Background:
GaussView is a graphical frontend for Gaussian. Before you can access this software, you must have a signed and approved Gaussian agreement. Please click here for instructions on getting approved for Gaussian access.
Steps to Connect/Use:
0. If you are off-campus, connect to the ISU VPN. (https://vpn.iastate.edu, install client, connect).
1. Open your preferred web browser and go to https://nova-ondemand.its.iastate.edu/
2. You should see a red bar at the top of the screen with options like “Files”, “Jobs”, “Clusters”, and “Interactive Apps”. Click on “Interative Apps” and click the option labeled “Desktop”.
3. The “Desktop” request form should appear.
a. If you have more than one account, select the correct one for the work you are doing.
b. Under Queue, select interactive (use nova for bigger/long-running jobs).
c. Estimate how long your task will require, put that number down for “hours” (add a couple hours to the estimate for safety).
d. Leave “GRES” empty.
e. Set a number of CPU cores you require. If you're not sure how many you need, start with 16.
f. Set the amount of RAM you require, 2 GB for each core (so 32G if 16 cores) is recommended.
g. Change the job name if you desire.
h. Click "Launch".
4. Wait for the Desktop to start. This can take a couple minutes.
5. When the Desktop is “Running”, click “Launch Desktop” to connect.
6. After a couple seconds, you should see a remote X Windows session.
7. Go to “Applications” in the upper left corner, click, and select “Terminal Emulator”.
8. A terminal window will appear. Type the following at the prompt (pressing enter after each line):
module purge
module load gaussian/16-C.01-y2xmxc6
module load gaussian-view/6.1.6-py311-a77oedh
9. Finally, type “gv” in the terminal and press enter. After a few seconds, the GaussView application should appear. Procede as you normally would with GaussView.
When done:
1. Close out of GaussView.
2. Close the terminal.
3. Go to your name in the upper right corner, click, and select “Log Out...”
4. A confirmation dialog will appear. Click “Log Out” again.
5. A “noVNC” screen with a single button labelled “Connect” will appear. Just close this tab. You have successfully ended your job.
6. Closing the tab will take you back to your interactive sessions list in the OnDemand interface. You’ll see the Desktop application is now listed as “Completed”.
