The MMM
Computing Guide is a good source of general information
about the MMM environment, and is updated regularly. If
you have more specific information, you should contact
a member of the systems group.
The important point is to report any problem you encounter.
Do not assume the systems group is aware of the problem.
The best mechanism for reporting system or hardware problems
is through the assist
utility, as this provides a tracking mechanism for the
systems group. If your problem is time critical, report
the problem to the system person on-call. Use the
assist -w command to find out who that is.
Click
here to see what computing hardware and peripherals
are available. Items are listed as either general access
or limited access. General access machines are available
to all staff and visitors.
To change your password on all divisional systems, log
on to the system laurel. Use the passwd command
to change your password. Passwords are automatically propagated
to all systems at 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Files on the /users filesystem are backed up twice a week,
early Tuesday and Friday mornings. Files on the data disks
on hop are backed up once a month on a rotating basis.
Backup of all other data files are the responsibility
of the user.
Secure Shell is intended as a replacement for rlogin and
rsh, and provides secure encrypted communications between
two untrusted hosts over an insecure network. Some NCAR
divisions require you to access their systems using ssh.
Both the DEC Alpha and SGI systems have this software.
See the man pages for information on using ssh. On the
SGI systems the man command does not look in /usr/local/man
by default. You can do either of the following for obtaining
information on local software
man -M /usr/local/man ssh
or add the following line to the appropriate place in
your .login file.
Do
you have the right phone number entered? UCAR RAS is 303-417-0804
Do
you need to dial anything to get an outside line? (e.g.,
a "9" before the phone number)
Do
you have to turn off any features on your phone line before
calling? (e.g., call waiting)
Is
the modem disabled under w9x? Have you verified that the
"disable in this hardware profile" option is NOT checked
(under control panel > system > device manager)?
Do
you have more than one modem installed on your PC? (e.g.,
an on-board modem plus a PC card modem conflicting with
each other in a laptop PC? Is the right modem being used?)
You might try to disable one of them and verify you've
got the right settings for the one that will be used.
If
you're using NT Server or NT Workstation-do you have the
"remote access service" (RAS) installed? Without this
service you won't be able to use RAS. Have you specified
the dial-out options? (i.e., make sure that "accept incoming
calls only" is not checked-you'll need the ability to
dial-out)
COMMON PROBLEMS AND SUGGESTIONS
Try
to "hard set" your connection speed. For example--if it
is currently set to try a 56000bps connection initially,
knock it down to say 42000bps, then try 33600bps, etc.,
until you achieve a "stable" connection.
When
you dial in to UCAR's modem pool, you are accessing MICA
modems on a Cisco AS5300.
You may need to look for these key words on your modem
manufacturer's web site to see if any specific upgrades
are available that may help your modem connect better
with these type of modems.
The
UCAR modems will accept "56Kflex" or "v.90" 56K modem
connections (as well as all previous modem communication
standards--like v.34, for example). The new v.92 standard
is not yet supported. Please see:
for more info on this issue. As for the old "X2" connection
provided for a time by 3Com/USR--the UCAR AS5300 will
not accept these types of connections. You may need
to verify that your modem is not set up for an "X2"
type connection only. You should check the manufacturer's
web site to see if a "flash upgrade" is available for
your modem so you can upgrade it to the new v.90 standard-instructions
for doing this should also be available on the modem
manufacturer's web site. Make sure you obtain the correct
code for your particular modem model. It's also a good
idea to print out any applicable instructions and follow
them carefully when "flash upgrading" your modem.
Does
your modem have the latest v.90 code available from the
manufacturer?
You should verify this on the manufacturer's web page
if possible. If you are experiencing difficulty, you
might try to update the v.90 code already present in
your modem. Here is just a sampling of some v.90/56K
web sites that might give you more information about
the technology and some of its prerequisites and limitations
(these are simply a way for you to educate yourself
about the technology-UCAR/NETS makes no representation
about the usefulness or accuracy of any information
obtained at or through these sites):
Consider visiting 3Com's "56K line tester" to see if
it can provide you with any useful information regarding
a 56K connection from your particular location.
Do
you have the latest operating system drivers for your
particular modem?
There are two pieces of software code to be concerned
about as far as your modem goes. The first is the actual
code contained on the modem itself-this is the code
that would allow your modem to make a particular kind
of connection, say a v.90 connection. The second software
type that you should verify is up-to-date is the driver
for your modem for a given operating system (if this
is applicable to your situation). Go to your manufacturer's
web site to obtain these. For example, let's say you
upgraded the operating system on your PC from Windows
95 to Windows NT Workstation 4.0. In this case, you'll
probably need to go to the "drivers" section of your
modem manufacturer's web site to obtain the latest Windows
NT Workstation 4.0 drivers for your modem since all
you may have available to you is the drivers for Windows
95. Obviously, if your modem isn't working yet, you
can't use it to obtain new drivers! One solution for
UCAR staff who are in Boulder is to just use another
PC from within UCAR to access a manufacturer' s web
site. Be sure to bring several formatted blank floppy
disks (or a Zip disk or "Super Floppy" disk may also
work) to save any software or documentation you may
download. Be sure to bring all the information you have
regarding your modem (e.g., name, model number, part
number, etc.) so you can more easily locate the appropriate
information on the manufacturer's web site.
Have
you tried using "generic" modem drivers for your modem?
That is, drivers NOT specific to your type/brand-this
is sometimes useful if you can't get your modem to work
at all and want to verify that it is not a driver problem.
If generic drivers don't work either, you may have a
hardware problem (e.g., an IRQ conflict).
Do
you also have a network interface card (NIC) installed
in your PC?
Is the presence of this hardware or the software settings
for it interfering with the operation of your modem?
A simple test might be to remove the NIC (and its associated
software settings) and see if your modem starts working.
Have
you removed all the current settings regarding your modem
and started over from scratch?
You might also try to remove the modem from the "device
manager" list and have it "plug and play" again to see
if this clears up any conflicts. After adding the UCAR
specific settings, try it again-perhaps you toggled
a setting inadvertently and going through the setup
process again is a good way to just start over with
a "clean slate."
Are
you also connecting to another ISP (Internet Service Provider)?
i
Are these settings interfering with your UCAR RAS settings?
If this is the case for you, you may need to enter the
UCAR network information under the specific DUN session
rather than under the "network" icon in control panel
(e.g., for Windows 95, right click on your UCAR RAS
icon and choose properties, then choose the "Server
Types" tab, then the "TCP/IP" button; you'll still want
a "server assigned IP address" but you'll "specify name
server addresses" as 128.117.64.250 and 128.117.8.94;
leave the last two boxes checked). Refer to your ISP
for further instructions on how to setup their RAS session.
Before
calling for assistance, you should try to verify the source
of the problem:
b) is it software-related? (e.g., have you already verified
you've at all?); got the latest v.90 code and latest
drivers?);
c) are your UCAR RAS settings correct? (have you gone
through a "clean slate" installation already?);
d) can you connect elsewhere?
The more questions you have already answered and the
more information you can supply about your particular
problem, the easier it will be for UCAR NETS staff to
assist you in working toward a solution.
What
operating system you are using to dial-in to the RAS?
Do
you get any error codes or just the "connection reset
by peer" message?
How
do you connect to the RAS (i.e., what steps or scripts
are you using to dial-in to the RAS?)?
Has
this problem just started?
Has
anything else been connected to your phone line where
you're calling from (e.g., additional caller id boxes,
fax machines, more PC modems, etc.)?
More devices connected to your phone line can sometimes
introduce problems.
Have
you installed any new software (or made changes to existing
software) recently that might be impacting your modem
connectivity?
Sometimes an email program, for example, will disconnect
the modem connection after it has checked for email
(a common one I've found).
Do
you have call waiting?
Have
you verified that you have the latest drivers and firmware
for your modem?
Sometimes this can clear up problems. The method here
will obviously depend on your operating system and modem,
but it would probably be a good idea to check on the
modem manufacturer's web page for this information.
As a general rule email was never intended for the transfer
of large files. Other utilities, such as ftp, exist for
this purpose. The size of the file is dependent on how
the mail server on the receiving end is configured, which
can range from a few megabytes to gigabytes. Be conscientious
and do not send large files via mail. Our server is configured
to receive files up to about 130MB.
Click here
to see a list of available printers within the division.
The QMS 2060ex printers (kiwi, plum, and mango) are the
primary printers for the division. To set up your default
printer on a Unix workstation you should have the following
environment variables set in your .login file for the
printer closest to you.
The different Unix operating systems implement either
the Systemv V printing utilities (lp) or the Berkeley
printing utilities (lpr). The best print command to use
is qpr,
as it 1) knows which print utility to use on each architecture
and 2) it allows you to take advantage of the QMS printer
capabilities such as two-sided printing. It is especially
important to use qpr for scripts that will be run on different
platforms.
Printing can be set up any number of ways within elm;
however, this is one option that works well. Once in elm,
enter an 'o' at the Command prompt. This will put you
in the Options Editor. Enter P, which will allow you to
edit the printing information. Type in the following line
and press [RETURN]
/bin/cat %s | prtpost | qpr
Enter a > to save the information, and then an 'i' to
return to the elm index. The above command pipes the email
message into prtpost, which is a utility that converts
ASCII input to PostScript, and this file is then piped
through qpr to your default printer.
There can be any number of reasons why printing isn't working.
The file is too large to be accommodated in the spool area,
the printer filters have a problem, the printer daemon has
failed, etc. In most cases these can only be resolved by
a systems person and an assist
request should be submitted. However, there are a few things
that you can check.
Check the print queue:
On SGI and Sun systems: lpstat -o printer_name
On Compaq and Linux systems: lpq -P printer_name
Check the printer status:
On all systems: lpstat -t
If a print queue is listed as disabled, a systems person will
need to restart it.
Check the printer itself. It may be out toner, jammed, or
require some additional service.
If
the "NCD User Services Console" menu bar is displayed,
then choose "Change Setup Parameters" under the "Setup"
menu (to display the console menu bar, press the two
"Setup" keys on your keyboard to bring up the Setup
menu bar).
Scroll
down until you see "TCP/IP Name Service", click on the
box next to "TCP/IP Name Service" to expand the options.
The
Name Server needs to be set to 128.117.88.1. To change
it, click on the incorrect number (which will probably
be 128.117.88.9) right below it, it will appear in a
box called "Server" where you can change the number.
Press the "Return" key when you have changed the number.
Another
change needed is that the "DNS Default Domain" needs
to be set to mmm.ucar.edu, simply click in that box
and type mmm.ucar.edu.
When
you are finished you must click on the "Apply" button
at the bottom of the screen.
Then
close the Setup Parameter window (choose "Close" under
the "File" Menu).
Solaris
When
I issue a command on the Sun systems, I receive the error
message
ld.so.1: command: fatal: relocation error: file command:
symbol setupterm: referenced symbol not found
Killed
Edit your .cshrc file and add /usr/lib to the LD_LIBRARY_PATH
variable.
For example, setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH /usr/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
To change resolutions, press the Control, Alt, and + on
the numeric keypad.
On the laptop systems, you need to hold down the Fn key
also and the + sign that is blue (the blue keys are the
numeric keypad).
The
screen resolutions that are available depends on entries
in the /etc/X11/XF86Config file.
In order for the PGI compilers to work when in standalone
mode, you need to be sure to boot the laptop with the
network card installed. The PGI compilers use information
off the network card to validate the license.
If
you press the Control and Alt keys on the left side of
the keyboard, it will crash VM-Ware. Use the Control and
Alt keys on the right side of the keyboard.
