BNL HET, LGT, NT, & RBRC Theory computing resources

Server

quark.phy.bnl.gov , also known as thy.phy.bnl.gov, is our main computer and file server. Quark is a Sun E450 located in the ITD Data Center with four processors, 2GB of memory, and 350GB of disk running Solaris

uname -a SunOS
quark.phy.bnl.gov 5.8 Generic_108528-13 sun4u sparc SUNW,Ultra-4

A lot of additional software is installed in /usr/local on quark.

Workstations

All our workstations get their password files and mount their home directories from quark using NIS and NFS. Thus once you have an account on quark, you also have an account on all the workstations and will see the same home directory on each. Ask either Mike Creutz or Frank Paige to create an account.

Some workstations have a local file system /localhome. Any user can create a directory in this and read/write files there. These directories are not backed up; use at your own risk.

Most of the office workstations are running versions of RedHat Linux and are maintained using RedHat Network.

Mail

Mail is most easily received on quark with the address username@quark.phy.bnl.gov. Quark is a secure pop/imap mail server running pop3s and imaps. For pop mail using Netscape/Mozilla, set the server preferences to use "quark.phy.bnl.gov," "Use secure connection (SSL)," and port 995.

For outgoing mail using Mozilla on the local workstations, go to the mail and newsgroups account settings and select outgoing server. Put "bnl.gov" as the server name and port 25.

You can sign up for Labmail (a username@bnl.gov e-mail address) here. This system is most useful if you know with absolute certainty that your employment at BNL will never cease. If you are not certain of this, then you should be aware that under current policy, Labmail is turned off the day after your employment is terminated, with no possibility of having your email forwarded to any other account.

Printing

The default printer (lptheory) is the HP4300 in the coffee room. It is fast and gives duplex output by default for both Postscript and text files:

lp [-d lptheory] filename    [either ASCII or Postscript]
lpr [-P lptheory] filename   [either ASCII or Postscript]
lp -o simplex filename       [single sided output]

There is another duplex printer in the library, but it only supports Postscript; it does not print ASCII files properly. To access it use

lpr -Plibrary file.ps

You can also use the HP8550 Postscript printer in 1-87, which has both black/white and color queues:

lpr -Pphyhp2 file        [for black/white]
lpr -Pphyhp2_c file      [for color]

Color transparencies can also be printed. Printcaps have not yet been set up on all the workstations for any or all of these queues. If you cannot print from your workstation, do so from quark.

If all else fails, you might try this.

BNL Firewall

Access to and from our computers and all other computers at BNL goes through a firewall over which we have no control. If you bring your own computer or laptop here, you MUST read this section and follow its instructions. Some physics sites are blocked by the firewall, but you can bypass this using a vncserver on your home machine and connecting to it via ssh (vncviewer -via homerouteraddress homemachinelocalip).

Web access via Mozilla/Netscape
Go to Edit->preferences->advanced->proxies. There, select automatic proxy configuration and enter
```
http://security.bnl.gov/proxy/cfg.pac
```
in the appropriate box. (Alternatively, if you have problems with the automatic configuration, you can configure the HTTP proxy manually using host 192.168.1.4 and port 3128.)
Other Web access (lynx, apt-get, etc.)
If you use tcsh (our default), put in your ~/.cshrc file the line
```
setenv http_proxy http://192.168.1.3:3128
```
If you use bash, put in your ~/.bashrc file the line
```
export http_proxy=http://192.168.1.3:3128
```
You should remove either line when you move your computer outside the BNL firewall.
Access to outside computers
You can use ssh/scp to access any outside computer, e.g. "ssh username@remotehost..." from any of the workstations.
If you really must use Telnet or FTP to access an outside machine from within BNL, you can do so through a proxy. For FTP, type
```
 
ftp ftpgw.sec.bnl.local
```
At theprompt enter
```
username@remote.site.name
```
and give your password when prompted. (Of course you should substitute the appropriate values for "username@remote.site.name".) For Telnet access type
```
telnet tngw.sec.bnl.local 
open your.remote.ip.address 
```
and login as usual.
Access from outside computers
To connect onsite from offsite computers, you must go through one of the "gateways." Quark is one; so, to reach your workstation from offsite, ssh to quark. From there you can ssh on to your workstation. This can be done in one step (Set up an alias; the -t is necessary.):
```
ssh -t user@quark.phy.bnl.gov ssh user@work.station 
```

Other access issues:

DHCP

DHCP is available on the local network. If you set your laptop to automatically get its ip address, it should work. HOWEVER, to keep from being cut off, you must once register its ethernet card. Opening a browser should give the registration page, or you can go here from your laptop to do this. If you move your laptop between on and off site, you will also need to go through the annoyance of doing/undoing the above proxy setting in your browser.
Wireless

A growing number wireless access points are scattered around BNL, including most of the main seminar and conference rooms. This is a separate visitor network and doesn't need the proxy setup. However you will still need to register your wireless card; opening a browser window will give you the registration page.
Using SSH without passwords
Instructions for setting up SSH to work without repeatedly typing passwords are given here.
VNC Remote Access
VNC is a protocol that allows remote X11 access that is *MUCH* faster than X11 over an external network. Instructions for using it are given here.

BNL HET, LGT, NT, & RBRC Theory computing resources

Server

Workstations

Mail

Printing

BNL Firewall

Web access via Mozilla/Netscape

Other Web access (lynx, apt-get, etc.)

Access to outside computers

Access from outside computers

Other access issues:

DHCP

Wireless

Using SSH without passwords

VNC Remote Access

HE/NT Preprint Numbers

Software Tips

Software Documentation