Run processes on two different accounts in the same time

A colleague and I are both using the same machine. Her processes are not demanding (neither in terms of RAM nor in terms of CPU time) but she needs to do her job on her account while I would very much appreciate to do my job on my account.

While she'll be using the computer with her account (physically seating in front of the computer), can I ssh to my personal account and can I run my jobs this way? Will I need to use sudo or do anything special?

The computer is a powerful machine (RAM: 24GB, 24 CPU) running on OSX 10.8.5.

Remi.b

Posted 2015-07-13T23:15:22.697

Reputation: 2 431

Answers

I'd say so:

from the developper.apple website

OS X has always supported the use of a single machine by multiple users. Initially, this usage was exclusive; only one user at a time could log in to the console and use the machine. In version 10.3, OS X introduced a feature called fast user switching that lets multiple login sessions run concurrently on the same machine. With this feature, one user at a time is active on the machine while the other user’s sessions continue to run in the background.

Why not just give it a go?

misha256

Posted 2015-07-13T23:15:22.697

Reputation: 10 292

Because I don't have access to the account of my colleague. I could create a new account and run jobs on the different accounts but I don't know how to create account on a remote computer. Anyway, that was easier to ask than to try. Thank you +1. – Remi.b – 2015-07-14T04:48:41.933

@Remi.b: I don’t understand why you’re talking about having access to your colleague’s account and creating an account on a remote computer. If each of you has an account, that should be all you need. If you have access to another workstation, you can just ssh in while she’s working. (See my answer.) … (Cont’d)

– Scott – 2015-07-14T06:40:43.673

(Cont’d) … The “fast user switching” discussed in the Apple Developer Topic seems to refer to “hot desking”. I’m guessing that it means that, if you and your colleague work different hours or different days, you can do a sort of “soft logout” that leaves your processes running while freeing the console for the other user. (This sounds like Windows’ “Switch user” capability.) – Scott – 2015-07-14T06:41:26.960

Introduction to Multiple User Environments at the Mac Developer Library on apple.com (the same link that misha256 referenced, BTW) says,

Note: OS X has always supported multiple simultaneous users through secure shell (ssh) connections. Each ssh connection runs in its own login session.

so you should be able to do what you want without "using sudo or doing anything special". Of course that's assuming that you have access to another physical workstation from which to run ssh (but an old, poorly provisioned Windows machine should suffice).

Scott

Posted 2015-07-13T23:15:22.697

Reputation: 17 653