Hall computer how-to
Simpi: Debian-Athena workstation in KL
Mrbigstuff: Debian-Athena server in TVL
Contents
People to ask for help
meeg and mikemp have the power (e.g. root). There are also many Linux-savvy people around who can help you with the things covered here.
When things go wrong
Never restart mrbigstuff. If you think a reboot is necessary, ask meeg or mikemp.
Simpi does not mind being rebooted, but people may be logged in remotely. Check who is logged in (`who' command) before you reboot. Use Ctrl+Alt+Delete from a console (preferred) or press the reset button.
Ctrl+Alt+Backspace will restart X, killing any X logins.
Consoles and X
Black screen with white text: console (tty1 through tty6).
Colors and graphics: X (tty7)
Switch between with Ctrl+Alt+F1-7.
Useful commands
- man [command] (looks up the manual entry on some command)
- who (tells you who is logged in)
- uptime (how long the computer has been running)
- date (what day and time is it now)
- screen (useful commandline terminal extension thing to infinite!!!)
- write (send a message to another user logged in, use `zwrite' across Athena)
- ssh (login remotely to another machine)
These require special permissions:
- mplayer (plays back most audio formats)
- alsamixer (volume control)
- ncmpc (mysterious music playback daemon with playlist)
- sshfs (attach a remote filesystem to a local mountpoint, persists until machine is rebooted)
- smbmount (equivalent of sshfs for Windows fileshares)
Workstation quirks
The Debian-Athena workstation environment (as seen on simpi) is somewhat different from regular Athena (as seen in clusters). Tips:
- Firefox is called Iceweasel and is in Applications/Internet.
- Terminal is in Applications/Accessories.
- Log out from the System menu.
Sound system
Simpi has a set of speakers connected directly.
Mrbigstuff has multiple outputs:
- Front: CD channel on TVL receiver
- Surround: unused
- Center: Munroe bathroom
- LFE: Kitchen and KL