1. Whom do I contact with a server-related issue?
Please direct all communication regarding server-related issues by email to ssc-server-support@listhost.uchicago.edu. This is the fastest and surest way of getting the service you need. All members of the server support team, as well as the Director of SSCS, will receive your message, and the most appropriate team member will reply in a timely way to your message.
2. What are SSCS's departmental servers? What can they do for me and my research?
Social Sciences Division departmental servers are designed to provide certain research-related services for their respective departments. There are four pairs of servers:
- Athens and Athensx - Economics
- Corinth and Corinthx - Anthropology and Political Science
- Cronus and Cronusx - Psychology
- Rhodes and Rhodesx - Sociology
An account on one of these paired systems entitles you to access the services of that paired system. Generally these services entail 1) storing files and 2) executing applications on the servers.
These two different types of services—file sharing and application execution—are split between the two servers in each pair. The server without the “x” suffix provides the file storage service. This server is a Sun Sparc multiprocesor machine running the Sun Solaris 10 operating system, a platform ideally suited for secure file storage. The server with the “x” suffix provides the ability to run applications; it is a Sun X64 multiprocessor system running the CentOS linux operating system, the platform best.suited to run a wide range of current unix applications. Within each pair of servers, the application-side server can seamlessly access the files stored on the storage-side server. When you want to access your files from your own computer, you will log on to the server without the “x” prefix (for example, Athens.uchicago.edu and not athensx.uchicago.edu). When you want to access these files from unix applications running on the server itself, you will log on to the server with the “x” suffix (for example, athensx.uchicago.edu and not athens.uchicago.edu).
File storage on departmental servers is a secure and robust alternative to file storage on your local storage media, such as your computer’s hard drive or CD disks. Server-based files storage facilitates the secure sharing of files among collaborating researchers. Similarly, using server-based applications has advantages over running comparable applications on your personal computer. For example, heavy number-crunching operations generally take only a fraction of the time to complete on a powerful multi-processor server than on your personal computer. Your personal computer may not even have sufficient memory to complete many such operations.
3. What applications are available on my departmental server?
http://sscs.uchicago.edu/pages/software.shtml
4. How do I get a user account on my departmental server?
To receive an Account you must have a valid CNet ID, and you must have an affiliation with the Social Sciences Division and the appropriate department for the server to which you would like access. If you are new to the University and you have not yet obtained your University e-mail account you can do so by visiting the NSIT accounts page at http://cnet.uchicago.edu/
Once you have your CNET ID are sure of your eligibility, you can then request an account on a SSCS Departmental Server at https://iota.src.uchicago.edu/user/
You will be notified by email normally within one business day whether your account request has been approved or denied. If denied, you may be requested to provide further information to justify your eligibility. Once approved, you will have access to your departmental server and can log on.
5. Does my SSCS account have the same password as my CNET ID?
When your SSCS account is first created, your username and password are the same as your CNet username and password. Beyond the initial account creation, passwords are independent and are not automatically synced between SSCS and CNET. Therefore, if you decide to change your password on an SSCS server, it will not affect your CNet password, and vice versa.
6. How do I run the applications available on the server, such as MATLAB or SPSS?
First, for all the application, you must log in to the application server (the hostname with the “x” suffix) via an ssh client in order to have shell access. For some of them your computer must have X-Windows software installed.
Stata
You can start Stata on Athensx by typing “stata”, “stata-mp”, or “stata-se” to get into
console versions of Stata 10 Standard Edition, Stata 10 Parallel Edition, or Stata 10
Special Edition. To get into the X-Window versions, you simply type “xstata”, “xstata-
mp”, or “xstata-se”.
To quit Stata and get back to your secure shell (or xterm) windows, simply type “exit” or
click on “FileàExit” menu on the X-Window version of Stata.
SAS
Type “sas” to launch SAS version 9.1
application. Please be aware that commands are case sensitive. Please be aware that you need an X-Windows program installed on your computer to run SAS.
To quit SAS, simply click on “FileàExit” file menu on SAS Program Editor or Results
windows and then click on “OK” on the pop-up window asking “Are you sure you want
to terminate the SAS session?”
MatLab
Type “matlab” to get into MatLab
Please be aware that you need X-Window to run MatLab on both servers.
To quit MatLab, simply click on “FileàExit MATLAB” (Ctrl + Q) on MatLab file menu or type “exit” or “quit” on MatLab Command Window.
*Please note that you can run matlab without X windows with: matlab -nodesktop –nosplash
R
To launch R, simply type R making sure that it is an uppercase “R”.
To quit R, simply type “q( )”.
S-PLUS
type “splus” or “Splus7” to launch S-PLUS version 7.0.0.
On the old athens, you type “Splus” only to launch it.
To quit S-PLUS, simply type “q( )”.
Mathematica
Type either “mathematica” or “Mathematica” to get into
Mathematica 6.
Please be aware that you need X-Windows to run Mathematica.
To quit Mathematica, click on “FileàQuit” (Ctrl + Q) on Mathematica’s File menu.
7. How do I use X-Windows with the departmental server?
X Windows is a protocol for displaying the graphical output of a program. Generally this is used to run a program on a remote server and have that program display its output to a local monitor. Some server-based unix programs require that they be run through X-Windows.
OBTAINING AND INSTALLING X-WINDOWS SOFTWARE
If you use a Macintosh, the X-Windows software is probably already installed on your computer. If it isn’t, you can find the installation program for X-Windows on the setup discs that came with your mac. If you use a Windows computer, you must download and install an X-Windows program. We recommend that you use our licensed X-Win32 program. For information on downloading and installing it, go to:
http://sscs.uchicago.edu/pages/xwindows.shtml
If you need help installing X-Windows on your computer, contact Social Sciences Computing Desktop Support services at 773-834-4146 or by email at sscstech@listhost.uchicago.edu.
8. How much file storage space is available to me on my departmental server?
Individual faculty members are allotted a total of 100GB of total file storage space on their respective departmental server. Staff and graduate students are allotted a total of 30GB. Qualifying labs or research groups are allotted 200GB. If needed, extra space can be leased by users on a yearly basis.
9. What are my quotas on the server?
In order to provide optimal service for our large community of users, there are limits on the server resources that can be used by an individual user.
Quotas for Faculty:
- 100GB personal home directory storage space
- 200GB Lab storage space for large enterprises
- 16GB aggregate RAM usage at any given time
- 30 minutes of CPU time daily. After 30 minutes jobs get demoted in priority and run more slowly if other users still below their CPU quotas are utilizing the system.
Quotas for Non-Faculty:
- 30GB personal home directory Storage
- 16GB aggregate RAM usage at any given time
- 30 minutes of CPU time daily. After 30 minutes jobs get demoted and run slower if others with higher priority are utilizing system.
If you believe that your research requires the use of system resources beyond these limits, please email ssc-server-support@listhost.uchicago.edu and we will discuss with you the availability and pricing of higher quotas.
10. How do I store and access my files on the server?
There are two ways that you can use access your files on the server:
- Through Windows File Sharing (also referred to as SMB or samba).
Both Windows computers and Macintosh computers support this method of accessing files over a network Windows and Macintosh computers do not require the installation of any addition software to use their built-in Windows File Sharing capability. Linux computers also support this method of accessing your server files, generally without the need for you to install additional software.
If you have a Windows computer, you can connect to the server clicking the Start button, then clicking "Run" and then typing a double-backslash \\ followed by the full hostname of your sever, leaving no empty spaces. For example, if your server is Athens, you will type in the following:
\\athens.uchicago.edu
and then click the OK button. When prompted, enter your username and password. When the window opens, double-click on the server folder you wish to access. You may not have access to all the folders that are visible, but only to the ones to which you have permissions to access.
You can drag and drop files between the folders on the server and the folders on your own computer.
If you have a Macintosh, you can connect to the server by bringing the Finder program to the foreground (i.e. by clicking on the blue mac face icon at the beginning of your Dock). Then click on the menu item “Go”, then click on the option “Connect to Server”. In the dialog box that appears, type in smb:// followed by the full hostname of your server. For example, if your server is Cronus, you will type the following:
smb://cronus.uchicago.edu
and click on the
- Through sftp (also referred to as Secure File Transfer Protocol). Both Windows and Macintosh computers can use this method. Macintosh computers come with a built-in command-line sftp program that can be run from the Terminal program. Windows computers do not come with any built-in sftp program and require the installation of an stp client program in order to use this method of accessing files on the server.
How to access server files from a Windows computer
To access your files on the server via Windows File Sharing on a Windows computer, open an Explorer window (such as by clicking on the My Computer icon), and type in a double backslash \\ immediately followed by the address of the server and then press the Enter key. For example if your departmental server is, athens.uchicago.edu, you would type one of the following address in the address bar, depending on which one is your departmental server:
\\corinth.uchicago.edu
\\cronus.uchicago.edu
\\athens.uchicago.edu
\\rhodes.uchicago.edu
When prompted, supply your SSCS username and password. You can then browse your files on the server in the open window.
SAMBA access from a Macintosh computer
To access your files on the server via samba on a mac, open a Finder Window, then click on the Go menu item, then click on “Connect to Server . . .”. In the address bar that appears, type in smb:// immediately followed by your departmental server. For example, if your server is Corinth.uchicago.edu, type the following in the address bar and then click on the Connect button:
smb://Corinth.uchicago.edu
When prompted, supply your SSCS username and password. You can then browse your files on the server in the Finder.
Please note that the syntax of the Windows command uses backslashes while that of the Mac command uses forward slashes.
SFTP access from either a Windows or Mac computer
If want to access your files on the server via sftp (Secure File Transfer Protocol), you must have an sftp client software program installed on your computer. You can obtain the WinSCP sftp client for Windows by downloading and installing the NSIT Connectivity Pack from http://download.uchicago.edu/cp/downloads/CP14.exe Mac users can use either the built-in sftp command from a Terminal window or they can obtain the GUI-based Fugu sftp program provided in the NSIT Connectivity Package.
When you use sftp, you must log into the server with the “x” suffix: for example, rhodesx.uchicago.edu, and not rhodes.uchicago.edu.
11. How do I share my files with other users on the server?
If you are faculty and work in a large research enterprise (such as a lab or research group) in which a large number of users would benefit by having shared access to a single set of files, SSCS can create a shared folder on the server to which members of the group all have access. Send such requests to ssc-server-support@listhost.uchicago.edu for consideration.
12. I can't seem to access my files stored on the server when I'm off-campus. What's wrong?
For security reasons, the perimeter firewall of the University of Chicago campus network blocks incoming network traffic from off-campus that attempts to access the Windows File Sharing service on campus computers. You cannot directly use Windows File Sharing (also known as SMB or samba) to access your files from off-campus locations.
There are two main methods to access your files when off-campus: 1) using an sftp (secure file transfer protocol) program and 2) using the University’s VPN software in combination with Windows File Sharing.
- Using an sftp program
An sftp program on your computer allows you to transfer files from the server to your computer or from your computer to the server. Unlike Windows File Sharing, an sftp program does NOT allow you directly to open files on the server from within a program running on your computer such as Microsoft Word. Instead, an sftp program allows you to transfer files from the server to your computer, where you can open them and work on them on your computer. When you’re done working on the file, you would then save any changes and finally transfer this modified file back to the server with the sftp program.
Microsoft Windows does not come with any built-in sftp program. However, you can obtain a GUI-based sftp program, WinSCP, for your Windows computer by installing the U of C Connectivity Pack on your computer. For information about getting and installing the Connectivity Package, go to [link to question #5 in desktop support section]
Mac OS X contains a built-in command-line sftp program which can be launched from the Terminal program. If you prefer to use a GUI-based sftp program on your mac, you can obtain the program Fugu with the U of C Connectivity Pack.
- Using VPN software
The university provides VPN (virtual private network) software so that users can access University computing resources that are normally inaccessible from off-campus. The VPN software makes your computer, in effect, part of the campus network, letting you access files on the server using the Windows File Sharing protocol (also known as samba or SMB) in the same way that you would when working on your campus computer. You will need to download and install the University’s VPN (Virtual Private Server) software program. You can download the installation software from:
http://nsit.uchicago.edu/services/licensing/vpn
Documentation on the setup and use of this software can be found at:
http://nsit.uchicago.edu/docs/network/vpn/
Please note that the use of VPN software in combination with Windows File sharing can result in lost or corrupted files on the server if the user’s network connection to the server is broken unexpectedly before the user has saved the file to the server. Intermittent network outages are not uncommon with many DSL and cable internet services providers. For this reason, you may prefer to use sftp rather than VPN for the purpose of accessing your files on the server.
If you require assistance with installing or configuring sftp or VPN software on your computer, please contact SSCS Desktop Support services at 773-834-4146 or by email at sscstech@listhost.uchicago.edu
13. I forgot my password. What should I do?
There are many systems at the University and many of them use separate password systems. Here are some of the most common.
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