Research

Questrom Server Help Documentation

The following information pertains to accessing Questrom hosted research servers. These servers are actively being retired. For all new accounts please refer to the information above.

Access Stata on Windows

Setup X-Win32 on Windows:

  1. Download and install X-Win32 following these instructions from the BU IT Help Center.
  2. After setting up the software open X-Win32 and click “Manual” under the New Connection section on the right
  3. Choose SSH and click next
  4. Enter the following details:
    1. Connection Name: smgresearch1
    2. Host: smgresearch1.bu.edu
    3. Login: Enter the login name you were provided
    4. Command: /usr/bin/xterm
    5. Password: Enter the password you set
  5. Click save
  6. Choose smgresearch1 from the list and click launch
  7. To run the Stata application type xstata at the prompt

Setup FileZilla on Windows:

  1. Download and install the latest version from this page
  2. Open FileZilla
  3. Click file and then site manager
  4. Click new site
  5. Enter the following details:
    1. Host: smgresearch1.bu.edu
    2. Port: 22
    3. Protocol: sftp
    4. Logon type: Normal
    5. User: Enter the login name you were provided
    6. Password: Enter the password you set
  6. Click connect
  7. You may now upload/download files from your computer to/from the server

X11 on Mac

Locating or Installing X11

Mac OS X versions 10.5 through 10.7 include a pre-installed version of X11. Look for it in Applications->Utilities.

OR

If you have Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or higher, you will need to download X11 from the XQuartz project, and install it following the on-screen instructions after opening XQuartz-2.x.dmg and double-clicking XQuartz.pkg.

Using X11

  1. Open the X11 application, located in the Utilities folder in your Applications folder.
  2. An xterm window will open automatically when you start X11. In this window, you will type one of two commands, depending on the version of Mac OS X that you are using. (If you don’t know which version you are using, you can figure it out by going to the Apple Menu and selecting “About this Mac”.)
    • If you are using Mac OS X 10.4.0 or higher, the command to enter is
      ssh -Y yourlogin@smgresearch1.bu.edu (substitute your own BU login name for yourlogin and substitute smgresearch1 for another machine, if applicable).
    • If you are using Mac OS X 10.3.0 – 10.3.9, the command to enter is
      ssh -X yourlogin@smgresearch1.bu.edu (substitute your own BU login name for yourlogin and substitute smgresearch1 for another machine, if applicable).
  3. Type your password when prompted. This password will be either one that was provided to your or your Kerberos password depending on the server.
  4. Now you can launch X Windows applications. To run SAS, for example, type
    sas & (the ‘&’ puts it in the background so that you can type other commands in your xterm window if you need to).
  5. When you’re done, quit out of any X applications you were running. Then, to exit the X11 program itself, go to the X11 menu and choose Quit X11.