===================== SSC News, May, 1994 ===================== Contents: New Public Node Added to UNIX Network EUNICE Upgraded Reservable Disk Space Available for Large Projects WordPerfect News SAS 6.09 installed on Ultrix SSC Publications Announcements Before you bid a fond farewell to the SSC for summer vacation..... 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. ------------------------------------- New Public Node Added to UNIX Network ------------------------------------- We have recently added a DEC ALPHA to the UNIX network which we are calling NORMAN. NORMAN is a public node so any person with an SSC UNIX account can log on to it. NORMAN runs a different flavor of UNIX called OSF. Ultrix and SunOS users will notice minor differences in syntax and output. Because OSF is such a new operating system, not much software is available for it. So far, we have installed LIMDEP, RATE, and CTM. It also has a C and FORTRAN compiler. SAS Institute plans to release an OSF version this year which we plan to get. SPSS has no plans for releasing an OSF version. --------------- EUNICE Upgraded --------------- EUNICE has been upgraded from a DECstation 5000/240 to DECstation 5000/260. We have also added 64MB of memory for a total of 128MB of memory. This should mean increased performance on our primary Ultrix server. Enjoy. Here is a comparison across our UNIX machines of the relative processing speed, memory in megabytes, and the size of /tmp in megabytes: Machine Relative Speed Memory (mb) /tmp Size (mb) ------- -------------- ---------- -------------- EUNICE 3.10 128 307 CDE2 2.05 96 1348 SOC2 1.29 16 204 CDE1S 1.38 64 1264 CDE2S 4.00 128 1921 CDE3S-6S 1.00 16 200 NORMAN 7.86 128 371 So, for example, NORMAN is almost eight times than our slowest machines, CDE3S-CDE6S. CDE2S is a good choice for large jobs that also require a lot of /tmp space. Keep in mind, these figures change fairly regularly as we upgrade machines and purchase more disk space. -------------------------------------------------- Reservable Disk Space Available for Large Projects -------------------------------------------------- The Co-op has acquired disks on both the VMS and Unix sides of our network that can be reserved for special, short-term projects requiring a great deal of disk space. The purpose of this new disk space is to make one-time transfers of data more efficient and to provide space online for a large file while a data reduction program is being run on it. We figure the typical need will be a few days in duration, but we can be flexible within the limits of demand for the space. On VMS the disk has a capacity of nearly 2 gigabytes, almost 4 million blocks. On Unix there are two available disks: one with a capacity of about 1 gigabyte, the other of just over 1 gigabyte. Access to these disks is by "reservation". Call, visit, or send email to Tom Flory (email: flory) to make arrangements. ---------------- WordPerfect News ---------------- WordPerfect 5.1 has been added to VAX node SSCB. (In addition to AGE, CDE, IRP2, SOC, and SOC3.) WP on Ultrix has been upgraded to version 5.1. WP 6.0 for VMS (character version) has been announced by WPCorp, with a targeted summer's end release. A GUI version will follow within a few months. ---------------------------- SAS 6.09 installed on Ultrix ---------------------------- SAS, version 6.09, has been installed on Ultrix. You may recall that we installed version 6.09 once before in February but had to remove it because it was not compatible with the version of Ultrix available at that time. Our testing has uncovered no problems with this installation, but to be cautious, we are going to have both the old version of SAS (version 6.07) and the new version available simultaneously for a short period of time. Use the command "sas609" to invoke the new version of SAS on Ultrix and "sas" to invoke the old version. With this installation, we now have the most current versions of SAS available on Ultrix, SunOS, and VMS. SAS Institute has not released SAS for OSF (the operating system for our new UNIX machine, NORMAN) yet. Please send mail to CONSULTANT if you have any difficulty using version 6.09. ------------------------------ SSC Publications Announcements ------------------------------ The following new publications are available for SSC users: How to Find Someone's Email Address (#31) 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Before you bid a fond farewell to the SSC for summer vacation..... ----------------------------------------------------------------- Here are a few quick reminders about SSC policies pertaining to your accounts. o Backup of Data: Would reconstructing every last bit of your data drive you batty? Buy some free insurance. Backup all your critical data to 4mm tape for safekeeping before you leave. See the Consultant for further information. o Disk space: Put a smile on you advisor's face - clean out your "locker" before you leave. Go into mail and delete all non-essential messages and use COMPRESS on the remaining ones. Now use the DIR command and take a good hard look at the files in your directories. Is it really essential to keep all seven drafts of a to-do list from last fall? You may be amazed at all VMS has saved for you with its feature of creating new versions each time you edit a file. o Listserves: These newfangled mailing lists are great, aren't they? You can get news on any subject from all over the world delivered right to your doorstep. There is a time however when they cease being "great." These electronic messages will pile up just like regular mail being delivered to an abandoned house. No one is there to clean up. It's even worse with the electronic version though because of your quota limit on VMS. After a certain "pile height" an SSC staff member starts getting beeped at his own terminal for every message that can't get through. It makes it very hard to concentrate when that happens. At some point your advisor also is informed and it affects the disk space of your entire group. The best advice? Sign off the list for the time you will be gone, and sign up again when you come back. o You're moving on to greater adventures.... Please let your advisor know this so your account may be removed and the disk space recycled. o Have a stupendous summer! 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.