========================= SSC News, October, 1994 ========================= This is the SSC News. This monthly electronic newsletter will keep you informed about recent changes on the SSC computer networks. We hope this information will help improve communication between the SSC computing staff and all of you computer users out there. Inside this issue... Cluster Consolidation Update and Dates Status of Application Software for EAGLE Discontinuing JNET - Comments solicited SSC Training Sessions - Fall Semester 1994 SSC Staffing Changes -------------------------------------- Cluster Consolidation Update and Dates -------------------------------------- Change in the VMS cluster continues. Stability in the cluster has improved markedly since the shaky period of a week or two following the hardware consolidation of September 6 and 7. This is the result, mostly, of adjustments made in response to a large number of little problems that the consolidation either caused or revealed. One of the biggest problems in that first week or two was the tendency of ROBIN to crash one, two, or even three times a day. The cause of this instability turned out to be a bug in the software that we are using to share tape drives hosted by ROBIN with other members of the cluster. While the producer of the software pinpointed and corrected the bug the 9-track and WORM queues could run only on ROBIN and therefore did not have access to either SAS or SPSS. The corrected version of the software seems to be robust, and the ONETAPE, SHORTTAPE, and WORM queues have been running on SSCC, where they have SAS and SPSS access, for at least two weeks now without any failures having been reported to the SSC staff. Increasing numbers of users are logging into EAGLE, the newest and fastest cluster member, for their email and editing tasks. As of the last few days it is also possible to run SAS, LISREL, PRELIS, and GLIM jobs on EAGLE. Again, no problems have been reported. We look forward to hearing about your experiences with EAGLE's application software. How much faster do you find it? What practical problems are you encountering? Other application packages will soon appear on EAGLE. SPSS is promised this month but the promises of software companies are often vaporous. In any case we will be among the first cohort of SPSS users on Alpha AXP computers. Minitab should be available in the next week or two. Other less commercial programs, like LIMDEP, are on the list but may be harder to provide than one would expect. VAX programming code doesn't always compile without error on Alpha machines despite the syntactical compatibility of their compilers. The same challenge faces us with respect to gopher, emacs, lookup, and odh, among others. We continue to welcome your suggestions about software you would like to have available on EAGLE. ---------------------------------------- Status of Application Software for EAGLE ---------------------------------------- Listed below are application software for EAGLE and their statue: SAS Available now. Glim 4.0 Available now. LISREL/PRELIS Available now. SPSS SPSS Inc. says the tape will be sent this month. Minitab Have VMS source code. Need to try to compile it. LOOKUP Have VMS source code. Need to try to compile it. ODH Have VMS source code. Need to try to compile it. LIMDEP Have VMS source code. Need to try to compile it. GOPHER Have VMS source code. First try at compiling it was a failure. WordPerfect An Alpha version should be available by Christmas. EQS Waiting to hear whether an Alpha version is available. HLM Used to be a program we could get for free. We got source and compiled it on VAXes. EAGLE compile failed. It is now a commercial program. We need to find out if an Alpha version exists and, if so, buy it. CTM Checking whether we have suitable source code. BOUNDS Have asked for source code. Haven't heard back. EMACS Don't have it yet. Note: Alpha and VAX compilers are identical as to syntax. The reason some programs will compile on a VAX and not on an Alpha is because the Alpha architecture imposes some programming practices that VAXes did not enforce. --------------------------------------- Discontinuing JNET: Comments solicited --------------------------------------- The SSC is considering discontinuing use of the Jnet software. Jnet is currently installed on the four agency nodes which will be retired in the near future. It would be extremely expensive to license on EAGLE, and its most important functions are available via other methods, so we are considering doing away with it entirely on public and agency nodes. Even if Jnet is not licensed on public or agency nodes, it continues to be possible for VAXstation owners to purchase their own Jnet licenses, which would make it available to authorized users on that node to use Jnet facilities. What Jnet does for us is the following: 1. It allows us to use real bitnet email addresses. For example, SMITH@WISCSSC or CLINTON@WHITEHOUSE (that's a guess, not necessarily a real address). People who now are addressed by their colleagues in this way or send mail using a real bitnet address to others would have to change the addressing conventions they use. For example, you could use the form EUNICE::"user@address.bitnet". Users who receive direct Bitnet mail would have to tell their correspondents to use our Internet address (ssc.wisc.edu) instead of our Bitnet address (wiscssc). 2. It allows the receiving and sending of files, including binary files, outside the email system. (The SEND and RECEIVE commands.) PMDF will also provide much more file sending and receiving capability than Jnet. It will do it through email, but it will include a lot more file types than Jnet handles. There is currently no SSC user documentation on how to use PMDF for file transfer, but such documentation would be a necessary part of the process of change. Another consideration which enters into our decision on Jnet is that the BITNET network is rapidly becoming obsolete. Rumors are circulating that BITNET's days are numbered. If the BITNET disbands, then Jnet will no longer be of use to us. So, the decision could ultimately be out of our hands. Please send your comments on this issue to Tom FLORY, SSC Director. ------------------------------------------ SSC Training Sessions - Fall Semester 1994 ------------------------------------------ Following is the SSC training schedule for fall semester. All our sessions are free but do require preregistration. Don't put off preregistering because many of the sessions fill to capacity quickly. To preregister for a class, either drop by Soc. Sci. 4406 or send mail to SSCCLASS indicating which class(es) you plan to attend. You will be reminded about your preregistration through e-mail a day or two before the class begins. Date Time Topic Room Instructor ---- ---- ----- ---- ---------- 10/12 W 3:30-4:30 Gopher Explained: Shortcuts, Tips 4452 Sandor 10/19 W 3:30-4:30 Internet Tools and Resource Sites 4452 Sandor 10/26 W 11:00-1:00 Intro to SPSS 4452 Brandreth 11/2 W 12:00-1:00 Off-Line Storage Alternatives 4452 Cooper 11/9 W 12:00-1:00 Data Manipulation:ODH,XTRACT,HXTRACT 4452 Cooper Descriptions for each of the training sessions listed above may be found in SSCGOPHER. -------------------- SSC Staffing Changes -------------------- We have two new staff members joining our staff this month. Tingli Pan will join us October 12 and become our VMS Systems Administrator. Tingli was previously responsible for a VAX Cluster at Northeastern Illinois University. Sandra Wald will join us October 20 to fill our new Help Desk Coordinator position. Most recently Sandra has been a Network Support Technician for the Virginia Department of Agriculture. Before that, she was the Help Desk Coordinator for Information Systems at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. We hope to hire an additional staff member soon to manage our network. Darwin Thielman was carrying out this function previously but left the SSC Co-op to join Beth Wiebusch at the University of Wisconsin Business School. TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS NEWSLETTER, just reply to this mail message indicating you want to unsubscribe. We will remove you from the distribution list for future electronic mailings. If you ever change your mind, just notify the SSC Consultant or send mail to SSCNEWS asking to get back on the list.