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The LIGO Data Grid (LDG)

The LIGO Data Grid (LDG) is a coordinated set of distributed computing centres operated by LIGO member groups as a subset of the IGWN Computing Grid. These computing centres share authentication infrastructure, among other things, to present a similar user experience across locations.

Requesting an account

To request an account on the LIGO Data Grid, please complete the form at

https://ldg.ligo.org

A KAGRA account holder can request an account on the LIGO Data Grid by completing the form at

https://registry.gw-astronomy.org/registry/co_petitions/start/coef:235

Reinstatement of an account

If a user's LIGO.ORG account expired and then got reactivated, their LDG account does not get automatically reactivated. The user will have to again complete the form at https://ldg.ligo.org

Access to the LIGO Data Grid

LIGO.ORG account holders can access the LIGO Data Grid in a few different ways:

  1. Indirectly with ssh via ssh.ligo.org
  2. Directly with ssh using SSH key
  3. Directly with ssh using Kerberos TGT

1. The ssh.ligo.org portal

The SSH portal ssh.ligo.org can be accessed using a LIGO.ORG username and password

ssh albert.einstein@ssh.ligo.org

Upon login, users will be presented with an interactive menu from which to choose the host to be connected to.

ssh.ligo.org login menu

::: LIGO Data Grid Login Menu :::

Select from these LDG sites:
 0. Logout
 1. CDF - Cardiff University, Cardiff (UK) [Registered Users Only]
 2. CIT - California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (USA)
 3. LHO - LIGO Hanford Observatory - Hanford, WA (USA)
 4. LLO - LIGO Livingston Observatory - Livingston, LA (USA)
 5. NIK - Dutch National e-Infrastructure, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
 6. PSU - Penn State University, Pennsylvania, PA (USA)
 7. UWM - Center for Gravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics (Milwaukee, WI, USA)
 8. IUCAA - Inter-University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics, Pune (India)
 -------------------------------------------------------------
 Z. Specify alternative user account

Enter selection from the list above:

2. Direct SSH access with an SSH key

LIGO.ORG account holders can manage SSH keys for use in accessing the LIGO Data Grid at https://ldg.ligo.org/ldg/manage_ssh/.

KAGRA account holders can manage SSH keys for use in accessing the LIGO Data Grid at https://registry.gw-astronomy.org/

Once an SSH key has been uploaded, it can be used to connect directly to the desired computing centre host:

ssh albert.einstein@<hostname>

where <hostname> should be replaced with the name of the target login host, e.g. ligo.gravity.cf.ac.uk (the Hawk login host).

Please refer to the documentation for each computing centre for a list of login host names.

3. Direct access with Kerberos TGT

Kerberos credential is now supported at CIT, LHO and LLO for SSH sessions. For detailed instruction, go to https://wiki.ligo.org/Computing/LDG/KerberosSSHLogin.

DEPRECATED: GSI-enabled SSH

Using the GSI-enabled SSH tools from Globus, e.g. gsissh and gsiscp, to connect to LDG resources is no longer supported, please select one of the options above to use non-GSI SSH tools.