Hardware

From Peyton Hall Documentation

Revision as of 18:22, 9 May 2007

All the software in the world won't mean much unless you have some hardware on which to run it. From desktops to laptops, single servers to Beowulf clusters, hardware is both diverse and important in the department. Though as of right now we have mostly PCs running Linux, there's a few Mac OS desktops, a lot of Mac laptops, and things could change tomorrow if the needs of the people require it. This article aims to answer questions you may have about computer hardware in the building.

FAQ

Here's some FAQs regarding computing hardware, and their answers (or links to their answers).

What machines are available?

We have an automated page which will list the machines registered in the LDAP database; in order for a department machine to function properly, it must be listed in LDAP, so if a machine is going to be available for use it will be there. That doesn't mean that all machines listed there are available, as some may be offline for maintenance, or may be for private use only. The list is located at http://www.astro.princeton.edu/private/machines.php.

NOTES:

1. For security reasons, the above link will not work unless you're plugged in to the Peyton Hall network directly (not even over wireless in the building).
2. The "primary user" field usually lists the person or group who owns the machine; this may be because they bought the machine themselves, or in the case of graduate student desktops they are the primary user (it's in their office). If you want to run something on one of these machines, you should ask that person first if you may do so.
3. If the primary user is "dept", the machine is owned by the department, and as a general rule anyone can run jobs on them.

A simple way to run jobs on any available machines is to use Condor to manage your processes. This way, you can queue up multiple jobs which will be run on whatever machine is available at the time, and should a machine become used by its primary user the job will be moved off to another available host or held until something becomes idle.

Laptops

What is supported?

No laptops are directly supported by the department. Though many people use them for their everyday work, there are too many hardware and software variations for us to fully support them without making them "department machines" (which would also mean the end-user would not have administrative access to it, so we can ensure that things don't get changed that break its functionality). However, if you're having problems with your laptop, feel free to send an email to help@astro and mention it. We may be able to give you some pointers that will get you up and running again, before you have to resort to calling the hardware/software vendor for service.

What is recommended?

In either the case of a PC (Windows-based) laptop, or a Mac laptop, there's too many variables to really recommend anything. As of when this article was written, one particular model or brand could be the best thing going, but that can change within hours. The best laptop is really whatever is the best for what you want to do with it.

If you're comfortable running Windows, then just about anything you can buy with Windows preloaded is probably the best bet for you. If you want to run Linux on the laptop, have a look at the Linux-on-Laptops website to see if there's mention of the model you're considering.

If you want to get a Mac, there's a general guideline for new laptop purchases. Still not a recommendation (nor a rule) since we do not support them, but we've been recommending that people get Macbook Pros for a few reasons. One is the fact that much of the Unix software you'd want to run on a laptop is either already installed, or readily available. Also, you don't have the problems that tend to associate with trying to get Linux to run properly on a laptop (for example, configuring wireless drivers, tweaking X to run just right, making it not crash when you close the lid, etc). And lastly, you're not running a Microsoft laptop, which if you're anti-MS or pro-security, is a Good Thing.

Recent Macbooks come in various sizes, with displays comparable to most PC laptops. All models have decent speed processors, and can handle quite a bit of RAM; plus they come with a CD-RW drive which can also read (and some can write) DVDs as well, nice for long plane/train rides.

We've also found that in more cases than not, the people using Macs have fewer problems with the machines. After helping to install X11, Fink and some other packages, we generally don't hear about them anymore.

Regarding accessories, I tend to recommend an additional power adapter for the laptop. Then you can leave one in the office, and one at home, and not have to carry the brick with you between the two locations or plug it in every time you get to work/home. If you're the type who frequently takes long airplane trips, you may also want a second battery for the laptop which you can charge before leaving on your trip so you have more runtime for working (or watching your own DVDs) while at 30,000 feet. A snug-fitting case for the laptop, with plenty of padding, is also essential for its safety, and a plan for backing it up regularly is required (either over the network somehow, or with an external drive that you plug in to copy your data; see Backups).

How do I register my laptop?

NOTE:

We may first need to activate an additional network port in your office. This requires OIT to come out to turn it on, and may take a few days.

If your laptop is already registered on Dormnet, then there's nothing extra needed since it will use its Dormnet registration to connect once the port is turned on. In the meantime you can use any of the open ports in the Library (on the right-hand wall, near the computers with the scanner attached). If you live in a dorm, then your laptop cannot be registered through us but must be done through Dormnet. The website to do so is http://www.net.princeton.edu/hostmaster/dormnet.html

If it is not already registered, then there's two pieces of information we need from you. One will be the computer's name, the hostname it will have on the network. This can be different from what you call it, since for the most part they are mutually exclusive (except in the case of Linux, which can complain if misconfigured, and is given a different hostname from what it expects). To check to see if the hostname is taken already, login to a Linux machine and type 'host [hostname]', where [hostname] is the name you'd like to use. For example:

$ host xanadu
xanadu.astro.Princeton.EDU. has address 128.112.24.13

You now know that the name 'xanadu' is already taken, however:

$ host foo
Host foo. not found: 3(NXDOMAIN)

'foo' is not taken (at least at the time of this writing).

The other thing we'll need to know is the network card's MAC address. MAC stands for 'Media Access Control', and is like an IP address, only on a different level. MAC addresses are also called "ethernet address", "physical address" or "hardware address". An example MAC address is 00:B0:D0:3E:0F:80. MAC addresses are sometimes separated by colons (as above), or dashes, or represented as a long hexadecimal string as in '0x00B0D03E0F80'. You get the MAC address from the computer differently, depending on the operating system it runs:

• Linux

  '/sbin/ifconfig eth0' - look for line that starts "HWaddr"

• Windows NT/2000/XP

  Start -> Run -> 'cmd /k ipconfig /all'

• Mac OS

  Open Terminal.app (Applications -> Utilities) and type '/sbin/ifconfig en0', or open the network panel in System Preferences and select the tab for the ethernet device.

Once you have the desired hostname and MAC address, email them to help@astro to get the process rolling.

See also

Category:Hardware