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Mac Cluster Available

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Apple has donated to UCI a small computational cluster based on its XServe product line.

This three-server cluster (two computational nodes and one control or “head” node) is built on the PowerPC chip. Each node features two 2Ghz PPC CPUs. The cluster also offers a 1.2Tb (1200 Gigabytes) disk array. The PowerPC architecture features high-performance true 64-bit floating point arithmetic, and is particularly well-suited for floating point and vector calculations.

Originally, NACS and faculty evaluated batch processing systems for the cluster under the Macintosh OS X operating system. Currently the cluster is running Linux, because faculty tend to be more familiar with that operating system, and to take advantage of the richer software development environment available under Linux.

GNU compilers for C, C++, and Fortran are available on the cluster, as well as the optimized IBM C/C++ compiler suite for PowerPC. Faculty may contact NACS for accounts, assistance with porting, and benchmarking.

NACS deploys Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3

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NACS is upgrading both its infrastructure and its clients’ Red Hat servers to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 3.

This operating system is available in two flavors, Advanced Server (AS) and Workstation (WS). The key difference between the two versions is that WS is not designed for use in server environments; therefore, it does not support more than 2 processors, nor does it include various server packages.

For an annual subscription fee of $50 (AS) or $25 (WS), users are provided with access to the Red Hat Network, including patches and updates. For a small additional fee, departments can subscribe to this service through NACS and receive these benefits:

  1. Patch and update services provided by our on-campus server, resulting in much faster performance.
  2. License and release tracking, saving you paperwork and bureaucratic headaches.
  3. Automatic patches and updates installed as they become available.

Systems administered by NACS also receive these benefits. Please contact dcs@uci.edu for pricing and additional information.

Any DCSLIB subscriber upgrading to RHEL should install the Legacy Software Development package to maintain binary compatibility with the current Red Hat archive.

More information about RHEL can be found at: http://www.redhat.com/software/rhel/

Redhat also publishes a commodity version of Linux called Fedora. Fedora is available for free, but has much more limited support. A comparison may be found athttp://fedora.redhat.com/about/rhel.html

Support for the current version of Red Hat Linux ended on April 30, 2004.

Linux Buyers Beware

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Unlike packaged Unix workstations, such as those from Sun, SGI or Compaq, Linux hardware purchases can result in frustration, unexpected expense, and even failure if a little planning isn’t done prior to purchase.

While it may seem very easy to buy the latest PC at Fry’s and assume it will accept a Linux install smoothly, there are many potential hardware incompatibilities. Manufacturers seldom advertise Linux compatibility, assuming the majority of their customers plan to run Windows. If you are considering purchase of a machine to run Linux, NACS offers free consulting to help you plan a machine that will run Linux reliably, and which will facilitate cost-effective, timely support from NACS, if desired.

While it would be convenient to be able to work from a list of supported hardware, PC hardware and Linux are both evolving continuously, drivers for Windows and Linux are constantly revised, and marketing labels are fluid and inconsistent. NACS maintains expertise in a range of successful configurations, and cooperative discussion is the best way to arrive at current hardware which best meets individual needs.

UNIX Support

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NACS/DCS provides Unix and Linux system administration services to the campus on a contractual basis. DCS uses a Unix/Linux system administration technique called “autoinstalling” to help keep quality high and costs low relative to the industry norm.

While autoinstalling requires system administrators to spend a little more time planning and executing initial system configuration, many later tasks become much easier, such as operating system updates (including security patches). Autoinstalling also preserves a lot of information about how customers prefer their machines to be configured.

The most recent versions of Unix/Linux currently configured for use with DCS’s autoinstall procedures are Solaris 8, Redhat 6.2, Irix 6.5.6, and Tru64 4.0g.

If you would like to evaluate contract support with DCS for a Unix or Linux machine, please contact dcs@uci.edu or call 824-6854. Additional information is available on line at http://www.nacs.uci.edu/support/dcs/sysadmin.html

Linux Security Talk

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On September 9th, over 40 users and supporters of the Linux operating system attended a 2 hour talk by NACS’ Ted Gielow concerning security issues. Linux has been growing in popularity as an inexpensive and effective variety of the UNIX operating system, as it accommodates both computational and e-mail/Web server uses. Linux systems are very powerful and easy to setup, but are vulnerable to attack if not setup and maintained properly. Break-ins jeopardize computer availability, as well as valuable data and other academic pursuits. Since systems are connected to the campus network, they can be used to disrupt departmental or network communications and are thus a campus-wide concern.

Ted, who is a member of NACS’ Computing/Network Security Team, gave helpful hints on permission settings and on commands to determine what is running, who is connected, and more. He dispelled myths about hackers, discussed how to reduce exposure to network break-ins, talked about security software, and made suggestions for system administration and backups.

See the following document for information on making a UNIX system more secure:

http://www.nacs.uci.edu/support/dcs/security/hardening.html

Keeping a system secure is an ongoing effort — if you are interested in someone else doing it for you, NACS’ Distributed Computing Support (DCS) group provides support services for Red Hat Linux and other UNIX variants. See the following for information on DCS services:

http://www.nacs.uci.edu/support/sysadmin/sysadmin.html

Please contact us at our NACS@UCI.EDU e-mail address to express interest in future seminars, or if you have any Linux or system security concerns.