Davis-Etcheverry Computing Facility 
                     Spring 2004 Newsletter #1
                              03/29/04

This issue of the DECF Newsletter is on the web at:
http://decf.berkeley.edu/news/sp04-01.html


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Table of Contents

1.  Reminders
    Running jobs in 5101 Etch linux cluster
    Spam filtering

2.  System additions & changes
    PGI (f77, f90) upgraded & mpicc installed
    ampl, cplex90 installed
    New Matlab toolboxes installed
    Airbears installed 
    New virus/spam scanning server

3.  Upcoming changes
    5101 Etch move to first floor
    New mail server
    WebMail upgrade

4.  DECF Info & How to Un-Subscribe

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1.  Reminders

Over winter break, 18 new Linux machines were installed in 5101 Etch.
We've seen an increasing number of users running long jobs on these
machines.  Please remember to nice all your jobs that are running, or
we will be forced to do it for you.  

Rather than randomly logging into a machine to run your computation, you
should check the Linux machines' usage status of the Linux machines by
going to http://www.decf.berkeley.edu/ and click on the "Linux Client
Status" link.

Spam filtering
        Many users have reported an increased amount of Spam over the
        past few months.  You can use your client side filters to
        1.  Move messages tagged with [ SPAM? ] to another folder automatically
        2.  Use email clients which have spam learning tool to filter out 
            additional spam.
            
     For more information, see http://www.decf.berkeley.edu/help/mail/spam.html

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2.  System additions & changes

PGI upgraded & mpicc installed
    PGI has been upgraded to 5.1-3, and mpich utilities such as mpicc
    are now also installed on the Linux cluster

ampl, cplex90 installed 
    ampl, cplex90 has been upgraded from student version to
    professional version on the Linux clusters.

New Matlab toolboxes installed.
    DECF has added 10 Control & 10 Optimization matlab toolboxes for
    5101 Etch Linux cluster and kepler.berkeley.edu

Airbears installed
    Airbears has been installed in 1109A Etcheverry.  There is
    currently no access to 1109A Etch.  However, students using 1109
    Etch for E77 should be able to get a signal.

New Virus/Spam Scanning Server
    A new server was installed in Janurary 2004, which combines virus
    and spam scanning for mail on one machine.  This will provide
    redundancy to our current virus scanning server and lessen the
    load on our mail server.  Any groups wishing to use the scanning
    server, please contact consult@newton.berkeley.edu.

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3. Upcoming changes

5101 Etch move
        DECF has been asked to move our 5101 Etch lab and server room
        down to first floor Etcheverry.  The new lab looks to be 1/5
        smaller than our current lab.  Currently the move is tentatively
        scheduled for June-July 2004.  More info will be forthcoming in
        terms of system downtimes for all of our servers.

New mail server
    Given the increase disk space demands, DECF is currently looking
    into upgrading our mail server this coming summer.  We will be
    sending out more information about the upgrade in the coming months.

WebMail Upgrade
    A new version of our WebMail software is scheduled for release
    this spring.  We are planning to do beta testing of the new
    release later this spring semester/summer.  More info will be
    forthcoming on the beta testing.  

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4. DECF Info & How to Un-Subscribe

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