The Truth About "fas"

This past summer, Harvard Arts and Sciences Computer Services (HASCS) received a face lift. Along overdue one at that. How will the new technology benefit most undergraduate.

To answer this question, we consider one week it late August, when, deep in the bowels of the Science Center, the mysterious new "fas" machine first went on-line for University-wide use.

"Fas" is actually a Sun SparcServer 1000. The machine is capable of handling hundreds of users simultaneously and has replaced the DECstation units formerly known as "husc4," "8," "9," "10" and "11," One spanking new machine to replace the dinosaurs.

Last semester, many students experienced abominable delays trying to access e-mail on the "husc" machines. This was because under the old system, the name units used for e-mail by students at large were also used for heavy-duty programming by students in classes such as Computer Science 51 and 161.

HASCS has promised that these problems will be no more, as "fas" is dedicated to general use while Computer Science concentrators are relegated to their own machines, locked inside cages for symbolic effect.

Recently, however, "fas" users have experienced problems such as undelivered mail and alow system, response. Despite popular opinion, these problems are due not to the high volume of users on the system but rather to technical details that our valient network managers are trying to fix as this article goes to press.

The casual e-mail user should be sware that until these problems are fixed at it important to maintain account security amidst the system delays.

If you want to check you e-mail and notice high load average (more than 95 or so) at the "fas" welcome screen don't bother logging in unless you are prepared to wait.

If you're in a hurry at a public network terminal but have already entered your login and password to an unresponsive "fas" hit Control-Z a few time until you get an "fas" prompt, then type "logout" and hit again and your account will be safe from prying eyes.

A relic from the past, the DBCstation "husc7" is still on-line, although its software ware hasn't been updated for a while. If all else fails trying to log into "fas" without waiting endlessly. this machine is worth a shot.

The judicious will not that all Harvard undergraduates with UNIX accounts, now have e-mail addresses of the form usename@fas.harvard.edu. Upper-class students who have been advertising themselves as username@husc.harvard.edu or the like may still do so, but the fashionable new method is suggested by HASCS as the most direct link to your account.

Older students (seniors, mostly) may remember a time when one logged into "husc3" to get e-mail. This still works, but folks should be sware that "husc1," "3," "5" and "15" are ancient machines (clustered with e-mail units for students at the Law School) are separated from the "fas" world.

That is, students with both UNIX ("fas") and PC/Microcomputer ("hisc3") accounts have two inboxes for e-mail; nothing sent to them at username@fas.harvard.edu will be accessible from husc3 or the like, and vice versa.

This semester brings about yet another marked improvement in HASCS services-it's SOLID, and we'll discuss that next week.

EugensKoh '96-'97 writes about technology issues for The Crimson. He is Remote Staff Manager, Media Services, at America Online, Inc. In his spare time, he composes soundtracks for CD-ROMs and hosts "New Releases," a weekly radio program an WHRB 95.3 FM.

Koh may be contacted on-line at ekoh@fas.harvard.edu.