palm/explore Overview
of System Resources
Overview of palm/explore
palm is the NCCS's 128-processor
front-end SGI Altix 3000. The explore systems
(e1-3) in the back end provide
additional capacity. All machines in the Altix
group are SGI Altix 3700 BX2 systems:
- palm
- 128 1.5GHz Itanium2 processors
with 4MB cache
- 126 processors
available for batch processing
- 272GB
of memory
- e1
- 512 1.5GHz Itanium2 processors
with 6MB
cache
- 510 processors
available for batch
processing
- 1024GB of memory
- e2
- 256 1.5GHz Itanium2
processors
with 6MB cache
- 254 processors
available for batch
processing
- 512GB of
memory
- e3
- 256 1.5GHz Itanium2
processors
with 6MB cache
- 254
processors available for
batch processing
- 512GB of
memory
Operating system
palm runs the SGI Advanced Linux
Environment 3 (with) SGI ProPack
3 - Service Pack 5. To obtain
more information on the operating
system, execute the command
uname -a
Below is a sample output from
the uname -a command and explanations.
Linux palm
2.4.21-sgi305rp05051216_10170
#1 SMP Thu May 12 16:20:53 PDT
2005 ia64 ia64 ia64 GNU/Linux
| Linux |
Type of OS the system is running |
| palm |
System name |
| 2.4.21 |
Linux kernel version |
| -sgi305r |
Shows that the kernel comes from ProPack
3 Service Pack 5; if it were PP3SP4, the
string would read sgi304r |
| p05051216_10170 |
Shows that SGI Patch 10170, a kernel patch,
was installed on the system |
| #1 |
Version of this kernel (only really used
if you have multiple kernels with the same
name) |
| SMP |
Shows kernel was compiled with Symetric
Multi-processing code enabled |
| Thu May 12 16:20:53 |
Date the kernel was built |
| a64 GNU/Linux |
Processor architecture and OS type |
| Top
of Page |
Filesystem overview
XFS 64-bit journaled filesystem
XFS is a journaled 64-bit filesytem designed
to support very large files and filesystems
without performance degradation. First introduced
by SGI on the IRIX operating system in 1993,
XFS was ported to Linux and released into
the open-source community in 2000.
CXFS shared filesystem
CXFS is a shared filesystem for high-performance
computing environments. It provides
data sharing over a storage area network (SAN),
allowing multiple computers simultaneous
direct access to a common shared
filesystem with local filesystem performance.
Multiple systems share a single data file, and
a single copy of the data is maintained. This
saves disk space, eliminates the need for lengthy
network-based file transfers, and
reduces version-control problems.
DMF
The SGI Data Migration Facility (DMF) automatically
migrates infrequently used data to less-expensive,
near-line storage systems according to user-configurable
management rules. Files are retrieved transparently,
and always appear as local regardless of
media location.
See also NCCS
SGIs: Filesystem Access and Policies.
Shells on palm
The default shell on palm is the Bourne Again
shell (bash), but you may change
your shell to one of the other supported or unsupported
shells available.
palm supports the BASH shell (bash), POSIX shell
(sh), the Korn shell (ksh), and the C shell (csh).
The POSIX and Korn shells are almost identical,
with the exception of the pattern
matching feature available on the Korn
shell.
- BASH (bash, default on palm)
- sh/ksh like
- Permits command line editing
- Supports command and path completion
- Job control
- /bin/bash and /bin/sh
- User-specified config files are .profile
and .bashrc
- Korn shell
(ksh)
- Easy interactive use
- Compatible with Bourne shell
- Supports history and aliasing
- Permits command line editing
- Supports job suspension
- /bin/ksh
- User-specified config file is .profile
- Tenex C shell (tcsh) and C shell (csh)
- Easy interactive use
- C-style control structure syntax
- Supports history and aliasing
- Supports job suspension
- Allows command line editing
- Command name completion
- /bin/tcsh and /bin/csh
- User-specified config files are .login,
.cshrc, and .tcshrc
- Z shell (/bin/zsh)
- Similar to ksh with enhancements
- Allows command line editing
- Command name completion
- Supports history
- User-specified config file is .profile
Note that home directories are shared between
the Irix and Altix systems; see Step 3 in the
palm Quick Start Guide for more information on modifying
your user startup files.
To temporarily invoke a different
shell, issue one the following commands:
sh (default
prompt is sh-2.05b$)
csh (for C shell;
default prompt is %)
ksh (for
Korn shell; default prompt
is $)
tcsh (for
Tenex C shell; default prompt
is %)
bash (for
BASH shell; default prompt
is bash.2.05b$)
zsh (for Z shell; default prompt
is %)
Issue the exit command to return to your previous
shell.
To change your default shell,
contact the User
Services Group.
| Top of Page |
Password policies
Passwords on NCCS systems are set to expire
every 90 days. This means users will be required
to change their passwords at least once every
90 days (the period starts each time you change
your password). Changing a password again within
21 days is prohibited. To check when you last
changed your password on palm, issue the command:
chage -1 userid
The sample computer output
below shows that the password was last changed
on July 29, 2005:
Minimum: 21
Maximum: 90
Warning: 14
Inactive: 30
Last Change: Jul 29, 2005
Password Expires: Oct 27, 2005
Password Inactive: Nov 26, 2005
Account Expires: Never
New passwords on palm must differ from old
passwords by at least three characters, be at
least 8 characters in length, and must contain
at least one number or special character.
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