(latest revision: 08/11/99)

Gaining Access to Workstations in the Computer Science Department Network 

Use this document to look up ways to log on to a workstation.

Quotation marks ("...") are used in this document for a variety of purposes.  
In several cases, they indicate the exact characters you are supposed to type 
in order to give some particular command to the computer.  Generally, you are 
NOT supposed to include any quotes in what you type.  In a case where you ARE 
supposed to type quotes, the directions will say so explicitly. 

If you are supposed to press the Enter key after typing a command, the 
directions will use the word enter.  For example, 

Enter "vt100" 

means type "vt100" (without the quotes) and then press the Enter key.  

The CS student network of Sun Ultra workstations consists of eleven computers 
housed in the main computer science lab, P-288.  You will need an account and 
a password to use any of these machines:

Sun Ultra 30's: castor and pollux

Sun Ultra 10's: altair, rigel, vega, capella, soleil, zaurak, saiph, spica, 
and regulus

Initially, computer science majors receive a "network account" which allows 
them to log in to any of the Sun Ultra 10's and 30's.

The Sun Ultra's are configured so that users get the same home directory and 
set of files, no matter which Sun Ultra they log in to. Also, all the Sun 
Ultra's use the same machine language and have identical C++ and other 
compilers.  Therefore any program that you write should run on all of the 
Ultra's if it will run on any one of them.

There are two basic ways of gaining access to these computers:

A: log in at the console (the keyboard and display attached to the computer 
itself), or

B: log in through the network.

Procedures for logging in through the network vary depending on the computer 
you are using to gain access.  

LOGGING IN AT THE CONSOLE:

One very important rule is the same for all CS Department computers: 

Please do not turn a computer on or (especially) off, without permission from 
someone in charge.  Most especially, never turn off a unix computer, such as a 
Sun Ultra.

To use a console, go to the CS lab in P-288 and find an available Sun Ultra 
workstation.  If the screen is dark, make sure the monitor is turned on and 
also press the shift key a couple of times in case the screen-saver is on.  
The monitor switch is just below the screen in the center of the "frame" 
around the screen.  If the login panel becomes visible, enter your login name 
and password.  If not, ask someone to help, or find another workstation.

The first time you login at a console, you will probably see a panel asking 
you to choose between "Common Desktop Environment" and "Sunview."  Choose 
"Common Desktop Environment."

LOGGING IN FROM A MACINTOSH IN THE MAIN CS LAB:

(middle of P-288):  Use the File window of the "Better Telnet" program to 
establish a connection.  If you need some help, ask me, the assistant in the 
lab, or the lab administrator Julie Gorman.

LOGGING IN FROM A "WINTEL" MACHINE IN THE MAIN CS LAB: 

(middle of P-288):  Ask someone how to get a telnet session.

LOGGING IN FROM AN AMIGA COMPUTER IN THE MAIN CS LAB:

(rear of P-288):  Icons in the "Workbench Screen" should be visible.  Using 
the left mouse button, double click on the icon with the word "Network" under 
it.  A window will appear with a variety of machine names.  Double click again 
on the name of the machine you want to access.  When a new screen appears, 
press the Enter key once or twice until you get the login prompt.

LOGGING IN FROM A MAC OR WINTEL IN ONE OF THE CAMPUS GENERAL STUDENT COMPUTING 
LABS:

(L145, L130,  P-106, P-120): Ask the lab assistant in the red vest how to get 
a telnet connection to a CS Department computer such as altair, castor, 
pollux, etc.

SERIAL ACCESS VIA MODEM:

If you have access to a computer with a modem, you can dial into the campus 
network.  Run your (serial) telecommunications program, and have it dial one 
of the following numbers: from Turlock 669-9834; toll-free from Modesto 523-
2173; toll-free from Merced 723-2810; and toll-free from Stockton 467-5399.  
Check with the computer center's (OIT's) help desk to get the latest 
information.  The help desk is in L-150, and the telephone number is 667-3687.

When the modem connection is made, you will see a prompt from an access switch 
(a special-purpose computer designed to give you a choice of connections to 
other computers).  Just follow the directions, entering "telnet" as your 
username and just hitting the enter key when prompted for a password.  You 
will then see a menu of your options, you should enter "3" to get connected to 
pollux.  

Unless you have a special set-up to run X-windows, you cannot run Common 
Desktop Environment over a modem line.  However, you can work on a programming 
assignment, using a simple editor like jove, emacs, or vi.  You can compile 
and test-run your programs while connected this way.  

INTERNET ACCESS:

Check with your Internet service provider.  If you have a connection to the 
Internet you only need to get free telnet and ftp software.  Then you will be 
able to use telnet to log into any of the Ultra's, and you can use ftp to 
transfer files between an Ultra and your computer at home.  To establish a 
connection to one of the Ultra's, you may have to refer to the fully qualified 
domain name. You do that by adding ".csustan.edu" to the simple hostname of 
the computer.  For example, give the name "castor.csustan.edu" instead of 
"castor" when trying to access castor through your Internet service provider.

It's often easier to get help with this sort of thing in person, maybe with 
the help of a little "show and tell."  If you have more questions on these 
topics, please have a chat with me (Professor Sarraille), or ask at the 
computer center help desk.  The help desk is in L-150, and the telephone 
number is 667-3687.

Incidentally, students can get one-hour per day of "free" Internet access 
through our computer center.  Drop by the help desk and ask for directions on 
getting PPP access to the campus network.  You'll need to tell them whether 
you have a Mac or "Wintel" computer.  You may have to do a few more things for 
yourself that ISP's ordinarily do for their clients.  If you don't have telnet 
or ftp software, you'll have to locate and download it.  One good site to find 
such software is www.tucows.com.  The help desk folks may be able to give you 
some additional pointers.