[IPython-User] notebook and parallel work on Windows7 and Linux

[Fritz Payr]

Hi,

I am trying to run an IPython notebook and (with it) use a Linux-cluster 
for long-running parallel work.
My PC runs Windows7, and the network connecting it with the cluster 
tends to shut down ssh-connections from time to time. I've tried running 
the notebook on the cluster (with a ssh-tunnel bringing it to a browser 
on my PC) and on my PC (with a ipcontroller running on the cluster, 
connected via the built-in ssh).

Both setups have problems:

If I have the notebook running on the cluster ssh-tunneling to a browser 
on my PC I don't know how to "reconnect" the browser to the "old 
session" when the tunnel breaks down.

If the notebook is running on the PC ssh-ing with the ipcontroller on 
the cluster, it seems they silently "loose contact" during long tasks. 
Then I can see the cluster finish its tasks (all 80 x 16 hours!), but 
the notebook remains "busy" and doesn't receive anything. - No idea how 
I could retrieve the results from the ipcontroller, the engines, or 
anyone else!

Is it bad to have tasks that run for so long?
Or is there a standard way to distribute notebook and cluster on an 
"unstable network" without these problems? - Surely it doesn't make 
sense to run a browser on the cluster?!

A smaller issue I noticed in the second configuration is that while 
IPython's paramiko can work nicely with PuTTY (rather: Pageant) to find 
private ssh keys, it doesn't recognize PuTTY's "known hosts" or remember 
its own. (Apparently PuTTY stores them in the registry, but paramiko 
would like them saved to a file by the application?) So I keep getting 
warnings about an unknown host (first time in the browser-notebook, 
later in its cmd-output) although it should be well-known by now.

Thanks,
Fritz