Comet is the supercomputing cluster at the San Diego Supercomputing Center that we have been using to help us do calculations. We have access to comet with support from XSEDE (thank you!)
Comet is accessed over the internet using a command-line interface on the server comet.sdsc.edu. The basic program we use to access comet is called “ssh” (which is an acronym for “secure shell”).
On Mac OSX, you can go to Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal to open the command-line Linux interface on your mac. To login to comet from your mac, in the Terminal program type: ssh wkennerl@comet.sdsc.edu Of course, use your own comet username in place of mine!
On Windows, there is no command-line Linux interface, so you need to use a separate program to connect to comet using ssh. The classic program is called putty, and it is pre-installed on all Skidmore-owned Windows computers. You may prefer to get a program with more features, for example, the Bitvise ssh client . In either case, download and install a ssh program and tell it to access comet.sdsc.edu.
On either type of computer, after a few seconds, you will connect to comet and be prompted for your password. After you type in your password, you will be looking at a Linux command line (specifically, it is a bash prompt) on a computer 3000 miles away from Saratoga Springs. Cool, eh?
Now you can use comet for whatever calculation you need, using Linux commands, your input and output files (for gaussian or AMBER)