Peyton Hall Network DOs and DON'Ts

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DON'T

- Plug in or unplug any network device without prior authorization of the
  systems administrator.

  This does not apply to the 'public' NAT routers available in rooms 29, 22,
  and 119; you may plug your laptop into any of the labeled ports for
  laptops, but should only unplug whatever you plugged in (ie, if there's no
  port available, don't unplug things at random, but ask what to do next and
  someone will look at the network device).  Obviously if someone's said to
  you that you can use a certain connection for your laptop, you don't need
  to ask every morning when you bring it in if you can use that port; however
  you should *NEVER* unplug any device to use a network port without first
  asking (and before you ask, know that the answer will probably be no, since
  the device is likely there for a reason and shouldn't be unplugged).

- Plug in or unplug any computer connection, such as power, keyboard, mouse,
  or monitor, without prior authorization of the systems administrator.

  Keyboards and mice can cause problems on machines when they're plugged in
  or unplugged while the machine is running, and therefore their connections
  shouldn't be disturbed.  While monitors generally don't pose a problem when
  they're disconnected or reconnected while running, it's not something one
  would expect to need to check, and therefore can cause issues when someone
  next tries to use the console and can't find out why the monitor doesn't
  work.

- Reboot machines without prior authorization from the systems administrator.

  Computers - especially those running Unix or Linux - are frequently used
  remotely by other people, so just because nobody is sitting in front of the
  console doesn't mean nobody's using the machine.  If it's exhibiting
  strange behavior, that problem may be fixable without a reboot, which is
  much more disruptive to anyone working remotely.  And rebooting machines
  without the proper information on how to do so can cause disk errors,
  leading to lost data and/or requiring an operating system reinstall.
  Lastly, if the systems administrator is aware of a problem that affects all
  the machines in the building, he may have to reboot them all, and possibly
  in a certain order (for example, after a major power failure).  If you've
  rebooted a machine and he doesn't know about it, it may get rebooted again;
  while this won't harm the machine, it will do considerable harm if you're
  now sitting in front of the machine happily working on something, and
  suddenly the box is rebooted in front of you since the last time anyone
  knew about it, that machine was on the list of those in need of repair.

- Power off or power on machines without prior authorization from the systems
  administrator.

  Same as rebooting, a machine may be in use even if nobody is sitting in
  front of it, and therefore shouldn't be powered off.  Similarly, a machine
  shouldn't be powered on without first asking, since it may have been off
  for a reason (for example, hardware failure, diagnosis of a break-in, etc).


DO

- Report any and all anomalies to help@astro via email.

  If you're seeing a problem on a certain machine, by all means report it.
  While there are many systems set up to detect and sometimes even repair
  problems as they occur, we are not entirely omniscient and don't always
  know what's wrong right when it happens.

- Write a clear and concise report of the problem, giving all known data.

  It's NOT sufficient to say "I can't see a disk" or "I have no home
  directory" without also giving information such as which disk you can't
  see, and which machine you tried to view it from.  If you tried on three
  machines, list all three and what happened there.  If your neighbor tried
  from the same three and had no trouble, mention that as well.  Without a
  clear report of what the problem is, what you did to elicit the incorrect
  behavior and from where you did it, your problem report may be glossed over
  as either incorrect, or will require a reply to get the additional
  information from you.  "The network's broken" doesn't say nearly as much as
  "I can't reach cnn.com or userfriendly.org, but have no trouble with
  www.princeton.edu and slashdot.net" does.
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