Getting Started with the COSMOS Portal

This guide walks you through the process of creating a COSMOS/ORBIT testbed account and logging in for the first time. The COSMOS and ORBIT testbeds share a unified account system — if you already have an ORBIT account, you can use the same credentials to access COSMOS resources and vice versa.

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Creating an Account

Before you can use any COSMOS or ORBIT testbed resources, you need to register for an account. Each account is associated with an organization (research group, university department, or company) and must be approved by both your group's PI (Principal Investigator) and the testbed administrators.

Step 1: Register

Go to ​Register User and fill in the registration form. The following fields are required:

Username — This will be your login name across all testbed infrastructure, including SSH access to console servers and nodes. Choose carefully, as it cannot be changed after registration.

• Must be 3-16 characters long
• Must start with a letter
• Only lowercase letters, digits, hyphens, and underscores are allowed
• Must be unique across the entire COSMOS/ORBIT user base

Name — Your first and last name. ASCII characters only (no accents or special characters). This is displayed in the portal directory and used in reservation records.

Email — Must be a valid institutional or professional email address. Some organizations enforce domain restrictions (for example, only @university.edu addresses). This email is used for account activation, password reset, and testbed notifications. Make sure you have access to this email address, as you will need to click an activation link within 30 minutes.

Phone — Include your country code (for example, +1 for United States numbers).

Organization — Select your research group from the dropdown list. You can type to search and filter the list. If your organization is not listed, your PI or faculty advisor must ​register a new organization first. Organization registration follows a similar activation and approval workflow.

Password — Your password must meet all of the following requirements:

• At least 8 characters long
• Contains at least one uppercase letter
• Contains at least one lowercase letter
• Contains at least one digit
• Contains at least one special character (such as !@#$%^&*)
• Must not be a commonly used password or a simple pattern

The portal shows real-time feedback on password strength as you type. A strong, unique password protects not only your account but also the testbed resources you will have access to.

Mailing List Preference — Choose how you want to receive testbed announcements:

• Full — receive all announcements as individual emails (recommended for active users)
• Digest — receive a weekly summary
• None — no announcements (you can change this later in your profile)

Step 2: CAPTCHA and Submit

Complete the CAPTCHA verification to prove you are a human user, then click Submit. If any fields have validation errors, they will be highlighted in red with an explanation.

Step 3: Email Activation

Check your email for an activation message from the testbed. Click the activation link within 30 minutes — after that, the link expires and you will need to re-register. If you do not see the email, check your spam or junk folder. The email is sent from support@cosmos-lab.org.

Step 4: Wait for Approval

After activation, your account request is forwarded to two parties for approval:

1. Your organization's PI (Principal Investigator) — they verify that you are a legitimate member of their group
2. The global testbed administrators — they perform a final review

You will receive an email notification once your account is approved. The approval process typically takes 1-2 business days, though it can be faster if your PI responds promptly.

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Logging In

Once your account is approved, you can log in to the portal:

1. Go to ​Portal Login
2. Enter your username and password
3. Click Sign In

After successful authentication, you will be taken to your Dashboard.

Forgot Password

If you cannot remember your password:

1. Click Forgot Password on the login page
2. Enter your username and email address
3. Click Submit — a password reset link will be sent to your email, valid for 1 hour
4. Click the link and set a new password (same strength requirements as registration)

Forgot Username

If you cannot remember your username:

1. Click Forgot Username on the login page
2. Enter the email address you registered with
3. All usernames associated with that email will be sent to you

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What to Do After Logging In

After your first login, we recommend completing these steps in order:

1. Upload your SSH key — go to Account Management and upload your public SSH key. You will need this to connect to testbed nodes.
2. Review your profile — verify your contact information is correct.
3. Make a reservation — go to the Scheduler and reserve a testbed domain for your first experiment.
4. Read the SSH access guide — understand how to connect to testbed nodes using SSH through the console servers.
5. Try the Community Forum — the Community Forum is a great place to ask questions and learn from other users' experiences.

For a complete walkthrough of running your first experiment (including loading images, powering on nodes, and executing commands), see the Getting Started with COSMOS guide.