How to Login

Published

January 19, 2026

This page explains how to log in.

Quick start

You will receive a temporary password by email once your account is created, which you can use to connect to the cluster using the Secure Shell protocol (SSH). If you do not have an account yet, you can request one via this form.

To log in to the cluster, you first need to log in to the VU network:

ssh <VUNETID>@ssh.data.vu.nl

and from there login to the actual cluster:

ssh <VUNETID>@ada.labs.vu.nl

For ssh.data.vu.nl you use your VUnetID and VUnetID password. For ada.labs.vu.nl, you use your VUnetID and cluster password (initially provided to you by email, and changed by you after your first login).

Direct access to the cluster is only possible from the VU Campus or from a SURF network location. From other network locations, first connect to the stepstone <VUNETID>@ssh.data.vu.nl, or use eduVPN Institutional Access.

You can use any SSH client to login at <VUNETID>@ada.labs.vu.nl. SSH has native support in Windows, you can use either the standard Command Prompt or Powershell, or a richer client like MobaXterm on Windows and iTerm2 on macOS.

ADA terms of use

  • Do not use the login nodes for computation! Login nodes are the access servers for many users. Always allocate resources through slurm.
  • Do not launch jupyter notebooks or vscode servers on the login nodes. For that, we have the interactive nodes. Processes using vs code or jupyter kernels are terminated automatically on the login node. You can navigate to the interactive nodes from the login nodes: ssh inter01, inter02 , or connect directly (see VS code instruction below).
  • Use scratch space as much as possible for data-heavy computations.

Connecting with SSH (MOBAXTERM)

Here we provide the steps to connect to the cluster using MobaXterm.

  1. Download and install MobaXTerm from mobatek.net.
  2. Open MobaXTerm and click on Session
  3. Enter the Basic SSH settings as follows:
    1. Remote host: ada.labs.vu.nl
    2. Tick “specify username”
    3. Enter your username (VUnetID)
  4. Go to “Network settings” and click SSH gateway (jump host)
  5. Enter the following details and click OK
    1. Gateway host: ssh.data.vu.nl
    2. Enter your username (VUnetID)
  6. Save the settings. When not connected automatically, you can click on User sessions, and double click “ada.labs.vu.nl (VUnetID)”
  7. You will be asked for a password for “ssh.data.vu.nl”. This is your NORMAL VUNETID password, NOT the cluster password your received from ITVO.
  8. If not connected automatically, connect to the server again. Now you will see a terminal window which asks for another password. Here you should enter the CLUSTER password that you received from ITVO. Note that you will not see the cursor moving when typing. This is normal. When you finished typing your password hit ENTER.
  9. You will now see a terminal window, similar to this one. On connecting for the first time, you will be asked to change your CLUSTER password. Enter your CLUSTER password, then enter a new password (this can be identical to your VUNETID password).
  10. Congratulations, you are now connected to the cluster!

Connecting with SSH (VS Code Editor)

Note

Please note that running VS Code on the login nodes is prohibited and vs code server instances will be automatically shut down by the HPC admin. For this purpose, interactive nodes are set in place. Use the below instruction to connect to the interactive nodes.

Note

At the moment, 3 interactive nodes are available. Soon, another 2 interactive nodes will be added.

  1. Download and install the VS Code editor. If you run Windows, also install Windows Subsystem for Linux.
  2. Open VS Code and enter the shortcut: CTRL+SHIFT+P
  3. Search and select ’Remote-SSH: Open SSH Configuration File..”
  4. Copy-paste the following host info in the config file, replace <VUNETID> with your own VUNETID:
# For connections from any network location:

Host stepstone-vu
    HostName ssh.data.vu.nl
    User <VUNETID>
    PubkeyAuthentication no

# VS code does not support wildcards, therefore explicitly stating:
Host ada-interactive1
    HostName inter01.labs.vu.nl
    ProxyJump stepstone-vu
    ServerAliveInterval 120
    User <VUNETID>
    ConnectTimeout 60

Host ada-interactive2
    HostName inter02.labs.vu.nl
    ProxyJump stepstone-vu
    ServerAliveInterval 120
    User <VUNETID>
    ConnectTimeout 60

Host ada-interactive3
    HostName inter03.labs.vu.nl
    ProxyJump stepstone-vu
    ServerAliveInterval 120
    User <VUNETID>
    ConnectTimeout 60


# Or, if you are connected to eduVPN / VU Campus network, 
# you don't need a proxyjump:

Host ada-interactive1-noproxy
    HostName inter01.labs.vu.nl
    ServerAliveInterval 120
    User <VUNETID>
    ConnectTimeout 60
  1. Save and close the file.
  2. Navigate to the “Remote explorer” icon in the left ribbon and select either “ada-direct-login” or “ada-direct-login-noproxy” based on your setup choice.
  3. You will be prompted twice for a password, first for ssh.data.vu.nl , then for ada.labs.vu.nl.
  4. Once connected, your files may not be visible right a way. If they are not, select the “explorer” icon in the left ribbon alt text. Open a folder and select the path you wish to open in your editor.
  5. Done! You are now connected to the ada cluster and have visible access to your selected folder.
Note

Please be aware that you will still need to use the command line interface to submit jobs to the cluster (also see VS-code faq page ref)

If you wish, you can also setup a password-less login.

Remote Desktop Connection / Applications requiring visual forwarding.

It is possible to establish a remote desktop connection (RDP) to the interactive nodes. You can use any remote desktop client of your preference. Be aware that remote desktop connections only work if you are connected to EduVPN or the Azure Virtual Desktop (so not the ssh step-stone server!)

Use either inter01.labs.vu.nl, inter02.labs.vu.nl or inter03.labs.vu.nl and your ADA credentials to start a RDP session.

Note

X11 forwarding is not available on ADA. If you require graphical access, please use an RDP connection instead.

Login Troubleshooting

If you can’t connect to the ADA cluster:

  • Make sure your ssh-agent is running: eval $(ssh-agent -s). This should return: Agent pid <number>
  • Is your password correct? Mix ups between the VUNETID password and ADA cluster password occur regularly.
  • If your authentication attempts are timed out: Wait 15 minutes and try again.
  • Is your keyboard layout set correctly (e.g. US international)?
  • If you are connecting from outside the VU Campus: are you connected to eduVPN OR ssh.data.vu.nl?
  • If you connect using a ssh-key, is this key added to your agent? (ssh-add ~/.ssh/key)

If none of the above helped in resolving your issue:

  • Send an email to IT for Research (itvo.it@vu.nl) or submit a ticket via the IT ServicePortal with the following information:
    • Your operating system (windows, macos, linux)
    • The ssh client you are using (bash shell, mobaxterm, iterm, wsl)
    • The network location (country) you are trying to connect from
    • A verbose report of your ssh attempt (run and copy: ssh -vvv <VUNETID>@ada.labs.vu.nl and/or ssh -vvv <VUNETID>@ssh.data.vu.nl)

[Optional] Password-less login

If you frequently log in to the cluster, it might be usefull to set up a key-based login.

First generate a key on your personal device:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "<Your VU Email>" -f ~/.ssh/ada_direct_login

Copy the public key to both the ssh-stepstone (ssh.data.vu.nl) and ada (ada.labs.vu.nl). ssh-copy-id will copy and add your key to the authorized keys file on the target server.

# Irregardless of your network location, you can execute the following. 
# You may be prompted once to provide your password.
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/ada_direct_login.pub <VUNETID>@ssh.data.vu.nl

# When connected to a VU/SURF network location, execute the following:
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/ada_direct_login.pub <VUNETID>@ada.labs.vu.nl

Make sure your private key is added to the ssh-agent on your personal device:

ssh-add ~/.ssh/ada_direct_login

Add the complete configuration in your ssh config file (~/.ssh/config):

Host stepstone-vu
    HostName ssh.data.vu.nl
    User <VUNETID>
    AddKeysToAgent yes
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/ada_direct_login
    IdentitiesOnly yes

Host ada-direct-login
    HostName ada.labs.vu.nl
    ProxyJump stepstone-vu
    ServerAliveInterval 120
    User <VUNETID> 
    AddKeysToAgent yes
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/ada_direct_login
    IdentitiesOnly yes

# Or, if you are connected to eduVPN / VU Campus network, 
# you don't need a proxyjump:

Host ada-direct-login-noproxy
    HostName ada.labs.vu.nl
    ServerAliveInterval 120
    User <VUNETID> 
    AddKeysToAgent yes
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/ada_direct_login
    IdentitiesOnly yes

Done! You can now connect directly to ADA, from any location, without being prompted for a password:

ssh ada-direct-login