Be NICE to the computers.

• When switching from one operating system to another always shut the machines down.
Windows: Click Start->Shutdown then Click Restart
Linux: Click (Where Start would be)->Log Out then Click Restart

When there is a problem with a computer, let Adrian know.
If a computer won't start, the machine has frozen, the screen is dead, software doesn't work as it should, or has any other problem that can be fixed, make sure to let Adrian (the System Administrator) know. He can be found in office T125 or emailed at: apederson@facstaff.wisc.edu

Be NICE to other users.

• Log off the machine when you are not using it
When you're away for longer than the time it takes to attend a meeting in Keck, getting some coffee or grabbing lunch. That is especially a crime when there is a high computer demand, i.e. between 10 am and 5 pm. Also, when you're on a machine, use it!


• Make sure not to use more disk-space than required
The files created by the analyses here are quite large. If you have files in your directory that you no longer need, please delete them. This especially applies to intemediate files that are created when processing data. Since these files use quite a bit of disk space and can be recreted quite easily, lots of space can be saved by deleting them as soon as their purpose has been served.


• Do not "Hog" processors
Please refrain from running large processes on multiple machines, if the machines seem to be unused feel free to run them with the nice command (explained below), but otherwise, try and keep your processes on one machine. Remember that, though you may have a deadline, other people might have the same deadline. Be courteous, and attempt to talk to people to find the most efficient order to process data, not just for you but for the lab.


• Do not overuse the remote computers (i.e. Cayenne, Tezpur, etc.) whithout taxing local computers
The advantage of running remote processes on these servers (via ssh or Secure CRT) is lost when there are 4 different people sharing the same remote machine. If you plan on being around while your script runs, consider running it on the local computer under linux, which will many times be more efficient for both you and the rest of the lab. (Though there are a few commands that will not function on the local machines, due to extensive memory needs, we encourage you to take advantage of the local computers.)


• When running large processes on remote machines (i.e. Cayenne, Tezpur, etc.) make sure to be NICE.
When running a command that will run for more than 20 minutes, please run it using 'nice', a command that will automatically yield the processing power to commands with higher priority.
>> nice new_erfmri_3dreg -subjects all resmri_spf.txt

In order to make a currently running command run nicely, you can get the process id (PID) by typing:
>> top or ps
Getting the PID from the left-hand column that corresponds to the process you wish to 'nice' (e.g. 8595) , and typing:
linux: >> renice +10 -p
solaris: >> renice


• Be aware the disk-space you are using
Since there are many studies running at any given moment, and each study uses quite a bit of disk-space, it is important to know both how much disk-space you are using and how much is availible. To see how much disk-space a study is currently using, type:
>> du -h /study/STUDYNAME
This will give you a list with the disk-space used by each folder within your study drive A good idea to make sure that you have enough disk-space to run a large job before you run it. You can do this by typing:
>> df -h /study/STUDYNAME
This will allow you to look at the number of Giga-Bytes (GB) left on the drive, as well as the precentage of space left. If you do not know how much disk-space will be created by your process, you should be fine as long as the disk is less than 90% full, otherwise ask your supervisor.


• Make sure to run processes in the background if you will not be seated at the computer (this applies to all processes run via 'ssh')
In order to run a process on a machine and log out, you will need to use the utility 'screen' that will enable you to close all your terminals and log off the machine, but leave your process running on the host machine (e.g., cayenne). Here's an example:

Once you are connected to the machine you wish to run the command on.

>> screen -a new_erfmri_3dreg -subjects all resmri_spf.txt
This will create a new screen and run the command "new_erfmri_3dreg -subjects all resmri_spf.txt" in it.

Once the script is happily buzzing along, open a new terminal window on the machine you ran the command on.
>> screen -d (in the new terminal window)
This will detach thr original screen. The window you originally ran the command should now read: "[remote detached]". If you're wanting to verify that the process is still running, go to the new terminal window (the one you typed "screen -d" in) and type "top". If your job is running, you should see your user name associated with some program that's slogging away with both CPU and Memory.

Assuming it's happily running, you can log off the computer running the command. When you wish to check up on the hidden process you ran, type:
>> screen -ls
It'll give you a list of screens with their associated pid.tty.host (e.g., 21793.pts-7.cayenne).

Then type:
>> screen -r 21793.pts-7.cayenne or screen -r if there is only one screen.
To be reconnected to the screen that you detached, if done correctly you'll see the last several lines that were displayed to that screen.


• Be aware that you can check your wiscmail on ANY machine in the lab (including Mac and Unix)
Windows: Double Click Internet Explorer icon on desktop.
Linux (or Unix): Type "mozilla" into a terminal window.
Mac: Double Click the Internet Explorer icon on the desktop.