Request a Discovery Account

An account is required to access Discovery; you can complete the Research Computing Access Request through ServiceNow using your Northeastern username and password. If you are new to the university or a visiting researcher, you will need to work with your sponsor to obtain a Northeastern username and password.

All Discovery users need a sponsor to approve their request, usually a PI or professor. PIs, professors, and instructors can sponsor themselves and should use their own name in the University Sponsor field.

When you fill out the ServiceNow form, an email is sent to the specified sponsor upon submitting the request. Sponsors will receive email reminders until they approve the request in ServiceNow through the link sent in the email. You should let your sponsor know to look for the email with the approval link before submitting an access request.

Your account request may take up to 24 hours to complete after your sponsor approves it. You will receive an email confirmation when your access has been granted. Once you have access, if you are unfamiliar with Discovery, high-performance computing, or Linux, you may want to review the Discovery Training Page.

Ready to get started on Discovery? Learn how to connect to the cluster using command-line access using the terminal or the Open OnDemand web interface.