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Getting Started

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Getting Started with WAVE HPC

The WAVE High-Performance Computing (HPC) cluster is a powerful resource available to the Santa Clara University research community. Whether you are benchmarking vision language models or analyzing genomic data, follow the steps below to get up and running.

1. Eligibility and Access

  • Faculty and Staff: All SCU faculty and staff are eligible for access.
  • Students: Students are welcome to use the cluster but must have a faculty sponsor to gain access.
  • Authentication: Accessing WAVE systems requires valid SCU authentication and DUO multi-factor verification.

 

2. Creating Your Account

We have transitioned away from email-based requests to a more secure ticketing system. To request a new account:

  1. Submit a WAVE Support Request.
  2. Log in using your SCU credentials (DUO verification required).
  3. Select "User Account Creation"  from the form options.
  4. Fill out the form fields. If you need access for a research project, note the Faculty Sponsor for that project. If you are a faculty requesting access for a class, note the class details (e.g., CSEN 342 Deep Learning Fall 2026) and attach the class roster you obtain from Workday via the “SCU Course Roster” report. 

Important: Students must include a faculty advisor in a student request, else the request will be denied.

Student Note: If your class uses the HPC, your professor will send a request for the whole class. Do not submit a ticket unless everyone in the class already has access and you do not. In that case, submit a “General Help” ticket and note that you cannot log in and what class you are a part of that should have access to the HPC.

 

3. Connecting to the Network

WAVE is located in the University's secure data center. You can only reach the cluster if you are on the SCU network.

  • On-Campus: You must be connected to the on-campus LAN (wired) or the eduroam WiFi network.
  • Off-Campus: You must first establish a connection via the SCU VPN.
  • Need help with VPN? Check out Instructions for VPN Connection for a step-by-step setup guide.

 

4. Ways to Access WAVE

Once your account is created and you are on the network, you can interact with the HPC in several ways depending on your project needs:

Method

Best For...

Secure Shell (SSH)

Advanced users, command-line operations, and automated scripts.

Open OnDemand

A user-friendly web interface for managing files and jobs without the terminal.

Visual Studio Code

Developers who prefer a robust IDE for writing and debugging code directly on the cluster.

Jupyter Notebook

Data science and machine learning workflows requiring interactive visualizations.

 

Quick Links

[ WAVE Support Request ] (Select "User Account Creation")

[ Instructions for VPN Connection ]