===================== SSC News, August, 1994 ===================== This is the SSC News. This monthly electronic newsletter will keep you informed about recent changes on the SSC computer networks. We hope this information will help improve communication between the SSC computing staff and all of you computer users out there. Inside this issue... Cluster Consolidation Update and Dates Reduced Operator Hours start 8/6/94 4mm DAT for VMS Backups SSC Staffing Changes SSC Publications Announcements Public Terminal Room to be Closed for Prelims Want to Teach a Training Session? New Hours for Tape Numbering and Retrieval -------------------------------------- Cluster Consolidation Update and Dates -------------------------------------- In August and September we will be completing the VMS Cluster Consolidation project that was begun last fall and made possible by the acquisition in the recent capital equipment excercise of a super-fast VMS server. The work in August -- installation of VMS 6.1 and DECWindows Motif 1.2 -- will require that the entire cluster be down and unavailable for the two-day period August 25th and 26th, a Thursday and Friday. On September 6th and 7th the VMS Cluster will again be entirely unavailable for two days to allow our DEC Field Engineer to relocate many disks and tape drives. At that time also, three of our five 9-track tape drives will be retired. This will be the second-to-last step in the cluster consolidation. The final step -- which will be scheduled after all new software licenses have been arranged -- will be the retirement of four MicroVAX 3300's (AGE, CDE, IRP2, and SOC) and the MicroVAX 3800 (SSCC). In their place will be the new DEC Alpha 4000/620, a two-processor VMS-based non-VAX computer with, by itself, considerably more processing power than all the current cluster machines combined. The nodename of the new machine is EAGLE. After cluster consolidation is achieved, EAGLE and ROBIN (our existing VAX 4000/300) will be the main VMS disk servers. In addition to disks, ROBIN will host the remaining 9-track tape drives and the WORM drive. It will also be the host of some important system software and it will be available for users of much application software, but not SPSS or SAS. SPSS and SAS will be available on EAGLE, as will most other application software packages available in the SSC for VMS. SSCB will be the home of the two 3480 cartridge tape drives and SSCB and SOC3 will continue to host SCSI disks. SSCB will also run both SPSS and SAS; SOC3 will run SAS but not SPSS. Both 9-track tape drives and both 3480 cartridge tape drives will be accessible in batch mode from EAGLE, ROBIN and SSCB. The WORM drive, though physically hosted by ROBIN, will be user-accessible from EAGLE only. New queues will be created. We have announced these aspects of the new configuration in our two town meetings last winter and earlier this summer. We will post the details very soon in the online Bulletin and elsewhere. All users will be authorized to log into EAGLE, ROBIN, and SSCB. SOC3 will continue to be a Sociology-only machine. IRP3 will also continue as an IRP-only machine. Otherwise all agency-specific computers in the VMS cluster will be retired probably in late September when all the software licensing complications have been resolved. ----------------------------------- Reduced Operator Hours start 8/6/94 ----------------------------------- Cuts to the SSC budget require us to reduce the number of hours of operator-attended computing at the SSC. Starting Saturday, August 6, an Operator will be in the Computer Room from 12 noon until 8 PM weekends and 8 am to 8 pm Monday-Friday. The following SSC services will not be available when no operator is on duty: 1. Tape, cartridge and WORM mounts 2. Collection of line and laser printout from the computer room printers 3. Access to rm. 2470 Social Science, the Public Terminal Room INTERESTED IN LATE NIGHT ACCESS TO 2470? ======================================== To meet campus security requirements, the door to 2470 must be locked each night. If you or someone you know would like to take responsibility for being in Social Science every night (or just weeknights?) from 8 PM until 11 PM and to lock the 2470 door each night, we would be able to offer increased access to the room. Interested? See Nancy McDermott, 4406 Social Science or email: MCDERMOTT (VMS) mcdermot (unix) Plans for increased access --------------------------- The SSC staff has plans in place for several types of increased access to services that will not require an operator's presence. Please watch for the following changes in the next few months: 1. Installation of a 4mm DAT drive and workstation for VMS backups in the I/O room, 4411A Social Science. 2. Installation of laser printers in the I/O room and possibly the Public Terminal Room. This is is among the many equipment installations which are expected to be completed by the end of September. 3. Installation of a card-activated security system in the Public Terminal Room. This system will open the door when an SSC user's UW ID card is inserted. In essence, the Terminal Room will then be available all hours, but only to authorized users. We hope to have installation completed within the next two months, but we depend on the schedules of University Physical Plant personnel for the work. We are sorry for any inconvenience this change may cause, and hope that you will bear with us as we work to implement these improvements. ----------------------- 4mm DAT for VMS Backups ----------------------- A VMS workstation and 4mm DAT will soon be installed in the I/O Room, 4411A Social Science. The equipment is ready to go, we are simply waiting for installation of security locks for the hardware. The workstation will allow you to make backups of VMS files onto 4mm DAT. To be first in line to use it, pick up some 4mm DAT tapes from the DoIT Customer Center, 1210 W. Dayton St. and watch for the online announcement that the equipment has been installed. -------------------- SSC Staffing Changes -------------------- We have had several staff changes this summer. Elliott Long, our Systems Engineer, has left for a position at TDS Telecom in Madison. Scott Risberg, a long time part-timer at the Co-op will join us full time to take over some of Elliott's network duties. Beth Wiebusch, manager of Technical Services, has left to become Director of the computing center in the business school. We are currently looking for a VMS Systems Administrator to take over some of Beth's previous duties. Kyle Gasser, our student PC Technician, has been replaced by Tim Flechtner, a computer science undergraduate. Cynthia White, our P.A. Consultant, is leaving at the end of this month. Bonnie Brandreth will join us 25% time to take over some of Cynthia's duties. We hope to hire an additional staff member to coordinate our help desk and administer user accounts. Job descriptions for both open positions should appear in gopher shortly. ------------------------------ SSC Publications Announcements ------------------------------ The following new publications are available for SSC users: Using Stata on UNIX (SSC Pub 7-12) How to Use CROS to back up VMS files onto a 4mm DAT (#32) How to Use Berkeley Mail on UNIX (#33) SSC publications are available in the racks in the public terminal room, Soc. Sci. 2470. We have also just finished putting all the SSC publications in SSCGOPHER. --------------------------------------------- Public Terminal Room to be Closed for Prelims --------------------------------------------- The public terminal room (Soc. Sci. 2470) will be closed for students taking prelims from 8:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. on the following dates: August 22, 23, 24, and 31. Consulting will still be available but via e-mail only. --------------------------------- Want to Teach a Training Session? --------------------------------- We are in the process of planning SSC computer training sessions for next semester. If there is some topic you would like to suggest, please send mail to SSCCLASS. Also, if you would like to volunteer to teach a training session, please contact Nancy McDermott. ------------------------------------------ New Hours for Tape Numbering and Retrieval ------------------------------------------ The CDE Data Library (4470 Social Science) has reduced its tape numbering and retrieval hours to 10 to 4 daily, Monday through Friday, when it is staffed by a student assistant. It is open for data questions from CDE members 9 to 5 Monday - Friday as in the past. TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS NEWSLETTER, just reply to this mail message indicating you want to unsubscribe. We will remove you from the distribution list for future electronic mailings. If you ever change your mind, just notify the SSC Consultant or send mail to SSCNEWS asking to get back on the list.