Who this is for
Research faculty and PhD students in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business who need to log in to the JCB research servers — for example to use a license-restricted dataset that is only available there, or to run statistical software on the servers. This article covers getting access, connecting over the Research VPN, logging in, and moving files to and from the servers.
Step 1: Request access
You must request permission before you can use the research servers or the databases stored on them. Email research-computing@business.cornell.edu to request access.
There are two research servers — jcb-research1.business.cornell.edu and jcb-research3.business.cornell.edu. The first time you log in it can take longer than usual while your account is set up in the background.
Step 2: Connect to the Research VPN
You must be on the Research VPN before you can reach the servers, whether you connect from on campus or from home.
- Open the Cisco Secure Client on your computer.
- Connect to cuvpn.cuvpn.cornell.edu.
- Choose the group Two-step Login.
- For your username, enter [your NetID]@JCB-VPN-Research. Note that @JCB-VPN-Research is case-sensitive — type it exactly as shown.
- Your password is your Cornell password.
- When prompted for a second password, enter push (this sends a Duo push notification to approve the login).
Step 3: Log in to a server
Once you are connected to the Research VPN, you can log in to either server one of two ways. Use whichever you prefer.
Option A: SSH (command line)
Use an SSH client to connect to jcb-research1.business.cornell.edu or jcb-research3.business.cornell.edu, signing in with your Cornell NetID and password. Any SSH client will work; commonly used free ones include:
- PuTTY — a basic SSH client.
- Bitvise — an SSH client that also includes SFTP, so you can transfer files while logged in.
- MobaXterm — an enhanced Windows terminal with a built-in X11 server, which lets you open graphical (windowed) applications on the server.
Option B: Remote Desktop (graphical)
You can also reach a graphical desktop on the server using Windows Remote Desktop, from behind the Research VPN connection.
- Open Remote Desktop on your Windows computer.
- Enter the server address (jcb-research1.business.cornell.edu or jcb-research3.business.cornell.edu).
- Sign in with your NetID@cornell.edu as the username and your Cornell password.
Step 4: Move files to and from the server
For security, file transfers to the research servers are supported only over SFTP. The recommended tool is FileZilla, which you can install yourself from Software Center.
- Open Software Center, search for FileZilla, and click Install. Installation may take a few minutes.
- Open FileZilla. From the File menu, choose Site Manager…
- Click New Site, and in the Host box enter jcb-research1.business.cornell.edu (or jcb-research3).
- Set Protocol to SFTP – SSH File Transfer Protocol, and set Logon Type to Ask for password.
- Enter your account information and connect. If your credentials are correct, you will connect to the server.
In FileZilla, the left window (Local site) is your own computer and the right window (Remote site) is the research server. Drag files from one side to the other to transfer them. If you are transferring a readable text file choose the Ascii transfer type; for a file you cannot read as text choose Binary; if you are unsure, choose Auto.
Where to keep your files
Once you are on a server, it matters where you put your files:
- Your home directory is where you start when you log in, usually
/home/your-NetID. It has a 3 GB limit and is backed up automatically Monday through Friday. A large file that fills up this space can cause the backup to fail, so keep only your programs here. To check how much space you are using, type quota -v.
- Working directories are where all of your data should go. The working drives are
/mnt/temp (temporary files) and /mnt/work (data you need to keep longer). Please do not create your own folder on these drives. If you do not already have a folder outside /home, email research-computing@business.cornell.edu to request one, and IT will set it up in the right location.
The working drives are shared by everyone, so free space changes. Before you save large data, check how much space is available:
df -h /mnt/temp — for /mnt/tempdf -h /mnt/work — for /mnt/workdf -h — for all drives on the server
Sizes are shown in readable units (for example, G for gigabytes and T for terabytes).
If your project needs more space than the working directories have available, email research-computing@business.cornell.edu.
What's next
Once you can log in, see Running statistical software on the research servers for SAS, Stata, MATLAB, R, Python, and others.
Need help?
If you are stuck connecting or logging in, contact JCB Research Computing and we will help.
Please direct all questions and issues to research-computing@business.cornell.edu.
[edited via Jane by rtm25 on 2026-10-08 17:29 UTC]