How to run nTop in the cloud using Rescale

Objective:

Learn how to run nTop in the cloud using Rescale.

Applies to:

  • Cloud computing
  • nTop
  • Rescale

Procedure:

nTop has partnered with Rescale, a cloud hosting company, to offer cloud computing for nTop. There are two options for using nTop on Rescale, either as a virtual desktop or batch cloud computing. 

 

How to use Rescale as a virtual desktop:

    • Select Desktops and press the "Create a new Desktop" button

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    • Name your desktop session and choose nTop GUI as your software. You can also choose which version of nTop to run.

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    • Choose your hardware. Rescale offers a virtual desktop for nTop with the following specifications:
        • Physical Cores: 8 Intel Xeon (Broadwell)
        • GPU: NVIDIA Tesla M60
        • Memory: 122 GB
        • Windows, SSD

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    • Provisioning the machine and attaching the software takes about ten minutes. Once this is done you can launch the desktop by clicking on the blue desktop button.

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    • Virtual desktop is now available in your browser. Select the nTop icon on the desktop to get started.
    • Open up nTop and enter your credentials to log in and get started. If you normally use a local license, you can still log in with your credentials because every local license comes with a matching cloud license. 

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    • To upload files to the virtual desktop, navigate to the "Files" menu. Drag and drop files from your local machine into the interface to upload your files.

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    • To access your files on the virtual desktop, click on the “Cloud Files” icon within the virtual desktop.  This brings up the “Files” browser with your files in cloud storage.

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    • Navigate to the file and select the download button. You’ll then be prompted to save the file to the “Download” folder on your virtual desktop.
    • Now you are ready to use nTop in a virtual desktop environment. Don't forget to terminate your desktop session once you are done so you don't run up hardware costs.

 

How to use Rescale to run a batch job:

    • Navigate to the Jobs menu and click "Create New Job"

batch1.png 

 

    • Upload your nTop file (*.ntop)
    • Upload a JSON file with the input parameters you want to use in the Notebook
    • Name your Job

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    • Choose nTop, the version you want, and provide Command line options. An example of what needs to be in the command line is below:
0:/3.6.4/ntopcl.exe -j input.json -v2 -s -u username@email.com -w xxxxxxx Your-nTop-model.ntop
      •  0:/3.6.4/ntopcl.exe is the path on the provisioned machine
      • input.json is the name of the JSON file you uploaded that contains the input parameters
      • -v2 sets the verbosity of the output to warnings, errors, and runtime progress
      • -s overwrites the provided *.ntop file with the results
      • -u and -w specify your nTop username and password
      • Your-nTop-model.ntop is the name of your nTop file

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    • Select Hardware Settings
      • Select the number of cores you want and choose your virtual machine

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    • Hit Submit
    • Your machine is then provisioned and your job is started. Once it is done, you receive an email updating you of the status of your job

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    • Navigate to the Results window to download your results back to your machine

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Feel free to reach out to your Sales associate or Support if you are interested in learning more about nTop and Rescale.

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Keywords:

 cloud virtual browser rescale computing HPC desktop 
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