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Navigating the Platform

This section introduces the major features of the platform to help new users get oriented.

Logging In

When you navigate to cloud.parallel.works, you’ll see the login page.

Screenshot of an empty login field at cloud.parallel.works.

The URL you use may be different from cloud.parallel.works, depending on your organization and whether you use an on-premise or dedicated instance of the platform.

When you log in, the Password field will only appear after you enter your username or email address and click Next. If you enter your username and see the error message Username or email not found, please reach out to us at support@parallelworks.com for assistance.

Home

When you log in to the PW platform, you’ll see the Home page by default.

Screenshot of the Home page immediately after logging in to the PW platform.

The Home page serves as your primary activity monitor on the PW platform. You can select your favorited workflows, adjust resource requirements, and view past run results from this page.

There are six modules on this page.

Screenshot of all six modules in the Home page.

  • In Favorite Workflows, you can click a workflow to run or configure it.
  • In Workflow Monitor, you can track current and past workflow runs, cancel runs, and run workflows again.
  • In Resource Monitor, you can see how many nodes are active and how long they’ve been running.
  • In Storage Resources you can start/stop or configure persistent storage options.
  • In My Compute Resources, you can start/stop or configure resources you've created. Click a resource's name to collapse it.
  • In Shared Compute Resources, you can start/stop or configure resources that other users in your organization have shared with you. Click a resource's name to collapse it.

All of these modules are expanded by default; you can collapse a module by clicking its name.

In addition to the Home page, you'll regularly interact with:

  • the Compute page
  • the Workflows page
  • the Storage page
  • the Monitor page
  • the Cost page
  • the user workspace panel, labeled Explorer: PW
  • the User menu

Compute

On the Compute page, you can create and manage your computing resources.

Screenshot of the Compute page immediately after selecting Resources.

For more information on adding and configuring new resources, please see Creating Clusters and Configuring Clusters.

Workflows

On the Workflows page, you can create and manage your workflows. Any workflows you add from the Marketplace will appear here automatically.

Screenshot of the Workflows page immediately after selecting Workflows.

For more information, please see Workflows.

Storage

On the Storage page, you can create and manage both persistent and ephemeral storage options.

Screenshot of the Storage page immediately after selecting Storage.

For more information, please see Storage.

Monitor

On the Monitor page, you can see important information about your resources and platform usage.

By default, you'll see the Instances monitor, which shows any running resources and resources that have been deleted within the last hour. For more information, please see Instances in Monitoring Your Work.

Screenshot of the Monitor page with a running resource in the Instances tab.

We also have a monitoring Dashboard, which can be customized to show usage data for both you and other users in your organization. For more information, see Dashboard in Monitoring Your Work.

Note

Please note that you won’t see the Monitor page if your organization has not enabled it.

Cost

The Cost page displays cost tracking information for your organization, such as total spend over time and allocation usage.

Screenshot of the Cost page immediately after clicking Cost.

For more information, see Monitoring Costs.

Note

Please note that you won’t see the Cost page if your organization has not enabled it.

User Workspace (IDE)

The Explorer: PW panel on the right side of the screen is your user workspace, also called the integrated development environment (IDE).

If you click the IDE icon, the panel will expand to fit your screen, showing a terminal pane at the bottom of the page by default.

Screenshot of the PW landing page with the IDE button circled.

Screenshot of the user workspace after clicking the IDE button.

The IDE is a powerful tool, allowing you to view job output and error files, run code, and debug workflows. Our IDE is based on Theia. When you use a terminal in the IDE, it runs commands much like Terminal on macOS or Command Prompt on Windows.

You can hide the IDE completely by clicking the arrow icon that appears in the bottom right corner of your screen when the IDE is collapsed.

Marketplace

On the Marketplace page, you can select pre-configured workflows for your projects. Navigate here by clicking on your username, then selecting Marketplace from the dropdown menu.

Screenshot that shows the user selecting Marketplace from the username dropdown menu.

Screenshot of the Marketplace page immediately after selecting Marketplace.

You can sort these pre-configured workflows by using either the search bar or the Category pane. By default, all items under Category are collapsed but will expand when you click them.

Account

On the Account page, you can manage your login information, cloud snapshots, and cloud accounts. Navigate here by clicking on your username, then selecting Account from the dropdown menu.

Screenshot that shows the user selecting Account from the username dropdown menu.

Screenshot of Profile Settings, which appears after selecting Account.

The sections of your Account page are detailed below.

Profile

Here, you can change your password and your display name. Your username and email are locked to what was assigned when your account was created.

You can also restart your workspace.

Authentication

Screenshot of the Authentication tab on the Account page.

Here, you can access your API key. You’ll use your API key any time you need to interact with the API, such as for automation tasks.

You can also add SSH keys to the platform here. For more information about SSH keys, please see our FAQ in Logging In to the Controller.

Cloud Snapshots

Screenshot of the Cloud Snapshot tab on the Account page.

Here, you can create and access cloud snapshots. When you create a cloud snapshot, a temporary virtual machine (VM) executes a script. The system takes a snapshot of that VM, which it uses to create an image. You can access this image in any dropdown menu where it's possible to select machine images.

For example, if your organization uses an application that takes an hour to install, you can create a cloud snapshot of your computer after installation, then use that snapshot to avoid the installation process every time a user needs that application.

For more information, please see Working With Cloud Snapshots.

Cloud Accounts

Screenshot of the Cloud Accounts tab on the Account page.

Here, you can connect your PW account to an existing resource by adding a private SSH key. This feature is useful if you need to connect to a pre-configured resource either from a cloud account or from another user in your organization.

For administrators: if you want to connect to an existing cloud account on AWS, Azure, or Google, please see Adding a Cloud Account.