Currently, the computers in the lab are running Ubuntu Feisty. Each computer in the lab is a dual core 2.2Ghz Pentium 4s with 3Gb of RAM. All of the computers have DVD+/-RW drives.

Intel Corp. sponsored the purchase of the computers for the Linux lab; they were purchased from Dell Computer Corp.

I have an account, and I'm in the lab: how do I log in?

Local logins in the Linux lab are very similar to any other Maseeh College Unix system, but with some extra features.

While sitting in front of a workstation, you will see a window with a "Login" prompt, a welcome message, a "Sessions" menu, and some other stuff which doesn't matter. This window is a program called "gdm", or Gnome Display Manager, while the equivalent program used in the Unix labs is xdm, the X Display Manager.

To get started quickly, type your name when you see the login prompt, press <Enter>, type your password, and press <Enter> again. You will be presented with the default session, which is currently GNOME.

You should check the welcome message before logging in, however. Occasionally, some computers in the lab are set aside for specific classes, and these computers are configured differently from the others. The welcome message will provide a warning in this case.

KDE is a suitable environment for most users. However, if you'd like to try one of the other available window managers, take a look at the Sessions menu before you log in. By selecting an item, such as Gnome, from that menu before you finish typing your password, you can try different styles of interaction with Linux to see which you prefer. GDM will ask you whether you want to save your choice of sessions.

I'm not in the lab: how do I log in?

Like other Maseeh College Unix systems, you can use SSH, the Secure Shell, to log in to computers in the Linux lab from anywhere in the world -- if you have an Internet connection. Unlike other systems, you can't use telnet or FTP.

If you tell your SSH client to connect to "linux.cecs.pdx.edu", a computer will be selected at random from all the computers that are available for general use in the lab. In the (unlikely!) event that a machine is broken, this may not work. If you try again, a different computer will probably selected, and things will probably work.

How do I access my files which are on other Maseeh College systems?

Your linux home directory can currently be accessed from any of our centrally supported Solaris systems by going to /home/linux/<username>.

From a supported linux system, you can access your Solaris home directory at /home/solaris/<username>.