[comp.admin.policy] Ohio State University ACS Policies

kadie@eff.org (Carl Kadie) (06/07/91)

[Here is the draft policy statement from another OSU organization
(that I may have confused with CIS). The policy seems very resonable.
My impression from email conversions with ACS users is that many of
them don't know about the policy; perhaps because it has not been
finalized. It would be nice if users participated in the policy's
formluation (and application). ASC users can see the newest version
of the policy by typing "man magnus" at the Unix prompt. - Carl]


     7 March 1991                                                 magnus(1)
                                                                      DRAFT



     NAME
          magnus - a brief description of MAGNUS

     DESCRIPTION
          The MAGNUS system is a cluster of several Unix systems run by
          Academic Computing Services (ACS) for use by members of the Ohio
          State University community. The main user systems in the cluster
          are two DECsystem 5500's running the Ultrix operating system.
          There is a separate system for Usenet news.  The main processors
          have 64 megabytes of main memory, 1 gigabyte of private system
          disk storage, run at 28 million instructions per second, and are
          connected by a private shared ethernet communications link. The
          cluster has 4 gigabytes (one gigabyte is 1000 megabytes) of user
          disk space and 1 gigabyte of news storage disk space. The main
          processors are connected to SONNET for network access and also
          have 64 serial links connected to the network switch for tele-
          phone access. When you log in to MAGNUS, your session may end up
          on either of the main processors.  However, the environment is
          set up so that all of your files and resources are available no
          matter where your session or program is actually running. You
          have a choice of three user interfaces when using MAGNUS. The
          first is the default menu interface for VT100-compatible termi-
          nals and microcomputer terminal emulators. The second is the
          standard Unix shell command line interface. The third is a VMS
          command line interface.

     MAGNUS USAGE GUIDELINES

          The MAGNUS system is intended to provide access to electronic
          mail, information services, and text-oriented Unix computing.  It
          also serves as a Unix training resource. The system has a full
          complement of Unix software, including several compilers. These
          compilers are intended for use in textual programming, program
          development and training applications. The MAGNUS system was not
          designed to support intensive numeric computational processing.
          That service is available on the IBM 3081D MVS system which has a
          wide variety of numeric software packages.  See a mainframe con-
          sultant in Baker Systems Engineering, Room 508 for further infor-
          mation on the MVS system.

          MAGNUS resources are intended for fair and distributed use among
          a large number of authenticated users with logon accounts. Usage
          should be consistent with the university's instruction, research,
          and service missions.In the event your usage patterns interfere
          with other users, the system administrators may ask you to help
          assure a fair distribution of resources by running your processes
          at a lower priority or by avoiding practices which penalize other
          users.  If this does not resolve the difficulty, User Services
          representatives will contact you to determine how your needs can
          be met consistent with our goal of meeting all other customers'
          needs.  In the event that you are not logged in or cannot be
          reached when your processes are interfering with fair use by


     MAGNUS - The Ohio State University                                   1






     magnus(1)                                                 7 March 1991
     DRAFT


          others, system administrators may lower your processes' priori-
          ties or terminate your processes.  You will be sent an electronic
          mail message with full details.  Examples of inappropriate
          activity would be running a server program which allows use of
          system resources without login authentication or maintaining a
          serial or network connection open with no activity for over an
          hour.

          Unauthorized computer use may have serious consequences that
          could result in suspension, dismissal, and/or criminal penalties.
          You are cautioned to protect your password and computer files.
          Your computer account is provided for your use and your use only.
          You may not give your password to any other person.  You may not
          use another person's account even if they give you their pass-
          word.  If system administrators find indications that your
          account has been compromised or is subject to unauthorized use,
          the account will be immediately disabled for your protection.
          User Service personnel will then contact you as quickly as possi-
          ble to resolve the situation.


     ON-LINE ASSISTANCE

          MAGNUS systems administrators are available for on-line assis-
          tance and consultation. The hours are 8am to 9pm Monday through
          Thursday, 8am to 6pm Friday, and 11am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday.
          You can reach this on-line service by sending mail to "consult".
          From other systems, send mail to the full address of
          "consult@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu". Mail received outside the
          listed hours will be handled during the next scheduled assistance
          hours. You may also telephone 292-0886 (on campus, 2-0886) during
          the listed hours.

     ON-LINE DOCUMENTATION

          Most Unix commands, software, file formats, and other items are
          documented in the Unix on-line reference manual pages. To see the
          on-line reference manual for an item, use the man command.  For
          example, enter man ls for information about the ls command.

     USER DISK FILE BACKUPS

          All new or changed user disk files are backed up to digital audio
          tape cartridges (DATs) on a daily basis to minimize accidental
          loss of data. The backups are done near midnight.  If you lose a
          file that you have had at least overnight, send mail to "con-
          sult". Provide as much information as possible about the file:
          its name, when you deleted it or noticed it was gone, when you
          last knew it was on disk, etc. A system administrator will
          attempt to restore your file and notify you.





     2                                   MAGNUS - The Ohio State University






     7 March 1991                                                 magnus(1)
                                                                      DRAFT


     USER DISK FILE SIZE LIMITS

          Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Students may use up to 2 megabytes
          of disk storage by default. This default is called a soft quota.
          Undergraduate students may use up to 500 kilobytes. Faculty,
          Staff, and Graduate Students can apply for a higher limit by
          sending mail to User Services, "custserv@magnus". All users can
          exceed their limit temporarily. The system will allow you to use
          up to 2.5 times your default limit for a short period. This
          larger temporary limit is called a hard quota. Once you have
          exceeded your soft quota, you will be allowed three more logins
          to free enough disk storage to get below your limit. You can use
          the disk usage command, du, and the quota command to monitor and
          manage your disk use. Send mail to "consult@magnus" if you need
          assistance or information about your quotas and actual use.

     SYSTEM TEMPORARY DISK FILES

          The system uses a temporary file system, /tmp, to store of
          scratch files and for other short term storage. Files in this
          file system are removed daily. Temporary files not in active use
          may be removed at any time to improve system performance.

     INCOMING MAIL STORAGE

          New incoming mail messages are stored in a disk area called the
          system mail spool. This area is shared by all users. Your incom-
          ing mail is stored in this area so that you can still receive
          mail even if you are temporarily over your normal disk quota.
          Mail programs such as elm and Berkeley mail may allow you to
          leave mail in the system spool files temporarily before moving it
          into your own disk files. These files in your own disk space are
          usually called received or mbox . We recommend that you leave
          only a few mail messages in the system mail spool and that you
          regularly move your mail into your own disk files.  Since the
          system mail spool is a shared area, if you keep too large an
          incoming mail spool, you  could affect other users. In the event
          that your system mail spool storage becomes quite large, usually
          more than 100 messages, depending on size, a system administrator
          will contact you to help you reduce your system mail spool. If
          you cannot be contacted, for example if you are on vacation, your
          incoming messages will be placed in a file, compressed, and moved
          into your disk space. You will get a new mail message explaining
          what has happened and how to read the messages. If you have any
          difficulty, send mail to "consult".

     MAGNUS SOFTWARE

          The MAGNUS system runs DEC's ULTRIX Unix operating system.
          Therefore it has all the software DEC provides with that system.
          Some of this software is supported by DEC and some is unsup-
          ported. The on-line reference manual pages for the software,
          accessed with the man command, give the status for specific


     MAGNUS - The Ohio State University                                   3






     magnus(1)                                                 7 March 1991
     DRAFT


          programs and commands.  Use the command man software for more
          detailed information.

          The system also has software added by ACS. Some of this software
          was developed by ACS, some was obtained from public domain or
          cooperative Unix user sources, and some has been purchased from
          software vendor companies. The on-line reference manual pages for
          the software will identify the source of an item and whether it
          is supported or unsupported.

          Software designated as not supported by DEC will not be supported
          by ACS. Unsupported items will be maintained at low priority. In
          addition user assistance may not be available for unsupported
          software.

     SEE ALSO

          help - a command that shows a brief list of UNIX commands.

          software - a manual page describing software available on MAGNUS

          man - use man man for help with the man facility

          cti - an on-line tutorial


     AUTHOR
          This manual page is maintained by the MAGNUS staff.  Please send
          comments to suggest@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu


























     4                                   MAGNUS - The Ohio State University
-- 
Carl Kadie -- kadie@eff.org or kadie@cs.uiuc.edu -- But I speak for myself.