2006 RTC Upgrade Information

RTC Offline August 21 through 30, 2006

RTC is now accepting account applications
RTC has been returned to service and is accepting jobs

Last updated August 30, 2006, 10:45 PM

System Upgrade Details

Hardware Tasks

Replace power supply on Foundry Switch
Replace network blade on Foundry Switch
Upgrade Firmware on Foundry Switch
Upgrade firmware on rtcfiler and management nodes
Other miscellaneous hardware tasks

Network Tasks

Move RTC to RiceNet2
Upgrade Myrinet drivers
Upgrade uplink for login nodes to Gigabit

kernel 2.6

Install 2.6 Kernel as part of Red Hat Enterprise 4 installation

Red Hat Enterprise 4

Install Red Hat Enterprise 4 on all nodes (upgrade from 2.1)
Removed unnecessary operating system packages. If you discover that a package or library that you need is now missing, please inform the Help Desk and we will reinstall the package.

Recompile All Applications due to kernel upgrade and move to /opt/apps

All applications in /usr/local will be recompiled and reinstalled on /opt/apps
All users will need to recompile their own code

Replace use command with module command to match Ada

The module command will work the same as on Ada.

Enforced Quotas and Storage Tasks

Add 2.5 TB of storage to /projects.

/users: 4 GB
/projects: 50 GB
/shared.scratch: no quota, but all data older than 14 days will be deleted.

Restricted Access

Logins from off-campus not allowed. Policy will match Ada's access policy.

New RTC Web Site

New web site for account applications, cluster statistics, FAQs, and other documentation.
Additional features will be added to this web site during the Fall 2006 semester.

User Account Details

The RTC account management system used for account applications and sponsor approvals is being merged with Ada's account management system in order to provide a single web interface for account management activities on all shared research computing resources (Ada and RTC). All RTC accounts will become NetID compliant and will also have new group memberships once this upgrade is complete. All accounts will inherit the username and password that is currently assigned to your NetID account (e-mail account). In order to automate this process, all user accounts on the RTC will be deactivated during the upgrade. All data will be backed up and will be accessable after the upgrade until December 31, 2006.

The goal of this portion of the upgrade project is to provide sponsors with a single web interface to manage the accounts of their group members for both Ada and RTC. It will also provide users with a single web interface for applying for accounts for either system, or both. Usernames on Ada and RTC will be the same and will be compliant with NetID. When this project is complete, a single sponsorship will apply to both systems, new users will be able to apply for accounts on one or both system using the same application, and users and sponsors will be able to add accounts later for either system.

We will be using Ada's account management system database as the baseline system. So if you already have a sponsor or login account for Ada, then you will only need to add a login account for RTC. If you do not have an account on Ada, then you will need to apply for a new account on RTC.

Please follow the instructions below to get an account on the RTC following the upgrade:

Faculty Sponsor Accounts

If you already have a sponsor account for Ada (not a cluster login account):

You will not need to apply for sponsorship on RTC. Your Ada sponsor account will work for RTC. Note that sponsor accounts are for the web interface only. Login accounts are for login access to the clusters.

If you do not have a sponsor account for Ada:

You will need to apply for a sponsor account for Ada and RTC (your sponsorship will cover both). You can apply for an RTC and/or Ada login account at this time by selecting the RTC and/or Ada checkboxes when you apply for the sponsor account.

If you need a login account on RTC and you already have a sponsor account on Ada:

You will need to add an RTC login account. Login to the web interface with your Ada sponsor account. Click on your name to view the dialog screen where you can add an RTC and/or Ada login account for yourself. Your RTC login account will inherit the username and password of your Ada sponsor account.

All of your data from your old RTC account will be available at /old_rtc/users/yourusername until December 31, 2006. Please copy any data that you need into your home directory. Be aware that quotas are now enforced. Any data you had stored in /projects will be found at /old_rtc/projects/yourproject until December 31, 2006. Please see our FAQ about our new /projects structure. If you are unable to access the data in your old projects directory, please notify the Help Desk so that we can adjust file permissions.
When your students reapply for their RTC accounts, you will need to approve their accounts by logging into the web interface when you receive email from the system indicating that accounts are waiting for your approval. This is the same procedure used to approve Ada and RTC accounts in the past.
All of your users will be a member of your default group which is predetermined by the system. If you need more than one group, please submit a Help Desk ticket. Include the following information:

Machine name (RTC)
UNIX Group Name (8 characters or less)
Group Title (Formal Group Title)
List of all members if known
Purpose of the new group (i.e. file access restriction, queue restriction, etc.)

Regular Rice User Accounts

If you need to reapply for your RTC account, go to the new application site and login with your NetID.

If you already have an account on Ada, your information should appear on the account application form. Simply select the RTC checkbox and click Submit.
If you do not have an account on Ada, a blank application screen will appear. Fill out the form and select the RTC checkbox and then click Submit. If you want an Ada account as well, you may select the Ada checkbox also.

After you have applied for your account, your sponsor must approve the account as has been the case for all Ada and RTC accounts.
Once your account has been created, you will be a member of your sponsor's default group that is predetermined by the system. Sponsors may request additional groups if the default group is not sufficient.
Your login account will have the same username and password as your NetID account (e-mail account) at the time of the application.
All of your data from your old RTC account will be available at /old_rtc/users/yourusername until December 31, 2006. Please copy any data that you need into your home directory. Be aware that quotas are now enforced. Any data you had stored in /projects will be found at /old_rtc/projects/yourproject until December 31, 2006. Please see our FAQ about our new /projects structure. If you are unable to access the data in your old projects directory, please notify the Help Desk so that we can adjust file permissions.

Guests of Rice University

If you need to reapply for your RTC account, go to new application site.

If you have a login account on Ada then login with your Ada username. The password will be your initial Ada password. Your information should appear on the account application screen. Simply select the RTC checkbox and click Submit.

If you do not have an account on Ada then click on the New Application link. Fill out the form and select the RTC and/or Ada checkbox and click Submit.

After you have applied for your account, your sponsor must approve the account as has been the case for all Ada and RTC accounts.
Once your account has been created, you will be a member of your sponsor's default group that is predetermined by the system. Sponsors may request additional groups if the default group is not sufficient.
All of your data from your old RTC account will be available at /old_rtc/users/yourusername until December 31, 2006. Please copy any data that you need into your home directory. Be aware that quotas are now enforced. If you are unable to find your data please inform the Help Desk. Your new RTC username will probably be different than your old RTC username so we may have to change some file permissions in order for you to access your old data. Any data you had stored in /projects will be found at /old_rtc/projects/yourproject until December 31, 2006. Please see our FAQ about our new /projects structure. If you are unable to access the data in your old projects directory, please notify the Help Desk so that we can adjust file permissions.

Getting Help

If you have questions or problems, please contact the Help Desk at 713-348-4357.