WCU CS Server Login Instructions

How to connect to the server

This guide will help you connect to the sulu.cs.wcupa.edu server using your WCU account. This is a general-purpose server for student and faculty use in the Computer Science Department.

Note: This server is for faculty use only. It serves as the primary server for faculty course websites and lab materials.

Prerequisites

1. Your WCU username (full username, including the @wcupa.edu part) and password
2. An SSH client (built-in on Mac and Linux, PuTTY for Windows)
3. DUO Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) set up on your account

Connection Steps

1. Open your SSH client:
   • On Mac or Linux: Open Terminal
   • On Windows: Open PuTTY
2. Use the following connection details:
   • Hostname: sulu.cs.wcupa.edu
   • Port: 54322 (Note: This is a non-standard port for enhanced security)
   • Username: Your WCU username
3. For Mac/Linux users, use this command:

   ssh -p 54322 your-username@sulu.cs.wcupa.edu

4. For Windows users using PuTTY:
   • Enter sulu.cs.wcupa.edu in the Host Name field
   • Enter 54322 in the Port field
   • Select SSH as the connection type
   • Click "Open"
5. When prompted, enter your WCU password.
6. You will then receive a DUO MFA request. Approve this request to complete your login.
   

Miscellaneous Information

1. A special application named "Fail2Ban" has been installed and configured on the server. This application is used to detect and prevent brute force login attempts. If a user tries to login with a bad username and password for 5 repeated attempts, the user's IP address will be blocked for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, they will be unblocked and can try to login again.
2. When using a SSH file transfer client to transfer files to and from the server, please set the simultaneous file count to "1" in order to eliminate Duo MFA prompts for each file. For example, if you are using FileZilla, you would want to configure the following: