Logging in and passwords¶

You reach Hydra through an ssh connection to one of its two login nodes, hydra-login01.si.edu and hydra-login02.si.edu. Either one will do. They share your home directory and see the same cluster. From a computer on the Smithsonian network or the SI VPN you connect with an ssh client. From anywhere else you use the web terminal on telework.si.edu.

Where you can connect from¶

The login nodes accept connections only from:

a computer on the Smithsonian network,
a computer connected to the SI VPN (VPN authentication instructions), or
the web terminal on telework.si.edu, which works from anywhere.

A connection from anywhere else is refused before you are asked for a password.

Log in¶

Three failed logins lock the account for 15 minutes

Wait the 15 minutes before trying again. Retrying during the lockout restarts it.

Replace USERNAME with your Hydra username from your welcome email, in lower case.

macOS and LinuxWindowsWeb browser (telework)

Open a terminal (on macOS, Terminal is in /Applications/Utilities) and run:

ssh [email protected]

The first time you connect, ssh asks you to confirm the host key. Type yes. It is asking whether you trust the computer at the other end, and after the first time it remembers the answer.

The authenticity of host 'hydra-login01.si.edu' can't be established.
RSA key fingerprint is ...
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes

At the Password: prompt, type your password. Nothing is echoed while you type, not even dots.

Windows 10 (version 1803 and later) and Windows 11 include ssh. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell from the Start menu and run:

ssh [email protected]

The first time you connect, ssh asks you to confirm the host key. Type yes. It is asking whether you trust the computer at the other end, and after the first time it remembers the answer.

The authenticity of host 'hydra-login01.si.edu' can't be established.
RSA key fingerprint is ...
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes

At the Password: prompt, type your password. Nothing is echoed while you type, not even dots.

If instead you see 'ssh' is not recognized as an internal or external command, use PuTTY. Download putty.exe (no installer needed) and start it. Enter [email protected] as the Host Name and click Open:

PuTTY configuration window with the host name filled in

The first time, PuTTY shows a security alert about the server's host key. Click Yes to accept it. PuTTY then remembers it.

The PuTTY security alert about an unknown host key, with Yes highlighted

Sign in at telework.si.edu.
Expand IT Tools and choose Hydra (type hydra in the search box to find it).
Choose one of the Web SSH terminal (WeTTY) links.
Enter your Hydra username at the login: prompt and your password at the password: prompt.

WeTTY web terminal on telework.si.edu

You are logged in when the prompt changes to:

[USERNAME@hydra-login01 ~]$

Log in without a password¶

On macOS and Linux you can use an ssh key pair instead of a password. The pair is a private key that stays on your computer and a public key that you copy to Hydra. Generate a pair with ssh-keygen (accept the defaults, and give the key a passphrase), then copy the public key to Hydra:

ssh-copy-id [email protected]

The home directory is shared by both login nodes, so one copy serves hydra-login02.si.edu too. From then on ssh, scp and rsync to either node ask for the key's passphrase, or for nothing if your computer's keychain holds it, rather than for your Hydra password.

Passwords¶

You set your initial password from the link in your welcome email. A password is valid for 180 days, and Hydra emails you before it expires. Change it before then, either with passwd on a login node or on the self-service page. The self-service page also resets a password you have forgotten, and one that has expired, for 14 days after the expiry date. After those 14 days the account locks and only we can reset it.

Password requirements

A password has at least 12 characters, with at least one digit, one upper-case letter, one lower-case letter and one special character. A new password must not be similar to a previous one.

Change your password from the command line¶

While your password is still valid, log in and run passwd:

$ passwd
Changing password for user USERNAME.
(current) LDAP password:
New password:
Retype new password:

The change applies to both login nodes immediately.

Change or reset your password on the self-service page¶

Use the self-service page to change a password you know, to reset one you have forgotten, or to reset one that expired less than 14 days ago.

Open the page. From the SI network or VPN, go directly to https://hydra.si.edu/ssp/. From telework.si.edu, choose Hydra under IT Tools, then Change Password on Hydra-7 or Reset Password on Hydra-7.
To reset, enter your Hydra username and click Send. The page emails a link to your canonical address, usually the one ending in .edu.
Follow the link. From telework, paste it into the Enter internal resource box on the telework home page instead of opening it directly, because the link points at a server that only the SI network can reach.
Enter your new password.

Unlock an account after 14 days¶

Once a password has been expired for more than 14 days the account is locked and the self-service page no longer works for it. Email [email protected] to request a reset. The instructions come to your work email address.