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Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences

UNIX - Sun Solaris Computational Facility

Facility Definition

The UNIX - Sun Solaris computer facility in Northrop Hall is a multi-purpose operational computer network that can be used and accessed by anyone (at UNM or outside the campus) that has access to TCP/IP network protocols. The primary functions of the facility are to provide low-cost access to powerful, UNIX-based computational ability, print services, and mass storage not available through CIRT or the Department’s WindowsNT local area network. The facility is designed and maintained to provide computational resources for both research and education the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Facility Maintenance

The computational facility was established and is maintained by five faculty members of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. These faculty are Peter J. Fawcett (PJF), Mousumi Roy, David Gutzler, John Geissman, and Steve Huestis. Individual machines are administered and maintained by their primary faculty user who is the only individual with super-user capabilities; the server and network maintenance are handled primarily by Peter J. Fawcett.

Facility Description

The facility consists of a network of Sun workstations communicating through the local area domain name "geology" over the existing 100-base-T Ethernet network in Northrop Hall. The machines are:

A recent addition to the network is a SGI IRIX server hosting approximately a terrabyte of disk storage for running and storing the results of large simulations.

Facility Rules

The basic rules and guidelines pertaining to the facility will be clearly stated and presented in writing to a new user when the new user account is created. Basic rules for computer use will apply to our facility. The software, particularly ARC/INFO and ArcView are to be used for research and educational uses only. Use of the software and the facility for personal or private consulting or any purpose related to capital expenditures is not allowed. At no time is the immediate access to the Internet that the facility provides to be used for recreational purposes. Failure to comply with these policies will result in immediate suspension of user access.

Software Availability

User Profiles

All users will have a home directory established in /home (/export/home). Users must have a valid class- or research-related reason to have an account created. See the application section for how to submit an application.

User Education

The primary server administrator bears the responsibility to educate the user as to the appropriate logon and logoff procedures, as well as basic navigation through available software, access to printers, etc. The user bears the primary responsibility to know and understand the UNIX Sun Solaris operating environment and the specifics of operating third-party software. Complete familiarity with the hardware, network, and software can be gained in one of two courses offered by the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences on a bi-yearly basis. These courses are EPS 455 (Computational and GIS Applications in Geomorphology) taught in alternate Spring semesters, and EPS 400 (Mathematical Modeling in the Geosciences) taught by PJF in alternate Fall semesters. We encourage student enrollment in these courses.

Application for User Status

Before accounts are created, a "New User Form" must be completed and submitted to the Facility Manager, Peter Fawcett. The forms are available as Adobe Acrobat "Portable" documents which may be viewed and printed using the Free Adobe Acrobat Reader for Windows, Macintosh or UNIX which may be downloaded from Adobe Corporation. The documents are:

unix_new_user_form.pdf

The "New User" application form which must be filled out and returned to Peter Fawcett before an account can be created.

unixfacl.pdf

This entire document describing the Unix Facility (including the two forms listed above).

(Updated 13-Jan-2003)

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