Forwarding X11

In the Unix/Linux world, the X Window System (a.k.a. "X11" or simply "X") provides the underlying mechanism for constructing graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and displaying visual information on screen. One of the most powerful features of X11 is the ability to run application programs (X clients) on one system and have them display on another system (X server) by routing the graphical protocol stream across the network. On SciClone, this capability allows us to submit interactive X11-based jobs (such as Maple or Matlab) to the TORQUE job scheduler and route the display back to the user's desktop workstation. This can be accomplished either with X11 Forwarding through Secure Shell (SSH).

The simplest way to accomplish X11 forwarding is through your ssh command into the cluster e.g.:

ssh -X vortex.sciclone.wm.edu

This will allow you to forward graphics from the cluster to your local computer.

If you wish to propagate X11 forwarding from a node in the cluster to your local computer, you must also add '-X' to your qsub command line:

qsub -I -l walltime=30:00 -l nodes=1:vortex:ppn=1 -X

Then you should be able to use graphical commands on the node and have the display forwarded to your local computer.