Connecting to a UNIX machine

Now that you have an account, you are ready for your first session with UNIX.

Using Telnet

We'll use Telnet to connect to Steel from your computer. Telnet is a program that lets you have a two-way conversation with a computer over the Internet.

To run Telnet:

• On a Windows computer in the STC's: Go to Start -> Programs ->Communications -> Steel.
• On a Macintosh in the STC's, go to Apple Menu -> Communications -> Telnet. When prompted for a hostname, type steel.ucs.indiana.edu .

A window that looks similar to this should pop up.

It's OK if the window doesn't match exactly. You may have different colors, or totally different menus and buttons.

Your First Login

The window should prompt you with the following text:

Type in your username, which should appear on the screen as you type it. For example, I would type:

Next, the system will prompt you for your password. Enter it, and notice that nothing will appear on the screen as you type. This protects you from someone looking over your shoulder at the screen (and thus knowing your password).

If you mistype your password, the system will let you try again a certain number of times (usually 3, though this does vary). If you enter the incorrect password more than this number, your account may be disabled.

The first time you log into your account, you will see a statement informing you of your responsibilities as a computer user at IU. Read it carefully and type YES if you agree to accept the stated responsibilities.

You might be prompted to change your password. If you want to keep your password the same, when prompted for a new password, enter your old password again.

Next, the system may ask you what your terminal type is. Accept the default value (probably vt100) by pressing Enter.

Finally, the system banner will appear. It should look something like this:

Last login: Mon Feb 21 09:51:03 2000 from nowhere.ucs.indiana.edu

You have mail.

Your home directory on the NFS server resides on the /N/fs1 file system.



Your disk quota is set to 10000 blocks.

******************************************************************************

  SUN ULTRA 2/512 MB      *   Indiana University   *        Node Name STEEL

******************************************************************************

                    This system is for authorized use only.

******************************************************************************

For software problems with UITS UNIX systems post a message to "ucs.system".

For problems with UITS networks call 855-6789.  To contact the machine room

operator call 855-9910 or send mail to opr@indiana.edu.

******************************************************************************

For user support, contact the UITS Support Center (5-6789, ITHELP, IMU M084)

******************************************************************************

The UITS Ombudsman can be reached at: E-mail: ombuds@indiana.edu Phone: 5-5752

******************************************************************************

   The IUPUI and regional campus Internet provider, UUNET, will be performing 

   network maintenance on Tuesday, February 22 from 3am to 6am. Campuses      

   should expect the possibility of periodic outages and/or slow response     

   times for the commodity Internet during this time frame.                   

                                      ****                                    

   IU began filtering Napster.com servers on February 12th. For more          

   information see the Knowledge Base article at                              

   http://kb.indiana.edu/data/aifq.html                                       

                                      ****                                    

   UITS has extended weekend hours for IUIS. The expanded hours offer access  

   to Insite and the touch-tone registration system on Saturdays from 7am     

   until 5pm and on Sundays from 10:30am until 5pm.                           

******************************************************************************

steel /N/fs1/clwolfe/Steel $ 

This information is called the Message of the Day, or motd. It is where important information about the system is posted. You should read over it carefully every time you log in, so you will know about system downtime and other news.

Now let's look at the last line again:

This is called the prompt. This is where you type commands into UNIX. Your prompt won't look exactly like mine. It may end with a % or a $. The important thing is that there is a cursor at the end of it. This is where commands that you type will appear.

Logging Out Gracefully

Now that you know how to log in, you should learn how to log out. It's a lot like calling someone on the phone - you should hang up when you are finished. Properly logging out is important from a security point of view, as well - if you leave your telnet session running, anyone could start using your account as you!

Logging out is easy. All you have to do is type the logout command and press enter.

This will log you out of the system, and close your telnet connection. Your telnet client might pop up a window at this point to inform you of this.

Now log back in to the system (you need the practice, right?) to continue with the tutorial.