name.
  • You should be able to drag-and-drop files from your computer to the right panel of WinSCP, and this will copy them to the corresponding folder on shell.engr.arizona.edu.