Manage Your Sessions

Once you start working on a server you may begin to wonder, how do I properly logoff or should I disconnect from the server? Can I run my programs in the background?  What is the difference between logging off and disconnecting?  How do I unlock my account?  What if I need to stop my program from running, how can I do this? See the sections below to answer these and other session related questions.

Note: All running programs and sessions are stopped during system downtimes, and are NOT automatically restarted when a downtime is over.

Closing Remote Desktop

Sign Out vs. Disconnect
What is the difference between Log-off and Disconnect?

Sign Out

Disconnect
Your Windows session ends. Your Windows session keeps running.
You stop running programs and using the system, so you free resources for other users Your programs keep running, which is useful for calculations that require long processing time. However, you consume unnecessary resources and do not free up licenses for others. Disconnecting from a server you can run a long lasting program. Using a different server for quicker calculations. You must sign in to the same server to check on your long running program.
Avoid account lockouts If you try to change your password on one research server while having a disconnected session in another, this may result in lockouts.
When you reconnect, you start a new Windows session. When you reconnect, you can return to your previous Windows session, including programs and documents you left open.

How Do I Close My Session?

Two methods…
  1. In the Remote Desktop window, go to the Start Menu.
  2. Click the round grey person icon above gears icon.
  3. Select Sign out
  1. In the Remote Desktop window, press CTRL + ALT + END
  2. In menu that appears select “Sign out”

How Do I Disconnect?

Two methods… Locking your Session will leave the remote desktop window open on your local computer:
  1. In the Remote Desktop window, go to the Start Menu.
  2. Click the round grey person icon.
  3. Select Lock.
Closing your session will disconnect and close the Remote Desktop window:
  • Click the X button at the upper right corner of the Remote Desktop window.

Account Lockouts

What causes account lockouts? How can I prevent them?
Sometimes you can accidentally cause your own lockout:
  • When you mistype your password consecutively 3 times while trying to log on to a server, you will create an account lockout.
  • When you change your password on one server while having a disconnected session on another server, you may create an account lockout situation. Learn how to manage your sessions.
  • During the monthly maintenance window, you cannot log on to your account because the servers are being patched and restarted. Check System Status to see if it is a maintenance window.
How can I unlock my CCSS-RS Research computing account?

Option 1. Research account lockouts automatically clear in 30 minutes. You can wait for the lockout to clear and then attempt to log back in to the system.

Option 2. If you cannot wait 30 minutes for the automatic reset, you can use the password-reset application. Resetting your password will then unlock your account.

To avoid account lockouts in the future, remember to log completely off the research servers when you’re not working (see Log off vs. Disconnect) before changing your password.

How can I unlock my CRADC computing account?

Option 1. CRADC account lockouts automatically clear in 30 minutes. You can wait for the lockout to clear and then attempt to log back in to the system.

Option 2. CRADC account lockouts can also be cleared by CRADC Data Custodian upon request.

To avoid account lockouts in the future remember to log completely off the CRADC servers when you’re not working (see Log off vs. Disconnect).

How can I unlock my Secure Standalone Enclave computing account?

Account lockouts on the Secure Standalone Enclave can only be cleared by CCSS Secure Data Services staff upon request.

To avoid account lockouts, remember to select Log Off on the Secure Standalone Enclave computer Start Menu when you’re not working.

Sessions and Processes

Managing sessions and processes on the CCSS-RS Research (RSCH) servers
It is very important to manage your sessions and processes! You may have multiple sessions open sessions on different research servers. These sessions may be either “active” or “disconnected”. Disconnected sessions happen when you close your Remote Desktop Window instead of logging off. Each server runs independently and therefore applications on one server are not associated with another server. This means that if you are running a program on a research server and disconnect, you will need to log into the same exact server and session to return to your running program. [NOTE: This option is not valid if you left a disconnected session prior to downtime, as all sessions are stopped and servers rebooted.]
Identify Open Sessions
Use Task Manager to find out what processes you have running on the server currently logged into. more...
  1. Right-click on an empty space on the taskbar and choose Task Manager.
  2. Select the Processes tab and you will see your current tasks and their status (i.e. “running”, “not responding”, etc).
  3. You can end tasks by clicking on the relevant task and choosing End Task.
  4. Options available under the Processes tab will also allow you to see a list of your current processes, monitor CPU usage, and end processes if you choose.
  5. By choosing the Performance tab you can see how much total memory and CPU are being used on that server (by all users).
Directing program output
Be sure to direct your program output to your own work space, which is the U:\, \\rschfs1x\userRS\ drive. NEVER save anything on a research server’s C:\ drive, as it WILL BE DELETED during the next downtime.
Managing sessions and processes on the CRADC servers
It is very important to manage your sessions and processes! You may have multiple sessions open on different servers at any time. These sessions may be either “active” or “disconnected”. Disconnected sessions happen when you close your Remote Desktop Window instead of logging off. Each server runs independently and therefore applications on one server are not associated with another server. This means that if you are running a program on a server and disconnect, you will need to log into the same exact server and session to return to your running program. [NOTE: This option is not valid if you left a disconnected session prior to downtime, as all sessions are stopped and servers rebooted.]
Identify Open Sessions
Use Task Manager to find out what you have running on the CRADC server which you are currently using. more...
  1. Right-click on an empty space on the taskbar and choose Task Manager.
  2. Select the Processes tab and you will see your current tasks and their status (i.e. “running”, “not responding”, etc).
  3. You can end tasks by clicking on the relevant task and choosing End Task.
  4. Options available under the Processes tab will also allow you to see a list of your current processes, monitor CPU usage, and end processes if you choose.
  5. By choosing the Performance tab you can see how much total memory and CPU are being used on that server (by all users).
Directing program output
Be sure to direct your program output to your own work space, which is the S:\ drive. NEVER save anything on a server’s C:\ drive, as it WILL BE DELETED during the next downtime.