Topics

1) Unix News: Disk layout and space improvements
2) Unix News: Account cleanup; group memberships
3) General News: ssh
4) General News: Safety Training for non-laboratory staff
5) General News: Student hired in Computer Support
6) General News: Graphics artist will be leaving
7) Lab News: Free diskettes available
8) Windows-NT News: EXCHANGE folder is not permanent

Newsletter Archive:
        http://www.chemistry.ohio-state.edu/compsupp/Newsletter/



1) Unix News: Disk layout and space improvements:


We have recently installed new software (Veritas Volume Manager) for more
efficient usage of large amounts of data. As a result of this and the
addition of more disk drives last year, we have doubled the available space
on /home to 16.2 GB. The /home-filesystem is used by all users in the
department to store their personal web pages, research data, programs, email
and publications (some of these items may also reside on the departmental
NT-server, chem-nt). We have also increased the size of /var/mail, the "mail
spool" (the place where incoming mail is stored).

We had announced an overnight shutdown last week for 4 to 6 hours. In
actuality, the work took 4 plus 6 plus 1 hours... The chemistry Unix server
went down at 5:30 p.m. last Thursday and was back up at about 3:30 a.m.
Friday morning.

More details about the results of the upgrade can be found on the Bulletin
Board:
Internal --> Computer Support --> Support Bulletins.


2) Unix News: Account cleanup; group memberships:


We have finished the account cleanup on the chemistry Unix server. We have
closed old accounts and moved previous "firstyear" students into the
correct research groups.

Graduate Students, please check and make sure that you have been added to the
correct research group (e.g. with the command "ls -g" in your home directory).

Please send corrections to support@chemistry.ohio-state.edu.


3) General News: ssh:


We have updated ssh on the chemistry Unix server to the latest version. We
support ssh protocols 1 and 2. Ssh is a secure replacement for telnet and
other utilities.

The University is still in the process of working out all the issues
surrounding a campus license for ssh that would include students. Currently,
only faculty and staff can obtain inexpensive copies of F-Secure or
Secure-CRT at the OSU Bookstore. F-Secure and Secure-CRT are commercial
implementations of ssh for PCs and Macs.

We will provide more information about these two packages in the future. For
more general information about ssh, see COMPNEWS 13.


4) General News: Safety Training for non-laboratory staff:


Before 1994, employees of the Ohio State University were exempted from
federal health and safety laws. Since 1995, the Chemistry Department has
focused its attention on the Laboratory Standard (in the form of the Chemical
Hygiene Plan). OSHA (The Occupational Safety and Health Administration) also
requires that non-laboratory personnel be made aware of the chemical hazards
found in the work place. These laws have the general heading of "Hazard
Communication" or "Right-to Know." Under these laws, the employer is
required to train the employee on several key elements including: your rights
and responsibilities, the hazards found in the workplace, and where to obtain
safety information.

To that end, John Herrington has reserved several blocks of time for training
in the Computer Lab 2105 NW. The times are as follows:

  Thursday, April 15 8-10 am
  Friday,   April 16 8-10 am
  Thursday, April 22 2-4 pm
  Friday,   April 23 2-4 pm

Each session will hold approximately 12 people. The training should not take
the full two hours...but you will not be rushed if you need extra time or if
you have questions. Register by emailing jherring@chemistry.ohio-state.edu.
If you cannot make any of these times, please let him know.

Who is required to take the training?  Essentially any staff member who
hasn't already received safety training via the Lab Standard/Chemical Hygiene
Plan. This includes secretaries, shop personnel, and administrative folks.
If you are unsure as to what type of training is appropriate, give John a
call or send him email.

The bottom line is EVERYONE has to be trained under either the Lab Standard
or the Hazard Communication (HazComm) Standard...no exceptions.


5) General News: Student hired in Computer Support:


Computer Support has hired Josh Gould as an undergrad student worker. He will
be helping Tim and Barb with PC and Mac support. With Josh's help, we are
hoping to be able to respond more quickly to routine PC and Mac problems.


6) General News: Graphics artist will be leaving:


Our graphics artist, Cheng-Cheng, will be leaving the Department at the end
of Spring Quarter. If you have any graphics-oriented projects that you would
like him to work on, please consider contacting Cheng-Cheng at
graphics@chemistry.ohio-state.edu as soon as possible. Depending on the
demand, we may or may not hire another GAA to replace Cheng-Cheng.


7) Lab News: Free diskettes available:


There are previously used, free diskettes available in the lab. They were
bulk-erased before they were made available on the shelf next to the printer
2105NW. There are double-density (DD) and high-density (HD) diskettes.


8) Windows-NT News: EXCHANGE folder is not permanent:


This is a reminder that the EXCHANGE directory on the departmental WindowsNT
server, chem-nt, is not meant for permanent storage. Everybody with access to
a PC or Mac can write to and delete from the EXCHANGE folder, and there are
no regular backups of EXCHANGE. It was originally set up to facilitate file
exchange between PCs and Macs. With the growing number of individual
NT-accounts, this usage will soon become unnecessary.

If you want to store files permanently, please get an individual NT-account
and store everything on your user-share ("U:"). Similarly to /home on the
chemistry Unix server, "U:" is backed up nightly.