Table of Contents

I.    Introduction to Facilities
II.   Oversight                          
III.  Support Staff and PA Helpdesk
IV.   Computer Platforms and Clusters    
V.    Operating Principles
       A. Management of Computers
       B. Course Use of Computers

Appendices
A. Computing Support Staff
   http://www.pa.msu.edu/services/computing/operations/staff.html
B. Supported Hardware and Census Information
   http://www.pa.msu.edu/services/computing/operations/hardware.html
C. System Management Practices
   http://www.pa.msu.edu/services/computing/operations/system_management.txt
D. Major Projects 1999-2000
   http://www.pa.msu.edu/services/computing/operations/projects.html

I. Introduction to Facilities

All faculty, staff, graduate students and many visitors receive accounts on the central Sun Unix servers. These servers provide email, Web browsers, editors, compilers and a variety of other applications software. Other Unix and Linux servers are centrally maintained for particular groups or for special purposes.

For Windows PC and Macintosh computer support, the department maintains central NT servers which provide file and print services, backup services, software downloads and updates, database applications and Web applications.

In addition, faculty have individual workstations, PCs or Macintoshes which they use to access departmental, university and external computer resources. All secretaries also have PCs or Macintoshes on their desks, as do most other PA staff members and visitors. Graduate students have access to computer resources through various desktop systems (X-terminals, PCs, Macintoshes, workstations) in either assigned research group space or in the Graduate Student Study Room in 350 Giltner Hall. A few desktop systems are available in the PA Library for public use.

II. Oversight

In the Physics and Astronomy Department Computing Plan Draft (5/6/98), the COC outlined the mission, objectives and priorities for the computing services operation. Many of the recommendations in that plan have since been carried out or serve as a basis for the current organization of computing services. The computing staff function in a collegial fashion to organize tasks and assignments. The Head of Computer Operations is the staff administrator and organizes the tasks that fall outside of or overlap the specific responsibilities of the individual staff members. The Head of Computer Operations also manages the PA Helpdesk and supervises the staff who work in the Computing Services office in 125 PA.

III. Support Staff and PA Helpdesk

Other people in the department also have computer expertise in various areas and many choose to manage their computers with very little assistance from the central computing staff. They also may assist the central computing staff with special projects or to resolve problems. Hence, one of the department's computing strengths is its community of experts, all supporting each other.

Central support for computer use in the department is provided by four full time staff members and six students. Three other central staff members devote part of their work time to computer support. (See Appendix A.)

Anyone in the department may request computing help or services from the PA Helpdesk either by sending email (primary email address is helpdesk@pa.msu.edu), or by calling 353-8655, or in person by visiting the Computing Services office in 125 PA. The PA Helpdesk is described in further detail on the Web at: http://www.pa.msu.edu/services/computing/helpdesk_info.html

A list of PA Helpdesk "cases" is maintained on the Web at: http://www.pa.msu.edu/helpdesk/ so that anyone can look up the status of a case and staff can follow-up appropriately. Staff also maintain Web accessible computing documentation at: http://www.pa.msu.edu/services/computing/ Thus, common computing usage questions and answers can often be found by checking these Web pages.

Computer work in the Physics Teaching Labs, academic help rooms and in PA lecture rooms is mostly handled by the teaching staff, as directed by the Associate Chairs for the Academic Programs. For assistance with academic facility computer issues, contact staff in the Physics Teaching Labs office in room 113 PA directly or else contact the PA Helpdesk and your request will be routed to the appropriate person.

Computer hardware failures are routed to the PA Electronics Shop for resolution and there is a charge for these services. Therefore, if you know that your computer has a hardware failure, it is best to go directly to the PA Electronics Shop in room 211 PA and fill out a work order to have the computer serviced.

IV. Computer Platforms and Clusters

Departmental Unix Systems

kepler - Sun Ultra 10, 360 MHZ with 512 MB of memory and 45 GB of disk space
maxwell - Sun Ultra 1, 167 MHz with 384 MB of memory and 16 GB of disk space

Both kepler and maxwell run the Solaris 7 Unix operating system and together, they function as the department's mail server (alias mail.pa.msu.edu), Web server (alias www.pa.msu.edu), ftp server (alias ftp.pa.msu.edu) and print server for Unix systems (alias print.pa.msu.edu).

Also available to the department are two Digital Unix Alphas (marvin and curie) and a Linux server (dipole - new in fall of 1999).

By the end of 1999, the departmental VMS system will be phased out. VMS central functions have been replaced by the Sun Unix system.

Windows PC and Macintosh Server Systems

In the fall of 1999, a computing staff position was added so that better central support could be provided for Windows PCs and Macintoshes. The PHYSICS-ASTRO NT Domain functions were transferred to a new departmental NT Domain called PHY-AST and additional hardware was purchased to support central services in a robust way. Thus, the newly formed PHY-AST NT Domain system is used by PCs and Macintoshes for file and print services, backup services, software distributions, MS SQL server applications and MS Internet Information Server (IIS) Web applications. Additional features will be added to this system, as required. Windows PC users who are not already in another established NT Domain (e.g. the PHYSICS-HEP NT Domain) are encouraged to join the department's PHY-AST NT Domain so they can utilize the services offered. At some point in the future, the PA Stores NT Server and the PHYSICS-HEP NT Domain may merge with the PHY-AST NT Domain, if this becomes desirable.

Computer Clusters

AST Group Suns (2 computers)
AST Group Linux cluster (6 computers)
AST Stein SGI IRIX cluster (4 computers)
CMP Sub-Group Digital Unix Alpha and SGI IRIX cluster (10 computers)
CMP Tomanek IBM AIX and DEC Ultrix cluster (12 computers)
CMP Billinge Linux cluster (6 computers)
HEP Sub-Group Digital Unix Alpha cluster (3 computers)
HEP Sub-Group Linux cluster (15 computers)
HEP Sub-Group NT Domain cluster (20 computers)
CBI Suns (2 computers)
Physics Teaching Labs Windows PCs (30 computers)
Physics Teaching Labs Macintoshes (12 computers)
CAPA Help Room PCs in B2 N. Kedzie (10 computers)
Teaching Room in 346 Giltner - Macintoshes (9 computers)
Teaching Room in 346 Giltner - NT/Linux dual-boot PCs (12 computers)

MSU High Performance Computing Facility

V. Operating Principles

A. Management of Computers

1. Central computing staff are trained to follow good system management practices, with an emphasis on high reliability and availability of central multi-user services (See Appendix C.) Major systemic changes, if needed, are done with great caution. New, desirable features are being added continuously.

2. Management of computers in clusters of like computers is encouraged. The computers in a cluster can all be maintained in a similar way and can share common resources. This reduces the amount of time needed to maintain each individual computer and ensures that a common set of commands and software is available to all computers in the cluster.

3. We encourage computer owners to maintain their operating systems at relatively recent version levels, since older operating system versions become maintenance problems. Assistance with upgrading hardware and software will be provided when there is a compelling reason and a rational upgrade path.

4. Only hardware and software that is in common use in the department and that the computer staff has experience with can be supported. As platforms age and support by their vendors decreases, the level of support provided will also decrease.

5. All computer acquisitions (by the department, staff, groups, for teaching or by individuals) requiring support must be reviewed by the computer support staff and the COC. All network connections and disconnections must be performed by the staff. Approval of an acquisiiton does not necessarily imply full support, since this depends on the type of hardware and its use. Currently supported platforms are listed in Appendix B.

B. Course Use of Computers

1. Faculty intending to use computers in their courses need to plan ahead and provide the computer support staff sufficient lead time to determine the best way to provide the resources needed for the course, obtaining any necessary hardware and software, installing it and verifying its operation. Requests for teaching computer resources must be approved by the Associate Chairs for the Academic Programs and the COC. Although teaching is a high priority for the computer staff, last minute requests that require a large staff effort may not be feasable. Teleconferencing courses, at present, require an especially large staff effort. If possible, central MSU facilities should be used. If departmental facilities are used, extra funding may be needed to provide the extra support.

2. The teaching laboratories contain valuable computer and other equipment. Hence the laboratory rooms should only be used for scheduled laboratory classes and, with approval of the Associate Chairs for the Academic Programs, for other scheduled and supervised non-laboratory classes and organized groups. Laboratories should not be open for individual use of the computers and equipment. No computers should be removed from the laboratories.