Platform Computing's Platform LSF lsfstartup command fails and generates the error message 'Connection Refused'


The following error occurs when you run Platform LSF lsfstartup all command under the root user ID or under a user ID that is listed in the lsf.sudoers file.

Start up LIM on <hostname> ...... hostname: Connection refused

By default, the lsfstartup all command uses a remote shell (RSH) to connect to the various nodes in order to initiate the LSF processes. If RSH is disabled and a secure shell (SSH) is used, the problem note previously occurs.

To circumvent this problem:

  1. Back up the existing lsf.conf file in the LSF_TOP/conf/ directory.
  2. Add the following line to the lsf.conf file:

      LSF_RSH="ssh -o 'PasswordAuthentication no' -o 'StrictHostKeyChecking no'"

  3. Under the root user ID or a user ID that is listed in lsf.sudoers file, stop all LSF clusters by submitting the lsfshutdown command.
  4. Then, restart the LSF clusters using lsfstartup all command, again as the root user or as a user that is listed in the lsf.sudoers file.

When you make this change, you are prompted to input the passwords for each machine in the grid.

For more details, see the LSF_RSH section in the Platform LSF Configuration Reference Guide for your particular version of Platform LSF. The reference guides are available on the Platform Suite for SAS Web page.