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Distance Learning Computing Service kekekeyyynotesnotesnotes Volume 25 Number 3 January 1999 Distance Learning Also in this Issue: Managed UNIX Workstations MIS News RALPHY 1 kkeeyynotesnotes Volume 25, Number 3 From the Editor Chris Joy explains the procedures by contents which the Computing Service is able to manage UNIX workstations on behalf of users, removing this burden news in brief from them. Turn to page 2 for more Windows 95 Login Problems 1 details. King's Manor Update 1 ❖❖❖ New National Service Computing Resources 1 On page 6, Gareth Johnson writes news about RALPHY, the Library's Managing UNIX Workstations 2 electronic reserve project, which is Distance Learning 3 providing students, on and off campus, with improved access to a mis range of publications. York Skills Management System 4 ❖❖❖ Postgraduate Degree Certificate Production 4 New Tuition Fees: New Software 5 Opposite, John Robinson details the Syllabus Plus 5 national computing services library available to academics within RALPHY 6 higher education. ❖❖❖ Finally, best wishes for the New Year. And keep an eye on the Millennium Countdown... Joanne Casey Information Officer millennium countdown 51 weeks to go! Are you prepared? See http:// www.york.ac.uk/services/cserv/offdocs/ y2k.htm for further information. 2 news brief in Windows 95 Login Problems Andrew Smith Since the start of last term, we have vicinity, could you please report it to (network, filestore, etc), it sometimes had a number of problems with users the Infodesk. It is a simple matter to takes a while to diagnose a fault not being able to login to an office or pick up the phone and leave a message report which may initially point to a classroom Windows 95 PC. It has on the answer phone (ext 4343) at any PC problem. On detailed been very difficult to trace this time of day or night. In order to help investigation it may be found that it is problem as the fault never occurred diagnose the problem could you report one of many of the integrated during the working day. We believe the following information to the components that are used to provide we have now found the source of the Infodesk: the Windows 95 PC service. This fault but are not able to provide a “fix” investigation may involve any until the next version of the software Your name and user id member of the Computing Service controlling the logins is released. In Name and location of PC and not just the Personal Systems order to minimise any inconvenience Time and Date Group. we are automatically monitoring the Detailed description of problem Windows 95 logins and will restart the login software if any failure occurs. For the detailed description of the King’s Manor The downside to this is that if the problem, please could you report your software fails (outside of working observation of the behaviour. For Developments hours) there may be a delay of up to 15 example, if you can not login, it is Doug Moncur minutes before anyone can login. We difficult for us to diagnose the problem hope to receive a fix for the software if you just say “I can not login”. A more soon. accurate report would give the A dedicated server for the Windows approximate wording of any error 95 service in the King’s Manor was We are sorry that the fault was not message that appears on the screen. successfully installed mid-November, diagnosed and fixed sooner. One We would appreciate your patience resulting in increased performance. cause of not being able to diagnose the when there are problems with the problem is that we have had very little Windows 95 Service. We do not A 34 Mb/s network link has also been feedback from users informing us of regularly work late into the night or at ordered to replace the current paired the problem. In future if you are weekends, and are thus unable to megastream link, and once in place unable to login to an office or observe first hand the nature of any should further improve access to classroom PC, and it looks to be a faults. Due to the highly integrated resources and filestore situated at generic problem with all PCs in the nature of the computing services Heslington. New National Service Computing Resources John Robinson The Research Councils and JISC fund machine and the datasets is free. Staff Cray T3E-1200E, and Fermat, a 16 a number of national computing or students wishing to register for this processor Origin2000, will be services for use by academics in all service should contact John Robinson physically situated at the University higher education institutions. These to complete the registration form and of Manchester. The Cray T3E are services (access to large datasets, be given a username. In addition, configuration is one of the largest high-performance computing) which access to many of the datasets requires a computers in the world, and certainly could not feasibly be provided by each further registration with the data the most powerful computer currently institution’s local computing facilities provider, often the Data Archive at in use in academia in Europe. The and support staff. Essex (http://dawww.essex.ac.uk/). For service is called CSAR (Computing some datasets you can register on-line. Services for Academic Research) and New National Datasets service you can find more information about system New High Performance Computer it at http://www.csar.cfs.ac.uk. System MIDAS (http://midas.ac.uk) provides Large projects which need these access to a variety of datasets covering The consortium, Computation for resources can be given a ‘Class 1’ the social sciences, economics and the Science (Cray/SGI, CSC and the access after a peer-review process. physical sciences. It is currently hosted University of Manchester) was chosen Smaller projects of less than 1 year on a Cray CS6400, a multi-processor to run the EPSRC’s new national high can be authorised through the Sun system. This has been in service performance computing service. Two Computing Service - contact John for some years, and will be replaced machines - Turing, a 576 processor Robinson, jsr1, for details. during the spring term. Access to the 3 Managing Unix workstations Chris Joy Introduction Managing your workstation Operating system updates and security fixes to the system will In recent years, the Computing The Derwent classroom now contains be performed when the relevant Service has been able to manage workstations running Irix 6.5 and the maintenance streams have been Silicon Graphics workstations on Computing Service is in a position to released by Silicon Graphics and behalf of departments. This service extend this environment to properly tested by the Computing unix removes the burden of computer departmental systems which meet the Service. The regularity of system administration from the users following requirements: upgrades will be at the discretion of and has many direct benefits: the Computing Service but it is • R4000 generation CPU or later anticipated that a termly upgrade will • A carefully configured user be required to fix software bugs and environment • 32MB minimum (64MB add new functionality. The recommended) memory department will be charged a • Access to all centrally provided compulsory annual fee of £150 for applications and compilers • 2GB system disk software support and upgrades which covers the staff time necessary to • Access to the user’s home directory Unfortunately, older systems such as complete the task. the R3000 Indigo workstation cannot • Regular operating systems updates be managed because they are not able Individual backup of workstations and security fixes to run the Irix 6.5 operating system. will not be required because the system disk configuration can be The final point is particularly To begin managing a workstation, it is readily reproduced by the Computing important because external users or necessary to upgrade the operating Service in the event of system failure. ‘hackers’ have been known to gain system to the standard Computing However, a department may wish to unauthorised access to workstations Service configuration of Irix 6.5. This use a secondary disk on the which have not been properly provides a user environment matching workstation for storage of additional configured from the insecure ‘out-of- the Derwent classroom where users software or as user filestore. The the-box’ environment. can run all the centrally provided department will be charged an annual applications and gain access to their fee of £50 per Gigabyte of specialist In accordance with the home directory. No additional disk backup. This cost covers staff recommendations of the Computing software or unapproved modifications time and the provision of backup Service review, a new service has been can be made to the system disk in media. defined for the management of Silicon order to enable a fast system rebuild in Graphics workstations. This service the event of failure. This configuration In summary, the cost of managing a will be duly covered by a service level process is chargeable through a single Silicon Graphics workstations is: definition and is described in this fee of £100 which covers the staff time article. necessary to complete the task. Configuration £100 The Operating System The core Irix 6.5 operating system Licensing £140 only includes the basic functionality Silicon Graphics systems run a variant required to run the workstation. Support £150 of Unix called Irix. The latest release Additional software products such as of the Irix operating system is Irix 6.5. the compilers and graphical tools are Total (year 1) £390 This is termed an all-platform release available under a master ‘Varsity’ Recurrent annual cost £290 because it can run on all systems with licensing agreement between the an R4000 generation CPU or later.
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