Quickstart (without smart card)

If you basically are comfortable with Xterminals and Unix from a previous semester, and just want to get started fast, this section is for you. If not, skip to the next section, titled "Background".

1. Log on using your UDelNet Id. If you don't have one, skip down to the section titled "No UDelNet ID?" (click here to go there right now.).
2. To get a web browser, go to upper left hand corner of screen. Select "Applications" menu, then the submenu "Internet", then "Mozilla".
3. To get a terminal session for doing programming on strauss, go to the upper left hand corner of the screen, select the "Applications" menu, then the submenu "Programming", then the option "Xterm on strauss". You should be able to do all the normal Unix things on strauss (emacs (or vi), compiling, etc.)
4. To log off, go to the same "Applications Menu" and look for "Log Off" down near the bottom.
5. Watch your disk quota! The Sun Rays tend to behave badly when you are near your disk quota for your UDelNet Id. See more information in the section titled Disk Quota Problems below.
6. Be sure to read over the rest of the detailed documentation on this web page soon, because even though this quickstart will get you working fast, there are still lots of useful things to learn about the Sun Rays that weren't covered here.

(This is the end of the quickstart section; detailed instructions start here).

Background: Haydn/Vivaldi/Schubert vs. Strauss

The Sun Ray machines provide a windowing system that provide access to a wide variety of UD computing resources through a single login. When you log in, you will typically be using resources on (at least) four computers:

1. The actual box in front of you on the desk, which controls the graphics on your screen only. You'll normally never need to know anything else about this box.
   
2. a X Display Manager (XDM) server, which is one of the following computers: Haydn, Vivaldi or Schubert. These are server computers located elsewhere on campus, which actually control what goes on during your session.
   
   Most of the programs that you can launch from the desktop by double clicking, or from the menus, will be run on these three systems. For example, if choose "Xterm", you'll get an XTerm on Haydn/Vivaldi or Schubert. In this XTerm, you can do simple file management tasks in this Xterm: creating directories, renaming files, even editing with emacs (or vi). However, you should not do your compiling or running of programs here. (Read on to learn how to do programming.)
   
3. Strauss. This is the computer where you'll do your programming. Look under the "Applications" menu, under "Programming" for "Xterm on Strauss".
4. File Server. All the files in your home directory (including your email) are stored on a central file server machine that makes those files available to strauss, as well as copland (the web server for personal web pages), the XDM machines (vivaldi/schubert/haydn) and the servers that provide functions such as webmail. This is a behind the scenes detail that you usually don't need to know about, but its good to know anyway.

Logging on

This paragraph assumes that you are not using a smart card; if you are using a smart card, click here.

When you sit down, if the screen is dark and the monitor light is orange, just move the mouse or hit return on the keyboard to wake up the monitor.

There should then be a box that asks for your username. Type in your UDelNet Id username. If you don't have one, click here for info on how to get one.

Once you type in your username, it will ask for a password. The box should also say should say "Gnome 2.0 Desktop " if it says anything OTHER than that (e.g. "failsafe" ), click on "options", then "session", and select "Gnome 2.0" before you type in your password.

Once you type in your password and hit enter, it will take several seconds for the Gnome desktop to appear. Once it does, you are ready to continue; you should see an Applications and Actions menu at the upper left hand corner of the screen.

Logging off

The applications menu is at the top upper left of the screen; click this menu and look near the bottom of the list for the "logoff" link. In the dialog box that comes up, ignore the "click here to save session" option; if you want to save your session, you'll need to use a smart card.

Be sure that you always either logoff by using the "logoff" button on the menu, or by pulling out your smart card. If there is a malfunction that prevents you from logging off completely, see the section that describes "Emergency Reset".

Browsing the Web

Look under the applications menu, under Internet for "Mozilla".

Programming

C and C++ Programming assignments in CISC105, CISC181 are done on a computer called strauss. Strauss runs the Unix operating system. You access strauss through a terminal session. To get a terminal session from a PC at home or in your dorm, you get to strauss using a terminal program such as the "Secure Shell Client" (that's what Dr. Conrad uses on his laptop in lecture.) On the Sun Rays, you use a program called "XTerm".

To open an XTerm terminal session on strauss, go to the upper left hand corner of the screen, select the "Applications" menu, then the submenu "Programming", then the option "Xterm on strauss". In this window, you'll be able to do all the Unix commands that Dr. Conrad talks about in lecture, and most of the ones that are mentioned in Unix textbooks. See your lecture notes, or your lab assignment for specific details about editors (emacs or vi) and compilers (cc, gcc, CC, g++, etc.)

Note that if you accidentally select the Xterm option on the Applications menu that just says "Xterm" (plain old "Xterm", not "Xterm on Strauss"), you'll end up with an Xterm that is running on the XDM server, either Vivaldi, Haydn or Schubert. You'll very likely run into difficulty if you try to do your programming here; either the compiler wont be there at all (you'll get messages like "cc: command not found") or you might pick up some off-brand version of the compiler that works differently from what you are used to, confusing you no end. So, make sure you are programming on strauss, and no where else.

To check if you are on strauss, type hostname at the Unix prompt. If it doesn't come back with "strauss.udel.edu", you'll know you have an Xterm on the wrong machine.

Problems?

Gnome desktop doesn't come up; just a single window

Disk quota problems

\rm -r .netscape/cache
\rm -r .mozilla/cache

If those commands still don't open up enough disk space, then you can request an increase by going to http://www.udel.edu/network, logging in, and following the instructions.

Emergency Reset

As a last resort, if your machine is truly wedged and you can't get it to respond, you can reset it with "CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE/BACKSPACE" (you type the backspace key twice.) This should only be done after consulting with a TA, and only as a last resort! After you do this, you might need to login in "safe mode", and run "gnome-cleanup" before you can log in again; you do this by changing the "options" on the menu that appears between the time you type in your username, and the time you type in your password. Your TA can assist you with this.

Tips and Tricks

Printing from Mozilla and/or Netscape

To print from Mozilla or Netscape directly to the printer in Willard Hall 009 (known as whlps), do the following

1. Go to the "File" menu, then choose "Print".
2. Click on "Print Properties". (Upper right of dialog box)
3. Under "Print Command" (second box down) enter the following:

   ssh strauss qpr -q whlps

4. Click "OK"
5. Click "Print"
6. Your output should appear on the printer in Willard 009.

The same technique can be used to print to other strauss-based printers by changing whlps to the appropriate printer name.

Easier access to commonly used items

1. First, try going under the application menu, find the item you use often, and right-click instead of left-clicking the mouse. You'll see an option "Add this launcher to panel". If you choose this, you'll then see an iconfor that item appear in the upper left hand corner of your screen. From then on, you can just single click that little icon to bring up the program you want.
2. Another option: drop and drag menu items on to your desktop for quick and easy "double-click" access.

Using a Smart Card

The Sun Rays have a Smart Card feature that provides (1) rapid login/logout and (2) the ability to save sessions.

We anticipate that smart cards will go on sale at the University Bookstore starting sometime within the next week. We anticipate the cost will be less than $10 per card; you'll never need more than one for your entire stay at the University, and the use of the cards is (at least for now) completely optional. If you don't use a card, it just takes a little longer to login and logout, and you'll have to set up all your windows from scratch each time you login... that's all.

Information on using the Smart Cards can be found at the following link:http://www.udel.edu/topics/os/unix/sunray/aboutTerminal.html

No UDelNet ID?

If you have not yet activated your UDelNet Id, here's what you need to do. Start NOW, since it can take 2-3 days to get through the whole process!

• Step 1 (Day 1): Establish a UD PIN
  Instructions are at: http://www.udel.edu/welcome/
  The top link from that page is the one that will get you started.
  It may take up to 24 hours from the time you start the process before it all becomes effective.
  
• Step 2 (later on Day 1) Study for the UCCE and ECCE tests (These are University and Electronic Community Citizenship Exams). You have to pass these tests (on the web) before you can activate your UDelNet Id.
  Material to look over is at the following link: http://www.udel.edu/codeoftheweb
  
• Step 3: (Day 2): Once your PIN is active, you can activate your UDelNET Id. You must passthe UCCE and ECCE tests online as part of this process. Go to the following link to take the exams and activate your account:
  http://www.udel.edu/network
  
• Step 4: (Day 3) By the next day, your UDelNet ID should be usable in the Sun Ray lab, as well as anywhere else you can access University Unix resources (e.g. via ssh to strauss.udel.edu from your PC, WebCT, the Composers, email., etc.)