DaVinci Linux Environment

The version of Linux installed on DaVinci is based on the SUSE distribution. Third-party and public domain software is accessible through the module system. Most third-party software is not in the default command search path; the corresponding module must be loaded to use the software.

User Environment

Environment initialization files ("dot-files") in home directories have been configured for maximum flexibility and ease of maintenance, both for the user and for NERSC staff. A long listing of a newly-created home directory (for user elvis) should look similar to this:

% ls -al
total 152
drwx------    3 elvis   elvis   8192 Jul  6 13:22 .
drwxr-xr-x  112 root    root    8192 Jul  6 13:22 ..
-rw-------    1 elvis   elvis     53 Jul  6 13:22 .Xauthority
lrwxrwxrwx    1 elvis   elvis     38 Jul  6 13:22 .bash_profile -> /usr
/common/usg/etc/skel/.bash_profile
lrwxrwxrwx    1 elvis   elvis     32 Jul  6 13:22 .bashrc -> /usr/commo
n/usg/etc/skel/.bashrc
-rwx------    1 elvis   elvis    147 Jul  6 13:22 .bashrc.ext
lrwxrwxrwx    1 elvis   elvis     31 Jul  6 13:22 .cshrc -> /usr/common
/usg/etc/skel/.cshrc
-rwx------    1 elvis   elvis    146 Jul  6 13:22 .cshrc.ext
lrwxrwxrwx    1 elvis   elvis     32 Jul  6 13:22 .kshenv -> /usr/commo
n/usg/etc/skel/.kshenv
-rwx------    1 elvis   elvis    147 Jul  6 13:22 .kshenv.ext
lrwxrwxrwx    1 elvis   elvis     31 Jul  6 13:22 .login -> /usr/common
/usg/etc/skel/.login
-rwx------    1 elvis   elvis    146 Jul  6 13:22 .login.ext
-rwx------    1 elvis   elvis     17 Jul  6 13:22 .modules
-rw-r--r--    1 elvis   elvis   2153 Jul  6 13:22 .modulesbeginenv
lrwxrwxrwx    1 elvis   elvis     33 Jul  6 13:22 .profile -> /usr/comm
on/usg/etc/skel/.profile
-rwx------    1 elvis   elvis    148 Jul  6 13:22 .profile.ext
drwx------    2 elvis   elvis   8192 Jul  6 13:22 .ssh
lrwxrwxrwx    1 elvis   elvis     32 Jul  6 13:22 .tcshrc -> /usr/commo
n/usg/etc/skel/.tcshrc
-rwx------    1 elvis   elvis    147 Jul  6 13:22 .tcshrc.ext

The files .bash_profile, .bashrc, .cshrc, .kshenv, .login, .profile, and .tcshrc are links to read-only files, and should not be deleted. All individual customizations (aliases, environment variables, etc.) should be made in the files named .bashrc.ext, .cshrc.ext, .kshenv.ext, .login.ext, .profile.ext, and .tcshrc.ext. These .ext files are sourced by the corresponding dot-files.

To have a module automatically loaded upon every login, the following command should be issued once:

% module initadd module_name

If your home directory does not contain these links and .ext files, you can run the following command to re-create them, then log out and log in again.

% /usr/common/usg/bin/fixdots

Note: The fixdots command will also create a directory named KeepDots.date.time (e.g., KeepDots.09.07.06.09:19:53). This directory will contain copies of all the previous dot files. After running fixdots, you should transfer all your personal settings from the appropriate saved dot files into the newly-created dot files. For example, if your login shell is tcsh, you should copy your aliases, environment variables, etc from the file .tcshrc.ext in the KeepDots directory to the .tcshrc.ext file in your home directory.

Shells