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Difference between revisions of "Math Account"
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==== Why not just use NetIDs? ====
The old system existed long before NetIDs, and there are many people who are still using their pre-NetID accounts for regular work. Also, there are many rules and constraints to connecting math department machines to the central Cornell
The biggest one is performance. Some parts of the system need to make many calls across the network for some operations, and it would be much slower. Also, the central system can be changed without notice, or may go down for maintenance. So we've had better speed and reliability with our separate system.
The next reason is security. The Math account is controlled by the NetID, such as for password reset, but there is nothing in a person's NetID account that is accessible from their Math account. So, math researchers can do what they want, and this separation keeps the Cornell system safe.
In the future, it may be desirable to set up access to the system that uses NetIDs as the primary username. This is possible if it's found to be necessary.
* A consistent desktop environment across all systems, from desktop workstations, to large number crunchers, to pay-as-you-go systems at the Center for Advanced Computing, or Amazon AWS.
* A personal file storage area that is backed up regularly, in your home directory.
* Access to a very large, fast volume for larger datasets, in the <code>/space</code> volume.
* Access to very fast local storage on all of the machines, in <code>/local</code>
* Commercial software such as Matlab, Mathematica, Maple, Magma, and many others, already configured for GPU and cluster access.
* Major free software titles, configured and ready to use, with GPU or cluster support as applicable. These include GAP, pari/gp, Macaulay2, Sage, Python, R, Julia, and many more.
Commercial software such as Matlab, Mathematica, and Maple have a limited number of licenses. This means there can only be a certain number of these programs running at any given time in the department (including Math machines running in the cloud). Please don't leave these programs running when they're not in use, since you'll be taking up a license. Priority for these programs is for Math faculty, grad students, and researchers. Right now there is no restriction on who can run these programs, but if people have trouble getting an available license, access may be restricted to certain groups.
Files in your home account, under <code>/homes/{username}</code> are backed up every 24 hours. Please be aware of how much space you are using. A few gigabytes is fine, but large data will fill up our backups. Use the <code>/space</code> volume for that. We don't strictly enforce file quotas, but if there is a problem with accounts filling up, we may have to.
The <code>/space</code> volume is large and fast. You may put large amounts of data into <code>/space</code>, all we ask is that you are a 'good neighbor' and don't abuse the privilege. Files in the <code>/space</code> volume can be read at 10GB/second by the calculation machines. <code>/space</code> is not officially backed up, but we usually make snapshots nightly, just in case. This backup is not guaranteed to happen the way it is for your home account. To use the <code>/space</code> volume, make a directory there whose name is the same as your username. Then you may put whatever you want inside that directory.
Each machine has a <code>/local</code> volume. Some are larger than others. They are all VERY fast because they're on the local machine. Remember, the contents of <code>/local</code> will be different on every machine. Just like on <code>/space</code>, you may create a directory with the same name as your username, then put whatever you want inside there. Please be careful not to fill up the volume, use the
=== Connecting to your Math account ===
* '''Wiki''' is a link to this wiki site. You may edit or add pages! Just click 'Log In' and your NetID should appear in the upper right.
* '''Account Settings''' takes you to the 'accounts' page, where you can reset your password, or if you're an instructor, you can invite users and manage your groups.
* '''Print Portal''' allows printing from any network or device, with a login. You must be in the math.dept group to use this. Upload a PDF and print it, from any phone, tablet, or computer. Please only use this when physically present at Malott hall!
These services use your Math username and password. If you're prompted for a password, that's the one to use.
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