Answers to Questions about SGIs

The list below is an ever-growing list of questions and answers about the SGIs in the College of Engineering. We encourage to submit questions to ECSS. We make every attempt to keep this list up to date and accurate. If you don't find an answer to your question listed below, please contact us.

Topics

Accounts and Passwords
Disk Quotas
Recovering Files
Editors
Software Problems
Support
Unix
The SGI Desktop Environment
Mail
Media Tools
Remote Access
Printing
Programming
WWW
Hardware problems
Graphics Tools

Topics and Questions

Accounts and Passwords

  1. How do I get an account?
  2. How can I change my password?
  3. What happens if I forget my password?
  4. When is my account deactivated?
  5. What happens to the files in my account when my account is deactivated?
  6. Sometimes when I log in, my home directory isn't there. What's going on?

Disk Quotas
  1. How do I find out how much disk quota I have used?
  2. What do I do if I am over disk quota?
  3. What happens if I log in and I'm already over quota?

Recovering Files
  1. How do I recover a file that is lost?
  2. How far back in time can a file be recovered?
  3. When are backups performed?

Editors
  1. What text editors are available on the system?

Software Problems
  1. I try to start Ansys and it says "UNABLE TO OBTAIN A LICENSE". What should I do?

Support
  1. Who can I contact if I have a question or problem with the system?
  2. Who can I contact if I have a problem with one of the computer labs?

Unix
  1. How can I tell how much memory my programs require?
  2. How can I tell if I'm running out of swap space?
  3. How can I kill a runaway process?
  4. Can I add more swap space?
  5. How do I change file permissions?
  6. How can I create an alias for a command?
  7. How do I add a directory to my default path?
  8. Where are my files located?

The SGI Desktop Environment
  1. What are all these .desktop files in my home directory?
  2. Then why isn't my desktop environment saved between sessions?
  3. What are the most commonly used applications?
  4. What is the Desks Overview? How do I use it?
  5. Where can I find additional information about how to use the SGI desktop?

Mail
  1. What mail programs exist?
  2. Can I use xmh?
  3. What e-mail address should I use?
  4. Where does my mail get sent?
  5. How do I forward my mail from Project Vincent to my Engineering SGI account?
  6. When I try to read my mail, it says "..waiting to lock" and I can't read my mail. What's going on?
  7. How can I forward my mail from this server to Vincent or some other server?
  8. Can I use Netscape to send and receive mail?
  9. Can I use Eudora to get mail from the College of Engineering mail server?
  10. How do I set up a vacation notice?

Media Tools
  1. What tools are there available for working with sounds, video, CD-ROMs?
  2. How do I use the Indy CAM?

Remote Access
  1. How do I log in remotely to the SGI network?
  2. Are there any usage limitations on the SGI remote access server?
  3. Why can't I telnet to the machines in the labs?
  4. I have some files on a PC that I need to use on my SGI account. How can I transfer them to my account?

Printing
  1. I have a Postscript file that I need to print. How can I do this?
  2. How can I kill a runaway print job?
  3. How can I see what files are in the print queue?
  4. What are my choices for printing locations?
  5. Can I print duplex (two-sided) pages?
  6. Can I print a banner page?

Programming
  1. How can I turn off warning messages when I compile a C/C++ program?
  2. Are there any good debugging tools on the SGIs?
  3. Why aren't the 64 bit libraries installed on the Indys?

WWW
  1. Who runs the Engineering Web server?
  2. How do I create a homepage?
  3. How can I compile a java program?
  4. Can I create programs and put them on the Web server?
  5. How much disk cache should I use in Netscape?
  6. I want to use the real audio player. How can I do this?
  7. How can I tell Netscape to use a different helper programs to view different types of MIME files?

Hardware
  1. Is it OK to turn off the computers?

Graphics Tools
  1. How do I convert a GIF file to JPEG?
  2. How can I convert a postscript file to a GIF?
  3. How can I view a Postscript file?

Accounts and Passwords

  1. How do I get an account?

    Accounts are requested by your instructor before the start of the semester when you enroll in a class that uses the College of Engineering SGIs. Your account login name is the same as your Project Vincent account. The instructor will forward the names of students in the class to the departmental contact. Basically, though, access to the SGI network is open to all engineering students. All that is reqired is a faculty sponsor to specify a reason for getting the account. Contact your departmental contact for more information.

  2. How can I change my password?

    Just type the command passwd. You will be prompted for your old and new password.

  3. What happens if I forget my password?

    Contact your department contact. They can create a new password for you. They will notify you about the new password.

  4. When is my account deactivated?

    Your account will be usually be deactivated for two reasons.
    1. Your Project Vincent account is deactivated.
      You must have a valid Project Vincent account in order to have a College of Engineering SGI account. Once your Project Vincent account is deactivated, you can expect your SGI account to be deactivated shortly, with little or no warning.
    2. The sponser of your SGI account requests that your account to be deactivated.
      Some departments and courses will request that your account be deactivated once the course is finished. This policy varies from department to department. If you have any questions, please contact your department contact.

  5. What happens to the files in my account when my account is deactivated?

    Once an account is deactivated, the files are removed from the system and are stored on backup tapes until the second week of the following semester. If your account is reinstated before that time, your files will be restored to your account.

  6. Sometimes when I log in, my home directory isn't there. What's going on?

    Occasionally, a machine is rebooted, and for whatever reason, it is unable to attach all of the home directories off of the server. When this happens, log out and reboot the machine. To reboot an Indy, just press the small round button on the front of the machine. Contact ECSS about this too so we know what's going on.

Disk Quotas

  1. How do I find out how much disk quota I have used?

    Use the command:
    quota -v
    This will tell you how many kilobytes you have used. The output will appear something like: 
    Disk quotas for joeuser (uid 9999):
Filesystem     usage  quota  limit    timeleft  files  quota  limit    timeleft
/spare/home        0  25000  25000                  0      0      0            
/home/aeem      1562  25000  25000                107      0      0            
/home/me           0  25000  25000                  0      0      0

  2. What do I do if I am over disk quota?

    The most obvious thing to do is to remove any extra files you have that you don't need. If it is not possible for you to remove any extra files, you should contact your departmental contact and request more quota. They will be able to add more disk quota for your account.
    If you are logged in and notice that you are over quota, you should avoid writing any files to disk, and attempt to remove any extra files in your account to get extra space.

  3. What happens if I log in and I'm already over quota?

    If you have been over your quota for less than a week, you will be given a simple shell window from which you will be able to remove unnecessary files. If a week has passed since you exceeded your quota, your account will be disabled until you see your departmental contact.

Recovering Files

  1. How do I recover a file that is lost?

    Send a request to ecss_support@eng.iastate.edu. Be sure to specify the names of the files you want recovered (if you know them) and what directory they were in.

  2. How far back in time can a file be recovered?

    Generally, files can be easily recovered for up to about two months after they were first created or modified. If a file or directory is not immediately available on a tape archive, there is a $25/hr fee for recovering the data. This process is usually very time consuming. Send all recovery requests to ecss_support@eng.iastate.edu.

  3. When are backups performed?

    Backups are performed nightly for all disks on the servers. Any file that was created or modified since the previous nightly backup is backed up. Full backups are performed monthly.

Editors

  1. What text editors are available on the system?

    The four most commonly used editors on the SGIs are: jot, nedit, vi, and emacs. Jot and nedit are probably the simplest to use. vi is powerful but has steep learning curve, and emacs is by far the most powerful but requires extensive knowledge and system resources. For additional information, check out the web page on editors .

Software Problems

  1. I try to start Ansys and it says "UNABLE TO OBTAIN A LICENSE". What should I do?

    Contact Engineering Computing Support Services immediately. The Ansys license daemon is not running and needs to be restarted.

Support

  1. Who can I contact if I have a question or problem with the system?

    We have assigned key individuals to be the contact for each engineering department. If you have a problem, you should contact your departmental SGI support person.

  2. Who can I contact if I have a problem with one of the computer labs?

    See if there is a specific individual who is in charge of that lab by looking at the detail information about the lab.

Unix

  1. How can I tell how much memory my programs require?

    If the machine you are on is running the IRIX 6.2 operating system (basically all SGIs except the purple indigos), use the command gmemusage.

    Otherwise, you can use the command gr_osview .

    to display various kinds of system resource utilization. It provides a graphical representation of memory usage on for all applications on the system.

  2. How can I tell if I'm running out of swap space?

    Type the command: swap -l. This will output results something like: 
    lswap path         dev    pri swaplo   blocks     free  maxswap    vswap
    1 /dev/swap
                 128,17     0      0   393216   384856   393216        0
    The amounts are listed in block sizes. Divide by two to get the size in Megabytes. The amount listed under the free column is the amount of free swap space available. If this number is small relative to amount of maxswap, then you may be having problems running out of swap space.

  3. How can I kill a runaway process?

    To kill a process, you need to find out what the "process ID" is. Run the command ps -fu {yourusername} You will see an output something like: 
    joeuser  8937  8927  0 17:38:44 pts/4   0:00 -tcsh 
joeuser  9612  8978  0 09:31:39 pts/7   0:35 /usr/local/netscape/netscape 
joeuser  8888     1  0 17:38:36 ?       0:02 /usr/lib/desktop/desktopManager -multiwindow 46137345 -keyatom DesktopManager 
joeuser  8873     1  0 17:38:34 ?       0:07 /usr/bin/X11/4Dwm -launch -xrm *SG_UseBackgrounds: True 
joeuser  8931  8923  0 17:38:43 pts/3   0:00 -tcsh 
joeuser  8882     1  0 17:38:35 ?       0:01 /usr/bin/X11/toolchest -name ToolChest 
joeuser  8917  8913  0 17:38:42 pts/2   0:00 -tcsh 
joeuser  8978  8977  0 17:38:49 pts/7   0:00 -tcsh
    In this example, joeuser is the username. On the right is the name of each program that you are running. The first number listed after the username is the process ID of the program that's running. To kill a particular process, type: kill -9 {processID} Type ps -fu {yourusername} again and the process should be gone. If it fails to die, give the kill command again. If it still won't die, you may need to log out and reboot the system.

  4. Can I add more swap space?

    Currently all machines are configured with a large amount of swap (192 Megabytes). If you are trying to run a program and you are repeatedly running out of memory, contact ECSS and we will look at increasing the memory for the machines.

  5. How do I change file permissions?

    To change file permissions, use the chmod command.

  6. How can I create an alias for a command?

    The csh and tcsh shells allow you to create aliases with the alias command. To save an alias, put the alias command in your .cshrc file. The aliases will be read each time you login.

  7. How do I add a directory to my default path?

    The default path should be sufficient for most users on the system, but should you need to add a directory to the default path follow the instructions below.

    Every time you open a new csh or tcsh shell, the .cshrc file located in your home directory is read and all commands within that file are executed. You may modify your default path by adding a line similiar to the following to your .cshrc file: set path = ( $path /remote/unsup/bin )
    By adding this command to your .cshrc file, you will append the /remote/unsup/bin path to the default system path. Note: You should NEVER remove the leading $path from your default path. This could effectively break software you use on a regular basis.

  8. Where are my files located?

    All user files on the College of Engineering SGI network are stored on the College's file server. The server contains several large disk drives segregated by engineering department. Your files will usually be located in the path /home/{dept}/{user}.

The SGI Desktop Environment

  1. What are all these .desktop files in my home directory?

    The SGI Indigo Magic environment provides the ability to store the desktop configuration between sesssions. Information about the icons, windows, and even the applications you were running are stored in special directories called .desktop-{machine} in your home directory.

  2. Then why isn't my desktop environment saved between sessions?

    Everytime you log in to a different machine, a separate .desktop file is created. The first time you log into a new machine, the system prompts you whether you want to start a new desktop or use an existing one. It will give you a list of other machines you have logged into before and ask you if you want to share a desktop with another machine or create a new one. If you want all of your desktops to be linked to the same one, you should choose one machine to share your desktop with all of time. To share a desktop with another machine, click that machine from the menu and select the third option below the menu (the one that specifies you wish to share, or link, your desktop), and click the 'OK' button.

  3. What are the most commonly used applications?

    The main desktop toolchest has a 'Tools' menu that lists all of the most important applications by category. You can start anyone of these tools up by selecting the desired one.

  4. What is the Desks Overview? How do I use it?

    The Desks Overview is a virtual window manager for the SGI desktop environment. It is the first item under the 'Desktop' menu on the Toolchest. To add another virtual desktop, bring up the Desks Overview and select the option 'New Desk' under the "Desk" menu. You can switch between virtual desktops by double clicking the miniature desk on the Desktop Overview.

  5. Where can I find additional information about how to use the SGI desktop?

    More information can be found in the Iris Essentials On-Line book. You can read this book in two ways:
    1. By selecting the "On Line Books" option under "Help" on the Toolchest. Iris Essentials can be found under the SGI_EndUser category.
    2. You can read it on the Web by clicking here.

Mail

  1. What mail programs exist?

    The most commonly used mail program on the SGI machines is MediaMail (also known as Z-mail). It has a very nice interface with strong support for MIME encoded messages. You can also use it to send voice and video messages. The SGIs are also installed with the basic BSD mail program and elm. To find out more about these other mail tools, see the page on mail.

  2. Can I use xmh?

    No. mh and xmh are not supported on the SGIs.

  3. What e-mail address should I use?

    If you want to send mail to the SGI mail server, send mail to {userid}@eng.iastate.edu. The user must have an account on the SGI network for this to work. If you want to have mail forwarded from Project Vincent, then log into PV and use the chpobox command to have your mail sent to your account on the engineering SGI mail server {userid@eng.iastate.edu}.

  4. Where does my mail get sent?

    Actually, your mail gets sent to the file server called pacific.eng.iastate.edu. But don't use this as your mail destination. It will work, but it is less proper.

  5. How do I forward my mail from Project Vincent to my Engineering SGI account?

    Log into Project Vincent, and use the chpobox command to have your mail forwarded to your engineering SGI account.

  6. When I try to read my mail, it says "..waiting to lock" and I can't read my mail. What's going on?

    Normally, everytime you read or modify your mail, MediaMail or another mail program momentarily creates a lock on your mailbox file. This is usually temporary and totally transparent to you. Occasionally when we reboot the mail server, or you exit mail ungracefully (such as rebooting your machine), a lock is created on your mailbox that is not released.
    To see if this is the case, see if there is a file called /var/mail/{userid}.lock or /var/mail/{userid}.rolock. If either of these files exist, just send mail to ecss_support@eng.iastate.edu and we will gladly remove it.

  7. How can I forward my mail from this server to Vincent or some other server?

    Just create a file called .forward in your home directory that contains the following entry:

    your_user_id@iastate.edu
    But make sure that you are not already forwarding your mail from Project Vincent to your SGI account. Otherwise, mail will bounce back and forth and eventually be lost.
    If you want, you can also have mail sent to both locations by putting the following lines in your .forward file:
    \your_user_id, your_user_id@iastate.edu
    This will tell the mail server to deliver the mail to your SGI account but pass a copy to your PV account.

  8. Can I use Netscape to send and receive mail?

    The short answer is "Yes". However, please note that Netscape creates its own mailbox (in your_home_directory/.netscape-mailbox) and moves all your mail from your inbox into it's own mailbox. This wil not necessarily create problems for you, but you do need to be aware that other mail programs will not be able to find mail read by Netscape unless you tell it explicitly where to look.

  9. Can I use Eudora to get mail from the College of Engineering mail server?

    No. The College of Engineering mail server is not a pop mail server, so Eudora cannot be used to access mail from that server.

  10. How do I set up a vacation notice?

    A vacation notice can be set up to notify friends and colleagues that you are away on a trip and won't be able to read your mail. There is a program called vacation that you can use to set up a "vacation" message. Type 'man vacation' to get the details. It is fairly self explanatory to use. Just remember to remove the vacation files when you return.

Media Tools

  1. What tools are there available for working with sounds, video, CD-ROMs?

    There are several good tools for working with sound, video, and other types of media on the SGIs. For a good introduction, see the Multimedia page in the SGI Guide.

  2. How do I use the Indy CAM?

    You can use the IndyCAM with programs such as Capture and Inperson. When using the IndyCAM, be certain the lens cover is not blocking the lens. You can focus the IndyCAM by turning the lens. Please be careful not to turn it too hard!

Remote Access

  1. How do I log in remotely to the SGI network?

    A communications server has been set up for remote access called telnet.eng.iastate.edu. If you have an account on the SGI network, you can use telnet or ftp to connect to that machine. For additional information, see the page on remote access.

  2. Are there any usage limitations on the SGI remote access server?

    Yes. Processes that negatively affect the performance of the remote access server are not allowed, and will be terminated by the administrators with little or no notice. Processes that have been idle for more than one day will be terminiated with little or no notice as well, unless prior arrangements have been made with Engineering Computing Support Services. There is no specific prohibition against running programs that require X windows, but if such a process is creating a noticable drag on the rest of the system, it will be terminiated.

  3. Why can't I telnet to the machines in the labs?

    The general philosophy is that the machines in the laboratories are high-end graphics machines that are best utilized while sitting in front of them. Remote access is limited to the remote access server.

  4. I have some files on a PC that I need to use on my SGI account. How can I transfer them to my account?

    You can ftp them to telnet.eng.iastate.edu if you have an account on the SGI network.

Printing

  1. I have a Postscript file that I need to print. How can I do this?

    You usually send a file directly to a postscript printer and it should print fine. Check out the printing page for more info.

  2. How can I kill a runaway print job?

    Use the command lpstat -t to view your print job. If it has been a great deal of time since you submitted the job and it still hasn't printed, you might have to kill the print job. See the page on cancelling a print job.

  3. How can I see what files are in the print queue?

    Use the command lpstat -t. Check out the printing page for more info.

  4. What are my choices for printing locations?

    Check out the printing page for more info.

  5. Can I print duplex (two-sided) pages?

    If the printer has been set up to print in duplex mode, the pages will print two-sided automatically. Check out the printing page for more info.

  6. Can I print a banner page?

    Use the -oyb option with lp. For example:
    lp -oyb myfile
    Check out the     printing page for more info.

Programming

  1. How can I turn off warning messages when I compile a C/C++ program?

    Use the -w option when compiling with cc (the C compiler) or CC (the C++ compiler).

  2. Are there any good debugging tools on the SGIs?

    The ProDev Workshop Debugger, also known as Case Vision, is a powerful graphical debugger for the SGI platform. For more information, please click here.

  3. Why aren't the 64 bit libraries installed on the Indys?

    The Indys architecture is not build to take advantage of the 64 libraries. No performance gains are realized. However, the n32 libraries are designed to provide a performance boost over the standard 32 bit libraries on the Indys, so those are installed instead.

WWW

  1. Who runs the Engineering Web server?

    Engineering Computing Support Services administers the web server: www.eng.iastate.edu.

  2. How do I create a homepage?

    1. Your home directory must be searchable by others. Type
      chmod o+x ~
    2. Create a directory in your home directory called WWW (uppercase).
    3. Change the permissions on your WWW directory to be world readable. Type
      chmod 755 ~/WWW
    4. Create a file called index.html (This is your homepage file).
    5. Create whatever content you wish for your homepage.
    6. Make sure the permissions on your homepage are world readable. Type:
      chmod 755 index.html
    7. Put any other linked html files or images you create in your WWW directory. You can also create subdirectories as necessary. Just remember that to be accessible to the web server, the directories and files must be world readable.
    8. To link to your homepage off of the College of Engineering server, use the URL
      http://www.eng.iastate.edu/~username
    9. If you wish to have your homepage published on the 'College of Engineering Homepages' listing, type: touch ~/WWW/PUBLISH

  3. How can I compile a java program?

    The SGI Java Development Kit is installed on all machines. Type man javac to find out how to use the Java compiler. Also, check out the pages on Java and Cosmo Code.

  4. Can I create programs and put them on the Web server?

    We do not yet have the capability to enable users to create CGI programs on the web server. However, if you have a special project for a class that simply must be done with a CGI script, contact ECSS and we'll see if we can help.

  5. How much disk cache should I use in Netscape?

    A general rule of thumb is about 2 megabytes. This seems to be enough for most users.

  6. I want to use the real audio player. How can I do this?

    The licensing of this product restricts access to a personal copy. You must download your own copy from Real Audio in order to legally use it.

  7. How can I tell Netscape to use different helper programs to view different types of MIME files?

    If you want to use a different helper program than the ones currently configured, you must create a file called .mailcap in your home directory. To find out how this file must be configured, see the Notes on mailcap files from NCSA. Netscape also provides additional information on MIME Types .

Hardware Problems

  1. Is it OK to turn off the computers?

    Please try to avoid turning off the SGI computers. It generally won't hurt them but they really don't need to be turned off. If there is something wrong with the machine, see a lab monitor or send mail to Engineering Computing Support Services.

Graphics Tools

  1. How do I convert a GIF file to JPEG?

    There are several good tools to use: xv, gimp, and Image Magick.

  2. How can I convert a postscript file to a GIF?

    You can also use xv.

  3. How can I view a Postscript file?

    SGI supplies an postscript viewer that is quite good called xpsview. Ghostview is also installed and available for use.