Main  FAQ  How To  New Account  Site Map  Email:  Webmaster Biorobotics Domain FAQ Why is the Server Project necessary? Which labs will be affected? How will The Server Project affect the computers in these labs? How will The Server Project benefit me? How is the current domain controller configured? How come I can't log onto any of the machines in the domain? How much space will be available for each user? How will I know if I'm exceeding the 30 meg limit on my "profile" directory? Will the users' directories be backed up? Where is my personal webspace on the Biorobots web server? How do I get to my user directory? What will happen if the network goes down? What do I do if Biorobots is down? Will I be able to remotely access my user files? How can I access my files from a machine outside of the domain? Why can't my laptop see the domain when I'm at another location on campus? Why isn't it a good idea to access the "My Documents" folder in my user directory on the domain controller? What software will be installed onto the workstations? Q: Why is The Server Project necessary? A: This project was necessary because the previous system did not give the administrators enough control over the labs' workstations. Anyone was allowed to install any program they wished onto lab computers, which interfered with programs that other people need to do work. In addition, many programs got uninstalled by users incorrectly, resulting in workstations that need to be repaired frequently. Finally, the previous policies allowed widespread abuse of the workstations, the main result of which was all available hard disk space being consumed by programs and files unrelated to work. We have also had incidents of people "borrowing" software from the lab and then not returning it. So, all of the software is now going to be locked up. Q: Which labs will be affected? A: Workstations in Glennan 813 and 814 as well as the IGERT office will be administrated by the Biorobotics domain. Q: How will The Server Project affect the computers in these labs? A: The Server Project will result in all workstations looking uniform. Windows 2000 Professional will be installed onto all of the workstations admistrated by the Biorobotics domain. The same programs will be installed onto all of the workstations (excluding programs like ProE, Mechanical Desktop, and the video editing software, which are specialized programs that require specific hardware or software configurations). Your profile will be stored on the server, which means that your desktop and the files that you have access to should be the same, no matter which workstation you log onto. Q: How will The Server Project benefit me? A: The main result of The Server Project is that you will have access to the same files and programs on every computer. And your desktop will roam with you, which means that it and your preferences should look almost exactly the same, regardless of which computer you log onto. For example, if you add something to your bookmarks in Internet Explorer, you will have access to those bookmarks on any computer in the domain that you log onto after that. The implementation should also create more stability in the workstations. Once the project is completed, you won't have to worry about programs suddenly not functioning properly on certain workstations. In addition, with the automated server backups, a crash of a workstation should not result in widespread loss of data. Finally, the configuration allows for more effective virus detection and control. Q: How is the current domain controller configured? A: The current domain controller is running Windows NT 4.0. However, after the university finishes upgrading the network configuration, it will be possible for the domain controller to be upgraded to run Windows 2000 server. Q: How come I can't log onto any of the machines in the domain? A: You probably haven't established an account in the domain. All of the user accounts that were on Biorobots were deleted. You will need to contact me to initiate a new account. After you account is set up, you will have access to all of the workstations in the domain, as well as your user directory on the server, as well as your own personal space on the web server. Q: How much space will be available for each user? A: The only fixed-disk space that will be available for the users will be on the domain controller. Each user will have their user directories restricted to 1 gig (unless they have justifiable work-related reasons). You should keep all of your work files in your user directory, or on removable media (users will have access to all non-fixed local drives). The exception to this rule will be the machines that have CD burners and/or video editing hardware. Users will not have access to the primary drives of these machines, but they will have access to secondary drives to burn CDs off of or edit movies on, etc. These secondary hard drives can be formatted at any time, by any user without warning. The "profile" directory in your user directory will be limited to 30 megs. This is the directory that gets downloaded to the local hard drive every time you log onto a workstation. Q: How will I know if I'm exceeding the 30 meg limit on my "profile" directory? A: If you are exceeding the 30 meg limit, you will repeatedly receive messages stating this. There is also an icon in the tray that will tell you how large your profile directory is, when you move the cursor over that icon. Q: Will the users' directories be backed up? A: The users' directories on the domain controller will be mirrored onto another hard drive. That mirror will then be backed up using the university's backup system. Q: Where is my personal webspace on the Biorobots web server? A: All users in the Biorobotics Lab will have space on the Biorobots server for their own personal web pages. The share is called "Personnel", and you will have a subdirectory in that share with your username. The URL to your personal space is http://biorobots.cwru.edu/personnel/%USERNAME%. The default file is index.html. Any members of the IGERT program that would like to have their own personal space on the neuromechanics website will have to convince one of the program directors/administrators to approve an upgrade of that web server to a machine powerful enough to handle that kind of configuration. Q: How do I get to my user directory? A: There is a share called "users" on Biorobots, which will also give you access to your user directory. You will have permission to access the subdirectory with your username in that share. Or, from the command prompt, your home directory has been mapped to the o:\. Q: What will happen if the network goes down? A: If the network goes down, client machines will not be able to connect to the domain controller, where your files and profiles are stored. Each time you log onto a workstation, the client machine will attempt to download your profile from the domain controller. When you log out, that profile is uploaded to the domain controller, but is not deleted from the client machine. If you are trying to log onto one of the workstations while the network is down and you have logged onto that machine before, it will load the last profile that was stored for you on that machine. And you will have access to any files that were in your "My Documents" folder the last time you logged onto that machine. If you haven't logged onto that machine before, it should attempt to create a new profile for you, but you will not have access to your files. This is a most unfortunate problem that we have no control over. And it is probably the only major drawback to our domain controller plan. However, the network has been very stable in recent months. If you are working on extremely time-critical work, I urge you to carry your important files on a zip disk. Q: What do I do if Biorobots is down? A: First determine whether the server is down, or whether there is a network outage. If the server is down, contact me immediately. And when I say "immediately", I do not mean email me. Either call me (216.272.5287), or page me. Q: Will I be able to remotely access my user files? A: FTP access is allowed. However, by default, it is disabled on everyone's user accounts. If you ask me for FTP access, I will grant it to you. But I will also force you to change your password every other month. Q: How can I access my files from a machine outside of the domain? A: If you are connecting to the domain controller, just type in your user name and password when prompted. If you are connecting to a machine in the domain other than the domain controller, then you will have to type "BIOROBOTICS/username" in the user name field, and then type in your password. Q: Why can't my laptop see the domain when I'm at another location on campus? A: If you're in another routed segment of the network (i.e. not in Glennan), you will have to go to "run" on the start menu, and type in "\\biorobots" to get to the domain controller. Q: Why isn't it a good idea to access the "My Documents" folder in my user directory on the domain controller? A: There is a folder called "My Documents" in the profile directory in your user directory. Since all of the folders and files in the profile are downloaded to the local machine when you log onto a machine in the domain, there will temporarily be two copies of everything in that folder. So, there will be a version control issue if you access the copy of the "My Documents" folder in your user directory on the domain controller. Let's say that you open a file through the "My Documents" shortcut on your desktop. After modifying it, you save it. Then you log onto another machine and connect to your user directory on the domain controller and open that same file. If you make any changes to the copy on the domain controller, it will be overwritten when you log off of the other workstation. This will also happen if you attempt to access both copies from the same workstation. You should always access the files in your profile locally. Be aware that there are also preference control issues if you log onto two workstations simultaneously and make changes on both. The settings on the machine that you log off of last will "win". Q: What software will be installed onto the workstations? A: Currently, we are planning the following programs: Office '97 Standard - Powerpoint, Word, Excel Visual C++ 6.0 Borland C++ 4.5 Winamp 2.65 Winzip Leech FTP Photoshop 4.01 Opal Player Algor Paint Shop Pro Editpad Lite (text editor) Adobe Acrobat Ghostscript Eudora (see special instructions on the how to page) Outlook Express Agent (newsreader) Matlab Opera Most of these software programs are not going to be installed onto the Biorobotics Lab laptop, since it is rarely used as a workstation. It will have Office installed onto it, since it is primarily used as a presentation tool. Obviously, Ecstatic is going to have the video editing software installed on it. And Patience and Jubliance will have their respective Mechanical Desktop/ProEngineer configurations restored. If you need a program installed and it's not on this list, it probably means that the lab doesn't own a copy. So, if you want to suggest another program to be installed onto all of the workstations, you'll have to either donate a copy to the lab or convince someone to buy it. Biorobots Home  Site Map      Server Project Main      FAQ      How To      New Account Copyright 2006 Case Western Reserve University, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. All rights reserved.