Information about CIS Linux Desktops

• Linux Desktop options for CIS PhD students
• Why don't I have root on my CIS Linux desktop?
• Changes to SSH
• /scratch

Linux Desktop options for CIS PhD students

First year CIS PhD students are provided with Linux desktops with our standard software environment. This environment is shared by Eniac, several research machines and grids, most CIS desktops, and the condor pool. This helps first year students to become familiar with the environment shared by most of the department. After the first year, CIS PhD students have a choice of three options:

• The standard Linux desktop with two LCD displays (with a choice between dual input VGA/DVI 18" displays or single input VGA 19" displays).
• A Windows desktop with two LCD displays
• A 24" LCD display, keyboard, and mouse (that can be used with a laptop, for example)

Whichever OS you choose, our Linux environment (with Matlab) is available remotely via SSH to eniac.seas.upenn.edu, and our Windows environment (with Office, Matlab, etc) is available remotely via our Virtual PC Lab.

Why don't I have root on my CIS Linux desktop?

The CIS department wants to provide each PhD student with an identical workstation, to make it easier for people to collaborate on projects. If everyone ran their own machine and installed different sets of software, then when one person tried to use software developed on another person's machine, there would be version mismatches, missing libraries, and other problems. By using a standard machine you can develop software on your desktop and run it on the research grids, condor pool, or other workstations with few or no problems.

Also, the CIS department wants to provide each student with a machine that is secure, backed up, and professionally managed, so that the student can concentrate on course work and research, and doesn't have to worry about reading the security bulletins and analyzing risks.

Please let us know if there is anything that you want installed or fixed on your machine. We want you to be happy with your machine and with the service we provide by running it for you.

Changes to SSH

SSH, SCP, and SFTP services are open on the standard Linux desktops. Incoming SSH is restricted to SEASnet only. If you want to ssh to your desktop from outside SEASnet, you'll need to use a public SEAS machine, such as eniac.seas, as an intermediary. The desktop machines will be able to ssh out to anywhere, only incoming SSH will be restricted.

/scratch

/scratch is available for longer-term storage on your desktop local disks: like /tmp, but not automatically cleaned. Here are the disclaimers:

• /scratch is intended for local copies of files that you have stored elsewhere, or that you can re-create.
• /scratch is not backed up. We treat it just like /tmp, except that it isn't automatically cleaned. If we replace your hardware or re-image your disk, we will not preserve the contents of /scratch. Essentially, when we're running around trying to fix problems as quickly as we can, we don't want to have to worry about /scratch.