Topics

1) General News: Personnel News
2) Unix News: Unix server upgrades
3) Windows News: New Windows file server coming soon; other important changes
4) General News: Machine room renovation; impact on Computer Lab 2105 NW
5) Network News: New IP address space; DHCP
6) General News: "Can you tell me what my Unix/Windows password is?"
7) General News: New LCD projector and laptop
8) Unix News: Cerius2 modules for testing on host pepe
9) General News: SSH2 connections to chemistry Unix server
10) Unix Reminder: No backups of XWinNMR data on pepe
11) Unix Reminder: Unix file permissions

Newsletter Archive:

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

Due to the many hyperlinks, COMPNEWS is best viewed on the web
at the above URL, or by going to the main Chemistry page and
clicking on Internal --> Computer Support --> The Newsletter Archive



1) General News: Personnel News:


We are happy to announce our new webmaster, Elizabeth (Liz) Mieczkowski. Liz
joined the Department on November 20. She shares office space with Barb
Bennett in 2105B NW. She can be reached by phone, at 2-8334, or by either the
standard support email address or via webmaster@chemistry.ohio-state.edu.

At the beginning of the quarter, we hired Prasanth Reddy Chimulavagupalli as
a GAA to do web-related work on a temporary basis. Prasanth will be here for
the remainder of this quarter.

A few weeks ago we hired another undergrad student worker, Mutsuko Fukushige.
She and Waqas Quraishi help us taking care of Windows and PC-related problems
in the Department.


2) Unix News: Unix server upgrades:


Our Unix server, chemistry.ohio-state.edu, was upgraded overnight THU/FRI,
October 19/20, 2000. We have doubled the amount of memory to 2 GB, added
another (redundant) power supply, added an internal disk storage expansion
box as well as 4 new disks. The total disk space on chemistry is now
206 GB, 83 GB of which are owned by research groups.

The chemistry Unix server handles all departmental email, web pages, general
purpose computing, Unix home directories and serves as the entry point into
the Department from the outside.

More details about the Unix server upgrades can be found under

        Internal --> Computer Support --> The Support Bulletin Board (Oct. 27)


3) Windows News: New Windows file server coming soon; other important changes:


There are several upgrades, improvements and changes pending on the Windows
side. This is a very brief overview of work in progress; if you routinely
work with Windows PCs, you should read the more detailed discussion "New
Windows file server and other important Windows changes" under

	Internal --> Computer Support --> The Support Bulletin Board (Dec. 1)

WindowsNT has been the fastest growing area in our shop. We purchased two
inexpensive, commodity desktop PCs acting as NT servers last year. These
machines have almost reached capacity a year later. We added a dual-processor
733 MHz Dell server with 1 GB of memory this fall, which is currently being
configured and tested. Compared to the desktop PCs, this server-type machine
has built-in redundancy, more expandability with respect to disk I/O, and
more memory. Additionally, the implementation of hardware RAID will give us
data integrity even in the event of a disk loss. The new server will run the
Windows2000 Advanced Server operating system.

We plan for the new server to act as a file server for the majority of our
user data volumes. The "old" NT file server (currently called "chem-nt1")
will be renamed, upgraded to Windows2000, and will continue to be a file
server for a subset of our user data volumes. What is currently "chem-nt",
the print server, will also be upgraded to Windows2000 and renamed to
"print-server".

PC clients will use the new DFS (distributed file system) to access data on
the two fileservers. While the current scheme of drive mapping requires the
user to know on what server his or her data reside, DFS will be transparent
(knowledge of file server name not required).

Microsoft has renamed their operating system line from WindowsNT to
Windows2000. We will therefore refer to "NT accounts" as "Windows accounts"
from now on.

We believe that these transitions, even though some may be confusing in the
short run, will lead to a more modern, stable, flexible and scalable Windows
environment in the Department.


4) General News: Machine room renovation; impact on Computer Lab 2105 NW:


As announced in the last COMPNEWS, Room 2109 NW, formerly known as the
"Graphics Office", is being renovated and turned into a machine room to house
all central computer equipment (Unix server, Windows servers, disk storage,
backup devices, research group compute servers). Planned work includes more
network outlets, more electrical power, and cooling independent of the
building air supply.

The network outlets were put in without any disruptions for users, but the
cooling upgrade required a temporary shutdown of the Graduate Computer Lab
2105 NW because of work being performed above the ceiling in 2105. The
shutdown lasted only one afternoon. The remainder of the cooling work should
not have much impact on users of the Lab. The electrical contractor is
scheduled to work during the week of December 4, and we anticipate no impact
on the Lab.

We are very much looking forward to finally having a machine room with
adequate cooling for all our central servers and other equipment. Work on the
new Windows file server and the server transition discussed in the previous
item are on hold until the machine room conversion is completely finished
because the equipment is too bulky to be moved elsewhere.


5) Network News: New IP address space; DHCP:


As if these changes weren't enough, here is another big one. Within the next
6-8 months, we have to change IP addresses for all computers in the
Department. We are currently occupying 4 non-adjacent class-C IP subnets
(128.146.20.0, 128.146.33.0, 128.146.182.0, 128.146.190.0). OIT has given us
4 new adjacent subnets and expects us to vacate the old ones over the next
few months. This change is necessary and desirable mostly for one reason,
which is more technical than can easily be explained in a few lines (for the
curious among you: OIT is likely to stop proxy ARP service, upon which we
heavily depend as long as we have 4 non-adjacent subnets and a class-B
netmask; with four adjacent class-C subnets, the address range conveniently
fits into byte-boundaries, and the new netmask will be 255.255.252.0).

In the new address space, we will devote a larger fraction of IP addresses to
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). Only server-type computers will
get static IP-addresses. This move is designed to curb holding of unused
IP-addresses. IP-addresses are a precious commodity. Four subnets provide
about 1,000 adresses. We have about 500 computers in the Department, yet we
have almost filled the current address space. Changing all IP-address will
give us an opportunity to clean up.


6) General News: "Can you tell me what my Unix/Windows password is?"


Some of you have asked in the past, "Can you tell me what my Unix/Windows
password is; I can't remember". The answer to this question is "No, we
can't." If we could, system security would be severely flawed. We can,
however, change passwords for you.

Unix as well as WindowsNT/Windows2000 computers store passwords in an
encrypted fashion, and not even a system administrator can determine users'
passwords.

How do hackers determine your password? Good question. In the past (before
current security measures where put in place), hackers have obtained
usernames and passwords by eavesdropping on TELNET, POP and IMAP
connections. Once hackers had obtained access to the Unix server, they
downloaded a copy of the (encrypted) passwords for all users. If these
passwords had been stored in clear text, hackers would immediately have
gotten access to several hundred accounts. With encrypted passwords, hackers
first have to run password cracking programs to "guess" the corresponding
clear-text passwords.

There are very clever programs available on the internet that make this task
easier. These programs try guessing passwords by encrypting "words" and
comparing the encrypted "words" with the encrypted passwords until a match is
found. The "words" are usually taken from dictionaries, both english and
non-english, that include names of famous places and persons both real and
fictional. The "words" usually include variations in capitalization and extra
punctuation characters (example: columbus, Columbus, cOlumbus, ...,
columbus!, Columbus!, cOlumbus!, ...). This is a compute intensive process,
but computers have gotten much faster. Since we started enforcing good
passwords, it has become very difficult to guess passwords.


7) General News: New LCD projector and laptop:


We have purchased an LCD projector and a Gateway laptop for presentation
purposes. This is in addition to the LCD panel many of you have used. The
self contained projector connects directly to your PC, MAC, other video
source or the new laptop to provide crisp presentations. (You still need to
provide the presentation, though.)

What's new with this projector?

 - One piece
 - Light;     Only 7.4 lbs (3.4 kg)
 - Compact;   4 x 9 x 12.5 inches (10 x 23 x 32 cm)
 - Clearer;   resolution 1024 x 768
 - Conevient; wireless mouse
 - Flexiable; SVGA and RCA video/audio connections

What's new with this laptop?

 - Pentium III 700 MHz processor
 - 128Mb Ram
 - 10Gb Harddrive
 - 14.1 inch display
 - built in 10/100 ethernet
 - built in 58.8 modem with FAX capabilities
 - full size keys
 - USB, printer, mouse, and external monitor and video ports
 - standard software package
   Windows 98SE, MS Office 2000, FTP, Zip, SSH, eXceed, Netscape, IE

The projector will be available on a first-come first-served basis for
chemistry related use to all faculty and staff. If you are a student and need
it for chemistry related purposes, please have your advisor reserve the
projector for you. Please send e-mail to support@chemistry.ohio-state.edu to
make reservations. We ask your understanding with this since the projector
and laptop represent a significant investment of Computer support funds.

The laptop is not available to be checked out by itself. If there is
software you need for your presentation that is not already on the laptop,
let us know so we can install it.

The LCD panel with super-bright overhead projector will still be available if
the projector is being used.


8) Unix News: Cerius2 modules for testing on host pepe:


Pat Woodward and Prabir Dutta have obtained a demo license for all modules of
Cerius2 on the SGI host pepe in the Computer Lab 2105 NW. The version of
Cerius2 installed is 4.2 MatSci. This release provides new functionality for
quantum mechanical and classical simulations. These new features will be of
particular interest to those of you studying catalysis and inorganic systems.
The demo license is good until December 14.

A very limited number of modules of Cerius2 version 3.8 has been and will
continue to be available on the RS6000 computers mendelevium, nobelium and
lawrencium. Cerius2 4.2 MatSci is not available for RS6000-type computers.


9) General News: SSH2 connections to chemistry Unix server:


The latest version of the SSH2 daemon on the chemistry Unix server apparently
does not respond properly to the SSH2 negotiation attempted by SecureCRT (a
commercial SSH client) with its default settings. Two solutions have been
found. Switch your protocol to SSH1, or switch your server type (last option
of 'Session Options' window when the protocol SSH2 is chosen) to "Standard"
vs. the other choices "Datafellows 2.0.12" or "Datafellows 2.0.13" or "SSH
Communications 2.1.0 (beta)". This option may only be available in recent
versions of the SecureCRT's SSH product, available for download at
www.vandyke.com, and quickly installable.


10) Unix Reminder: No backups of XWinNMR data on pepe:


This is a reminder that we perform no backups of NMR data on pepe
for users of XWinNMR. You are responsible for your own data.

XWinNMR is an analysis package for data taken in the departmental NMR
facility.


11) Unix Reminder: Unix file permissions:


This is a reminder that default file permissions on Unix computers are
such that everyone on the system can read all your files except mail files
and some configuration files. If you don't like that, you need to change
file permissions yourself.

For more details, see

  Internal --> Computer Support --> Chemistry Department Related FAQs -->
	       Why are file access permissions on the chemistry server set up
	       the way they are?