PPPL Guide
From QED
The purpose of the page is to serve as a guide for new students or employees at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The lab has much of this information on its own website, but it is often difficult to know where to look or even what to look for. The bulk of this page is devoted to computing at PPPL, as there are many tricks and knowledge that is often only passed on by word of mouth.
Contents |
Local Webpage
PPPL’s local webpage, which can only be accessed while on the lab’s internal network, is http://www-local. It has some extremely useful information, though it is often buried beneath several links.
For example, the list and schedule of safety training courses may be accessed at http://hr.pppl.gov/TRNGhomepg.html.
PPPL Phonebook
PPPL has a directory of employee contact information at http://www.pppl.gov/php/phone.php.
To update your contact information, visit https://mail.pppl.gov/accounts/.
Princeton University also maintains an online directory. To change your information, follow instructions here. Note that if you wish to remove personal information from being listed publicly while not deleting the information with University records, you must email the registrar at registrar@princeton.edu.
PPPL Phone System
PPPL has in internal phone system. To call outside the system, first dial 9, then the phone number. To call someone within the system, dial the four digit telephone extension (the last four digits of the telephone number). For emergencies, call extension 3333.
Answering Service
PPPL has an answering service. To access your messages or change account settings, dial x3999. For further instructions on setting up and using the service, see the document here.
If you have a message waiting at the service, you will receive beeps when you pick up the phone before you get a dial tone.
PPPL Email
Browser Access
To access PPPL's email system using a browser, go to https://mail.pppl.gov/, or more directly https://mail.pppl.gov/exchange. Email addresses are [username]@pppl.gov.
Email Client Access
To set up an email client such as Thunderbird or Outlook, visit https://mail.pppl.gov/help/.
Email Forwarding
To forward your mail, vist https://mail.pppl.gov/accounts/.
Additional Note
When sending mail via princeton.edu addresses while on the PPPL system, use port 587 rather than port 25 in your outgoing smtp configuration settings (see http://helpdesk.princeton.edu/kb/display.plx?ID=5088).
Printing
Printing Directly from a Computer
Your computer may not be set up to print on a printer near your office, or you may wish to print to another printer elsewhere in the lab. If on a computer running Windows use Internet Explorer to go to http://printserver. Select the printer you wish to add (sometimes the best way to identify the printer is to write down the model number and the number of the closest room), then click “Add This Printer.” This does not work using Firefox. You must be an administrator on your computer to do this. If you are not an administrator, contact the Helpdesk.
In order to use less paper, please consider setting your printer to double-sided printing by default. Most printers at PPPL have this option.
Printing from PPPL Cluster
It is also possible to print from the PPPL Unix Cluster, (portal, portal64, portalr4), when logged in via a terminal. See below for more info on the cluster. Printing is done with the 'lpr' Unix command. In a terminal window on the cluster type 'man lpr' for details, but the most basic command is like this:
lpr -P myPrinter myFile
This will print the file 'myFile' on the printer 'myPrinter.' To get a list of printers, type:
cat /etc/printcap
For a shortcut, make the following aliases by adding the appropriate lines in your login file. As an example in tcsh, add the following lines to your .cshrc file:
alias print 'lpr -P s203-x4510n'
alias printcolor 'lpr -P l221-x8550dp'
Then, to print in either black and white or in color, just type:
print my_black_and_white_file
or
printcolor my_color_file
The file 'my_black_and_white_file' will be sent to the printer by S-203 (S Wing), and the file 'my_color_file' will be sent to the color printer outside of L-221 (L Wing).
Available Software
Lots of great Windows and Mac software is available from both PPPL and Princeton University. At PPPL, you can access the P: Network Drive for installation files. Instructions for accessing software from Princeton University can be found at http://www.princeton.edu/licenses/students/prinlic/ In order to install software from either PPPL or PU, you must be connected to their network. See below for information on remote access.
Accessing Princeton University's Network
Use a Virtual Private Network connection to access Princeton University's resources. To set up the VPN, follow the instructions here.
Helpdesk
The Helpdesk is not really a desk, but rather a group of computer administrators who can assist with most computing matters, with the exception of anything related to UNIX or GNU/Linux. To contact a Helpdesk administrator, mail helpdesk@pppl.gov, call extension 2275, or visit room B153.
Supported Operating Systems
For security and support reasons, PPPL only allows for a limited number of operating systems. Additionally, these operating systems will sync with the PPPL central server and can be configured to provide nightly backups of locally-stored data. It is possible to have computers use a dual boot system, whereby one can run multiple operating systems on one computer (usually Windows and Linux). Contact the Helpdesk for help with this.
Windows XP
The default installation on new PC's. Many will run Windows to use Microsoft Office and Exchange.
Macintosh OSX
The standard for all new Macintosh computers. As OSX is built on a UNIX infrastructure, linking with the PPPL UNIX/LINUX system is straightforward through either the "Terminal" or "X11" applications.
Linux Red Hat Enterprise 5
Red Hat is a distribution of Linux that comes with user support. Because it is Linux, dialing into the PPPL server is trivial. Also, one can use the built-in package manager system (based off yum) to install additional, GNU, auto-updated software via the internet. To access this go to:
Applications -> Add/Remove Software
Unfortunately, the pre-installed software repositories are relatively thin. Others can be added. One such repository is DAG/RPMforge, which has thousands of supported programs for Red Hat Enterprise 5. To let the Add/Remove Software Application find this type the following at a terminal (assuming the Red Hat version you are using is 5 / i386. To verify type: uname -a ):
sudo rpm -Uhv http://apt.sw.be/redhat/el5/en/i386/rpmforge/RPMS/rpmforge-release-0.3.6-1.el5.rf.i386.rpm
You will be prompted for an administrative password. This will let the Add/Remove Software Application search the RPMforge repository. Contact the Helpdesk if you don't have root/administrative privileges.
For more details on adding this repository, see http://dag.wieers.com/rpm/FAQ.php#B1.
UNIX and LINUX System
New employees and students are not given a UNIX/LINUX account by default. To obtain access, Lena Scimeca .
UNIX/LINUX resources are managed separately from the rest of PPPL’s computing services. For assistance, file a ticket at http://helpdesk.pppl.gov/home making sure to select "Unixadmin" as the group. For additional information see PPPL's UNIX/LINUX Computing Page or the FAQ.
Accessing the UNIX/LINUX System
Employees using Mac OS X or Red Hat Linux may be able to directly access the UNIX/LINUX System via a terminal. For PC users, this is much more difficult. Some possible ways to fix this are by using one of the following:
- Cygwin, which is free but sometimes buggy.
- Xming, also free.
- Hummingbird Exceed, commercial software; contact your supervisor to purchase.
To access the UNIX/LINUX System, use the following command in a terminal:
ssh -Y portal
or
ssh -Y [username]@portal
(the -Y option is needed to view X windows)
Mapping Your UNIX/LINUX drive
Each user has a personal directory on the UNIX/LINUX System, at /u/[username]. To access this directory from a PC or Mac, see http://unix.pppl.gov/faq/#samba.
There also are project directories located at /p/[projectname]. These can be mapped by creating a symbolic link to
\\samba.pppl.gov\projects\[projectname]
Modules
In order to utilize the full capabilities of software on the UNIX/LINUX System, one must load associated modules. On the surface, this will not appear to do anything, but it will later affect the operation of software. To see a list of available modules, type module avail. To load a module, type module load [modulename]. For example, to load IDL's module, type module load idl. It is often convenient to put commonly used module load statements in your /u/[username]/.cshrc file.
Dedicated Processors: The Use Command
If you need to use a dedicated computer on the UNIX/LINUX System, or need a large amount of memory, type use and input your requirements.
IDL
To use IDL, log into portal, then load the IDL module by typing
module load idl
Finally, type
idl
To add a code directory, put the following statement in your /u/[username]/.cshrc file:
setenv IDL_STARTUP [filepath]/idlstartup.pro
Then, in your [filepath]/idlstartup.pro file, add
!path+=':'+Expand_Path('+[code path]')
Any code in your [code path] directory will automatically be available the next time you start IDL. Otherwise, IDL only has access to code in the directory from which the idl command was used.
PPPL has installed IDLWAVE, which allows use of IDL within Emacs. See here for more information.
MATLAB
To use MATLAB, log into portal, then load the MATLAB module by typing
module load matlab
Finally, type
matlab &
The ampersand allows MATLAB to run in the backround so that you can continue to use your terminal alongside MATLAB.
Viewing PDF Files
Use either Ghostview (which requires loading a module)
module load gv
gv filename &
or xpdf
xpdf filename &
to view pdf documents.
LaTeX on the cluster
When using LaTeX on the cluster, latex looks in the folder ~/latex/ . This is a good place to put a style file (.sty) with shortcut commands you have created and use in several documents. Note that bibtex does not look here for a .bib file, but it is still a central location to put a main .bib file.
Scientific Computing Cluster
PPPL has a world-class scientific computing cluster. For instructions on use, see http://beowulf.pppl.gov/.
Personal Webpages
Users with a UNIX/LINUX account may create a personal webpage by creating the directory /u/[username]/w3_html. Any files in that directory will be accessible by at the link https://w3.pppl.gov/~[username]/[filename]. Requests to http://www.pppl.gov/~[username] will be redirected to the file index.html. For more information, see http://unix.pppl.gov/faq/web/.
Coffee
There is a coffee club coffee pot on the second floor of the Lyman Spitzer Building. Coffee is available for 50¢ per cup, or all you can drink for $5.00 per month. Contact Robert Budny for more information.
Leaving PPPL
The computer division will try to end your PPPL email and UNIX account the day you leave PPPL. Try to have already forwarded any needed emails to a separate account so that she can end your account that day. If your advisor agrees and you fill out the necessary paperwork, you can keep your UNIX account.
