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Department of Computer Science

Technical Services and Support

Student Systems

There are two different groups of Student systems; they are part of the iLab cluster and are described as follows:

1. General Student Systems 
Student systems, a.k.a. iLab cluster, is the main general computing resource for courses, student projects, and faculty-sponsored users. These systems are available to students, faculty, and staff.
  • If you are accessing the systems from home, please connect to ilab.cs.rutgers.edu. That will give you one of four large servers: iLab1, iLab2, iLab3, and iLab4. You can also access any iLab Desktops distributed in offices at Hill and CoRE, especially when you need to run virtual machines.
  • As of Fall 2024, we have 6  other GPU servers (rLab1, rLab2, rLab3, rLab4, rLab5 and rLab6) and iLabU.cs (running the newest version of Ubuntu LTS for compatibility testing) to the iLab cluster.
  • The large servers known as iLab.cs have 32 Nvidia A4000 GPUs total, and rLab1-rlab6 has 32 GPUs (24 Nvidia 1080ti and 8 TitanX GPUs).  As of Fall 2022, these GPUs are accessible via  Job Scheduler only.
  • We also run Jupyterhub, a web programming interface for Python and Scala.
  • If you want to use a system in person, we have desktop systems, Instructional Labs Systems in Hill 120, Hill 248, and Hill 252
  • For more details, see the specifications and status of these machines.
2. Graduate Systems

Graduate student offices are part of the iLab cluster and are primarily used as a desktop system for the office.

For significant work, grad students should probably use our machines named ilab.cs.rutgers.edu, described above.

Ph.D. students may run/request VMs for special projects if necessary; this VM could last as long as they are enrolled in the program. We normally use Ubuntu. The VM is limited in CPU and Memory and not meant for computing.  

Note that iLab desktops are workstations with monitors, but they are sometimes used by people connecting to them remotely. Please don’t turn them off or reboot them since that will interfere with other people using them remotely.

IMPORTANT: You must have an account on CS Linux systems before using the iLab machine. See the Getting Started page for more details about using our resources.

Unless noted, our servers and desktop systems have the same basic software, the current Ubuntu Long Term Support (LTS)  Linux Operating System.

All our machines are accessible remotely via a web browser like Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari using WebLogin, SSH clients like SSH command on MacOS and Linux, or Bitvise Client on Windows. (See Video tutorial or SSH HowTo), X2GO and Windows Remote Desktop or come to one of the rooms in Hill48, Hill 252, or Hill 254.

For more details, see the specifications and status of these machines. Please be aware that these machines have preset limitations to prevent abuse and runaway processes. 

For specific instructions on a variety of topics, including accounts on the system and how to use various programming languages there, see the

Account Cleanup

Your CS Linux account is normally deactivated when you no longer have a role in Computer Science or are no longer taking CS classes. Normally, account deactivation is done about four months or a semester later. You can reactivate the account if you register for a qualified CS class again. For graduated CS majors, we normally warn your official university address, NetID@rutgers.edu, to warn you about account deactivation.

For help with our systems or immediate assistance, visit LCSR Operator at CoRE 235 or call 848-445-2443. Otherwise, see CS HelpDesk. Don’t forget to include your NetID along with descriptions of your problem.