Installing X-Win32 differs depending on whether you are using a personal computer or an SSCC-managed computer.

• If you are using an SSCC-managed computer, find and install X-Win32 from the Software Center application in the Start Menu (more details).
• If you are using a personal computer, download it from the SSCC web server. Please remember that X-Win32 is only licensed for UW faculty, staff, and students. More details at the bottom of this page under "Licensing the software on personal computers." The first time you run X-Win32 you will probably get two messages saying that the Windows Firewall has blocked features of the program. Click Allow Access for both of them so that X-Win32 can function properly.

Important: If you are not on the UW-Madison campus you must establish a VPN connection to campus before using X-Win32. Connecting to the SSCC Network via VPN has instructions. If you choose not to use VPN, you can still connect to linstat.ssc.wisc.edu which will automatically redirect you to our gateway where you can use MFA to log in. You’ll need to use Multifactor Authentication (MFA) to log into either VPN or through the gateway, so take a moment to set it up now if you haven’t already.

To start Linstat after installing X-Win32 on an SSCC-managed computer, simply click the "Linstat" icon in the Start menu. To see all X-Win32 connections and change settings, select "X-Win32 number" from the start menu. (The number is X-Win32's current version).

Linstat and LinSilo Servers

Linstat consists of 7 servers running Linux (which many power users find more convenient for big computing projects). Linstat 1 - Linstat 4 have 36 cores, while Linstat 5, 6, and 8 have 48 cores and Nvidia T4 GPUs. All the Linstat servers have 768GB of RAM. The Linstat servers have the most popular statistical software installed plus the usual Linux utilities and compilers. Jobs run "in the background" on Linstat will continue running after you log out, for days or weeks if necessary.  For more information about using Linstat, see our Guide to Research Computing.

LinSilo has three primary LinSilo servers have 44 cores and 384GB of RAM. Two additional servers, called LinSiloBig, have 80 cores and 768GB of RAM.

LinSiloGPU001 has 48 cores, 768GB of RAM, and an NVidia T4 GPU. (It is the former Linstat7, currently on loan to Silo for projects using both HIPAA data and GPU).

Setting up New Sessions

If you need to connect to a particular Linstat server or if you want to connect to some other server, you'll need to set up a new session. This is easy to do:

1. Launch "X-Win32 number" from the Start menu to start the X-Config program. Click the folder named "My Connections" to select it, then click the Wizard button under  New Connection on the right sidebar.

   

2. Give the session a Name (for your own purposes; the computer doesn't care what it is). Choose SSH as the Type. Then click  Next.

   

3. Give the address of the server you want to connect to and click  Next. There are six Linstat servers available.  The address is the same for each Linstat server that you want to connect to, only changing the number in the address based on the Linstat server you are connecting to.  For example, if you are trying to connect to the server Linstat1 you would enter the address  linstat1.ssc.wisc.edu.  

   

4. Type in your username and password. Click Next.

   

5. The next screen tells Linstat what terminal program to run once you log in. Type in gnome-terminal.

6. Click  Finish, and your session will be ready for use.

7. Launch your new session by selecting it, then clicking "Launch" in the right sidebar of the "X-Win32 Configuration" window.

Licensing the software on personal computers

On personally-owned computers, an additional step is needed to license the software to the SSCC License server. As mentioned at the top of the page, you must be on the SSCC VPN first.

1. When you click the "Launch" button in X-Win32, you may see a window like this pop-up.
   
2. This is a known issue with X-Win32. Simply hit Close and then select "Launch" again to start the licensing process.
3. Next you should see a window like this one.
   
4. You should select the middle option, "License your copy by contacting a license server". Input the following details into the two lines onto the next screen, and click finish.
   
   1. Hostname: ssclicense.ssc.wisc.edu
   2. Port: 5053