UNIX - The absolute least you need to know

UNIX is an operating system (like Windows, DOS, or Macintosh System 8) that is designed for very large computers.  More than one person (in fact, ususally hundreds!) can use a UNIX machine at the same time.

Accounts

Every person who uses a shared computer has an account.  An account means that you have a place to put files (your "home directory"), permission to use the machine (to "log in"), and a way to identify yourself (your "username").  For example, the Shakespeare email system at IUB is a UNIX system.

You will need an account on one of the following systems: DaVinci, Ships, Nations, the SP (formerly STARRS), or Steel to use this guide.  If you don't have one, you may get one from  The UITS Accounts System.  Or, if you have your own UNIX machine (such as a Sun, Linux, FreeBSD, etc) and you have a copy of the math software, you may use your own machine.

Choosing a machine

As of now (August 1999),  if you want to run math software on a large computer at IUB, you have the option of using the SP System, or Steel.
If you just want to run math software under UNIX, you could also use the DaVinci, Ships, or Nations cluster, or your own machine.

You must be faculty (or have a faculty sponsor) to get an account on the SP, since it is a research-only system.  In addition, the SP is really only designed for batch processing (which we discuss in the Batch Processing section), and logging in is a little complex.  More information on the SP is availible here.

Steel is open to all IUB faculty and students, as well as some members of the IUPUI community.  Its is a "general purpose" system; in other words, you aren't required to do batch processing.  If you'd like to know Steel's specifications, you can find it here.

The DaVinci cluster is a cluster of SGI O2 workstations located in FA 215.  While not designed for heavy computational use, you can still use the DaVinci cluster to get a feel for using Mathematica under UNIX.  To connect to any DaVinci machine, telnet to davinci.ucs.indiana.edu.  All IUB faculty, staff and students may apply for an account on the DaVinci cluster.

To simplify this document, we assume you will be using Steel unless otherwise noted.

Keep in mind that you will be running the math software on the machine you connect to, not the machine you are sitting at.

Logging in

Since you are (presumably) not in the same physical room as Steel, you will need to log on using Telnet.  The address is
steel.ucs.indiana.edu .
  • From a UITS NT cluster, go to Start Menu -> Programs -> Communications -> Other WCC Computers -> Steel.
  • From a UITS Mac cluster, go to Apple Menu ->Telnet->Steel.
Enter your username and password.  If this is your first time logging in, you may be presented with some information about the system.  You should eventually see the UNIX prompt, which should be a $ or a %.

Learning more about UNIX

At this point, you should have a UNIX prompt in front of you.  This is really all you need to get the basic functionality of the math software.

However, your UNIX experience will be much more satisfactory if you follow an in-depth tutorial.  We recommend:

  • Research Computing at IU: The Basics.  A comprehensive guide to using research computers at IU.  It is IU-specific, but not campus specific.
  • UnixTools.com.  A good web directory of UNIX help.  Includes history, flavor-specific help, and tutorials.

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