First Time Account Setup

From ACCRE Wiki

Cluster Login

To access ACCRE, you will need a valid VUNet ID and password. Instead of using a separate password, you will login using your University VUNet ID and password.

Software you need

Mac/Linux/Windows: Open terminal in Mac/Linux to get started. For Windows, you can use the Windows command prompt or Windows Subsystem for Linux . Open your terminal application and type in the following, replacing vunetid with your own VUnetID:

ssh vunetid@login.accre.vu

The first time you login to ACCRE, you may see a message asking if you trust the system you are attempting to log in to. Type “yes” and press enter. Then type your VUNet ID and password and press enter. Note that for security reasons the password will not appear as you are typing.

Web browser: The ACCRE Visualization Portal allows users to perform a variety of cluster tasks within the web browser. This includes a point-and-click file explorer, an in-browser terminal, and a page for submitting and monitoring jobs, and the ability to create a virtual desktop environment for running graphical applications.

If you wish to go this route, go to viz.accre.vu and login using your VUNetID and password. On the top menu bar, select Clusters > ACCRE Shell Access to open a terminal and enter your VUNet ID password to login.

NOTE: We do support and recommend using key pairs for login to ACCRE. Help for setting it up can be found on our ssh key pair page.

Now that you have successfully logged into the ACCRE cluster, you are ready to try Submitting your first job.

Advanced setup

Secure Copy client (SCP client)

SCP clients are useful for transferring files to and from the ACCRE server. While you may use the ACCRE Visualization Portal to transfer files instead (go to Files > Home Directory), an SCP client is still a good tool to have in place.

For Mac and Linux systems (including the Windows Subsystem for Linux setup) you already have an SCP client installed in the terminal.

To transfer a file from your system to ACCRE: 

scp <source_path> <vunetid>@login.accre.vu:<destination_path>

To transfer a file from ACCRE to your system: 

scp <vunetid>@login.accre.vu:<source_path> <destination_path>

If you prefer a graphical interface, we recommend FileZilla.

For Windows systems, open the command prompt (on Windows 11, click the Windows Start menu and search for “Command Prompt”). Then use the same command above, replacing “scp” with “pscp”. 

pscp <source_path> <vunetid>@login.accre.vu:<destination_path>


X Window Server

The X Window Server lets you run applications on ACCRE that have a graphical user interface. While it may come in useful at times, applications running on an X connection are slower than if they are running locally. For this reason we do not recommend using it (especially from outside campus) unless there are no alternatives. Instead, we prefer using a virtual desktop within the ACCRE Visualization Portal (go to Interactive Apps > ACCRE Desktop).

For Mac systems, download and install XQuartz. Then, add an -X tag when you ssh to ACCRE (make sure it’s an uppercase X): 

ssh -X login.accre.vu

For Windows systems, download and install Xming. Then load PuTTY, load the ACCRE shared session, then expand the SSH item and go to the X11 page. Click the checkbox to enable X forwarding, then set the X display location to “localhost:0” (without the quotes). Then go back to the Session page and click on Save. Any future connections using the ACCRE shared session will use the X Window Server installed.

For many Linux installations, an X window server should be installed already. Just add an -X tag when you ssh to ACCRE (again, make sure it’s an uppercase X): 

ssh -X login.accre.vu

To make sure everything is working properly, type in “xeyes”. A window should open of a pair of eyes that move around with your cursor. Even though it appears similar to a program on your computer, it is being run on the ACCRE gateway.

Some X11 applications require “trusted X11 forwarding”, which can be enabled by replacing -X with -Y. Use the -Y flag only if necessary, since it is less secure than -X.

Changing Your Shell

Bash is the default and supported shell used at ACCRE. Please note that support for other shells is limited. If you have reason to change your shell, please open a helpdesk ticket for further assistance.

For legacy access to custom gateways (legacy environment)

If your PI mentions that you need access to custom gateway, please note that this is a legacy service and the gateway will soon become inaccessible if it hasn't already been converted to an interactive compute node in the new environment. To gain access, you must submit a Helpdesk request for ACCRE to generate a separate password for your login.

Open your terminal application and type in the following, replacing vunetid with your own VUnetID and gateway with the hostname of your custom gateway:

ssh vunetid@gateway.accre.vanderbilt.edu

Your password is in an email you will receive from ACCRE. The password system for login.accre.vanderbilt.edu is separate from other Vanderbilt sites (the “ePassword”). Enter your password and hit return. Note that for security reasons the password will not appear as you are typing. Note that the server login.accre.vanderbilt.edu no longer exists and you should instead log into your custom gateway with the temporary password.

You will then need to change your password. Type in accre_password change and follow the instructions. Your password must meet the following requirements:

  1. Your ACCRE password must be at least 14 characters long, and not more than 4096.
  2. Your password must receive a perfect score on the ZXCVBN test. If you need a password that can pass the ZXCVBN test, type in accre_password generate.
  3. In addition to uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols, you may use non-ASCII characters (including emoji and characters in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean). However, you may have difficulty logging in later with different keyboards or terminal utilities. All characters must be printable and in UTF-8.


Your password change will take effect immediately.

L3E restricted access login

'Disclaimer - users in L3E groups have restricted access to sensitive data and must login to the secure gateways to use ACCRE resources.  L3E users will be restricted from logging into public gateways (login.accre.vu) and the Visualization portal.' 

Login requirements - L3E requires MFA. Please make sure you have setup Okta-Verify through OneVU for MFA.

Login to secure gateways - ssh vunetid@l3.accre.vu - replacing 'vunetid' with your VUNet ID. When prompted for the password, type in your VUNet ID password. You will then be prompted for 2FA as shown below: 

    Pre-authentication banner message from server:
    | Authorized uses only. All activity may be monitored and reported. Vanderbilt
    > University - Advanced Computing Center for Research & Education
    End of banner message from server
    Keyboard-interactive authentication prompts from server:
    | VUnetID ePassword:
    | Password accepted
    | 2FA OTP or 'PUSH' for Okta App:

For 2FA, type in 'PUSH' to receive a push notification in your Okta application on your mobile device. Approve the push notification to complete login.

L3E storage directory - 'L3E data must remain in your L3E group directory and should not be copied to your home folder or other group /data or /nobackup directories.' Your L3E group directory is assigned to your L3E group. If you are unsure which directory you should use for L3E, please check with your PI as this information is provided during the creation of the L3E group.

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