This is the December 2004 newsletter of the ITC Research Computing Support Group. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the information presented here, please contact the ITC Research Computing Support Group via e-mail to res-consult@virginia.edu, or at the Research Computing Support Center (RCSC), 244 Wilson Hall, 243-8800. The RCSC is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
December 22, 2004 is the rapidly-approaching deadline for requesting to participate in the purchase plan proposed by ITC for the next 32- to 48-node Linux cluster. Researchers who are considering their own purchase of a Linux cluster should consider the benefits of this purchase plan: free system administration, timely security updates, 24x7 monitoring, and the ability to use more nodes than purchased during periods of non-peak demand on a Linux Cluster that ITC would house and maintain for a three-year period.
We expect that nodes will cost around $2,500 each. The nodes will be at least 3.0 Mhz dual CPUs with at least 2 GB of memory and 512KB cache. The purchase will include a three-year warranty on each node.
More details of the program can be found at
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/research/itc-clusters/cluster-purchase.html
If you are considering buying a Linux cluster within the next six months, please contact Tim Tolson, Manager of ITC Research Computing Support, at 243-6592 or TTolson@Virginia.edu to discuss this exciting opportunity.
ITC provides scanning services for "bubble"-style answer sheets. For exams to be scored during the December 2004 exam period, instructors need to make sure that the exams are brought to the ITC Help Desk, 2015 Ivy Road, Room 116, by the close of business (5 p.m.) on Wednesday, December 22. Exam sheets dropped off by this date will be scored by 5 p.m. on Thursday, December 23. Sheets dropped off on December 23 will be processed as time is available in the order received; however, results may not be available until the Help Desk reopens on Monday, January 3, 2005.
For more information, please see the website at
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/instruc/bubblescan.html
Questions about bubble-sheet scanning should be directed to the ITC Help Desk at 924-3731.
In order to clear some Myrinet network communication problems on the Birch cluster, on December 8 it was necessary to remove the nodes from PBS scheduler so that each node of the cluster could be rebooted. This meant that some users might have seen a delay in their jobs starting as nodes were offline during reboot.
Each node was returned to service after it was rebooted. We think this has cleared up the Myrinet communication problems some users were experiencing. If you think you are still having Myrinet communication problems, please contact ITC's Research Computing Support Center; email res-consult@virginia.edu or phone 243-8800.
ITC's SGI O200 systems have been reconfigured and became available for use in their new configuration on the afternoon of December 15, 2004. These machines now consist of two sets, each consisting of two dual-CPU machines, joined by a high-speed interconnect. Thus, each system effectively offers four CPUs. The system will be accessed by logging into the frontend, teak.itc.virginia.edu.
Direct access to the O200s will no longer
be allowed. Jobs will be submitted via thePBS scheduler as is currently the case for the
Linux clusters, Aspen and Birch. Users unfamiliar with PBS should read
the Aspen tutorial at
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/research/linux-cluster/aspen/tutor.html
for information about constructing and submitting PBS job scripts.
Questions about the new SGI configuration and PBS may be directed to ITC's Research Computing Support Center; email res-consult@virginia.edu or phone 243-8800.
Information Technology & Communication (ITC) has purchased a large number of licenses for the SpySweeper program from Webroot Software. This program not only detects and removes spyware and adware (collectively termed malware) on Windows-based computers, but once installed, protects your computer against future attacks.
The U.Va. license for SpySweeper includes free updates for the spyware definitions as well as program updates. Our license allows SpySweeper to be installed on any computer used by faculty, staff and students, whether the computer is owned by U.Va. or not. The license covers a limited number of stand-alone and enterprise (server) installations.
ITC is making SpySweeper (both stand-alone and enterprise versions)
available at no charge to users through the Research Computing Support
Center's licensing database:
http://web.virginia.edu/rescomp
Documentation about SpySweeper, including installation instructions, is available at
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/desktop/spysweeper
and
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/desktop/security/spyremoval.html
Questions about the license database may be directed to the
Research Computing Support Center;
email res-consult@virginia.edu
or phone 243-8800.
Questions about Spysweeper should be directed to
the ITC Help Desk; email consult@virginia.edu or phone
924-3731.
ITC is now distributing the Fall 2004 release of LabView 7.1, the data acquisition/analysis and control software system, for all computer platforms. The following products have been added or updated since the Spring 2004 release of LabView 7.1:
Specific questions about the upgrade, as well as general questions concerning the use of LabView, should be directed to the ITC Research Computing Support Center; email us at res-consult@virginia.edu or phone 243-8800.
IDL 6.1 had a significant bug and a patch has been released to fix it,
as well as to provide other enhancements. The patch will be applied to
the ITC Unix systems on December 15, 2004. Users with local (Windows or Macintosh)
installations can obtain a patch from ITC's IDL Web page; see the
Upgrade Notice at
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/research/idl/new.html
RSI's page at http://www.rsinc.com/download/instructions/idl61/relnotes_6.1.1.html provides information about the bugs fixed by this patch and instructions for installing it onto your Windows or Mac.
If you have questions about IDL, please contact the ITC Research Computing Support Group by visiting Wilson Hall, Room 244, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, by phoning 243-8800 or by sending email to res-consult@Virginia.EDU.
The technical computing software Mathematica has been upgraded to version 5.1 on all of ITC's Unix platforms (RS/6000, Sun, SGI, and Linux) and will be available by January 2005 on the PCs (Windows) and Macs (OS X) in the public computing labs.
Key new features in Mathematica 5.1 include the following:
Further information on how to access and use Mathematica 5.1 can be found on the
Research Computing Services Web page at
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/research/mathematica/
Specific questions about the upgrade, as well as general questions concerning the use of Mathematica, should be directed to the ITC Research Computing Support Center; email us at res-consult@virginia.edu or phone 243-8800.
Questions about the Totalview upgrade, as well as general questions concerning the use of Totalview, should be directed to the ITC Research Computing Support Center; email us at res-consult@virginia.edu or phone 243-8800.
The open source statistical environment R is now available on /common for
the Linux and Solaris platforms. The /uva/bin command R invokes version
2.0.0 on both platforms, while R.old may be used to run version 1.8.0 on
the Linux platform only. For more information on R, visit
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/research/R/
General questions concerning the use of R should be directed to the ITC Research Computing Support Center; email us at res-consult@virginia.edu or phone 243-8800.
Users who wish to install R themselves may now obtain version 2.0.1, the most recent release, from http://www.r-project.org/. R is available as Free Software under the terms of the Free Software Foundation's GNU General Public License in source code form. It compiles and runs on a wide variety of UNIX platforms and similar systems (including FreeBSD and Linux), Windows and MacOS.
R is a language and environment for statistical computing and graphics. It is a GNU project which is similar to the S language and environment which was developed at Bell Laboratories by John Chambers and colleagues. R can be considered as a different implementation of S. There are some important differences, but much code written for S runs unaltered under R.
R provides a wide variety of statistical (linear and nonlinear modelling, classical statistical tests, time-series analysis, classification, clustering, etc.) and graphical techniques, and is highly extensible. The S language is often the vehicle of choice for research in statistical methodology, and R provides an Open Source route to participation in that activity.
One of R's strengths is the ease with which well-designed publication-quality plots can be produced, including mathematical symbols and formulae where needed. Great care has been taken over the defaults for the minor design choices in graphics, but the user retains full control.
For a review of changes in version 2.0.1 of R, visit
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/research/R/changesv201.html
General questions concerning the use of R should be directed to the ITC Research Computing Support Center; email us at res-consult@virginia.edu or phone 243-8800.
Version 14.13 of the MINITAB maintenance release provides the latest product updates to MINITAB 14 and offers the highest levels of performance and quality available for MINITAB. It is strongly recommended that all MINITAB 14 users upgrade to MINITAB 14.13.
This update is for the English-language version of MINITAB 14.1,
14.11, or 14.12 for Windows. When the update is finished, the version
number of your software will be MINITAB 14.13.
This update DOES NOT apply to the MINITAB 14 demo, Student 14, to
5-month or 12-month rental versions of MINITAB 14 from e-academy.com,
or to any earlier release of MINITAB.
To obtain the patch visit
http://www.minitab.com/support/maintenance/Minitab14_13Homepage.aspx
Questions about MINITAB should be directed to the ITC Research
Computing Support Center; email us at res-consult@virginia.edu or
phone 243-8800.
Three ESRI server products are available to faculty, staff and students at U.Va. These server products are
ArcGIS 9.0 Service Pack 2 is now available on the ESRI Online Support Center. This service pack contains all the fixes from ArcGIS 9.0 Service Pack 1 and additional maintenance fixes and performance improvements. Service Pack 2 also adds support for OGC Web Mapping Services (WMS) into ArcMap.
Users of version 9.0 of ArcInfo, ArcView and ArcIMS should visit
http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=downloads.patchesServicePacks.gateway
and download patches or service packs as appropriate.
Questions about ArcGIS should be directed to the ITC Research Computing Support Center; email us at res-consult@virginia.edu or phone 243-8800.
Virtual PC for the Mac, version 7, is now available from the ITC Select CD contract. The ordering details for the license are:
Description: Virtual PC for Mac 7.0 Mac All Languages MVLPlease remember that this license does NOT include a license for whatever version of Windows or Linux you are going to install under Virtual PC. The Windows OS licenses on the UVa Select contract can NOT be used with Virtual PC, as they are upgrade only to an existing Windows license. You will need to buy the full retail version of Windows at a regular retail or mail-order outlet to install under Virtual PC.
Microsoft Part Number: S65-00637
Price: $30.21
The CD image for Virtual PC 7 for the Mac can be obtained by:
Description: Virtual PC for Mac 7.0 Mac English Disk Kit MVL CD
Microsoft Part Number: S65-00642
Price: $22.14
\\MAC_CDs\VirtualPC
Events and Announcements..........
Sun Microsystems representatives Jim Johnston and Rob Shear will host a "Lunch and Learn" product review on Wednesday, December 15, from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., at 2015 Ivy Road, room 102 (the Dynamics Building). Sun will provide pizza. Topics to be covered include
Please contact the ITC Research Computing Support Center for more information; email us at res-consult@virginia.edu or phone 243-8800.
The Research Computing Support Center will be closed starting Thursday at 5 p.m., December 23, through Sunday, January 2, 2005, for the Winter holiday break. The center will reopen on Monday morning, January 3, 2005, at 9 a.m.
There will be limited email support available over the winter break; email the Research Computing Support Center at res-consult@virginia.edu if you encounter problems like machine downtimes or licensing problems.
With the start of spring semester, the RCSC will continue our series of colloquia on topics of relevance to researchers on Wednesday afternoons. All talks will start at 3:30 p.m. in the ITC Research Computing Support Center, Wilson Hall, Room 244. The talks will last 60 to 75 minutes. Snacks and drinks will be provided. More information on the spring talks will be available in the January 2005 newsletter.
As always, the notes from previous talks are available on the Web at http://www.itc.virginia.edu/research/talks.
If you have a topic you'd like covered or have any questions about these talks, please contact the Research Computing Support Center at res-consult@virginia.edu or by phone at 243-8800.
SPSS is a statistical analysis package available for the Windows and Mac OS X platforms in the ITC Labs. Faculty and staff may also obtain CDs from Research Computing Support for installation on both on- and off-Grounds machines.
Versions currently distributed are SPSS 12.0 for Windows and SPSS 11.0
(Mac OS X). You can learn more about SPSS at U.Va. by visiting
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/research/SPSS/
Version 13.0 of SPSS for Windows will be available at U.Va. in the near future, and SPSS is hosting several free online seminars in December.
To register for these seminars, visit http://www.spss.com/.
Please contact the ITC Research Computing Support Center with questions; email us at res-consult@virginia.edu or phone 243-8800.
The following Matlab Webinars will be offered in December:
Application Deployment Using MATLAB
The MathWorks offers a variety of tools for converting MATLAB programs into
components that can be used outside of the MATLAB environment. Attend this
webinar, to be broadcast live on December 16, 2004, to see how this can be
accomplished.
http://www.mathworks.com/mtd_adep
Previously recorded Matlab webinars can be viewed at
http://www.mathworks.com/company/events/archived_webinars.shtml
They include:
Image Processing Using MATLAB
Discover how MATLAB, with the Image Processing and Image Acquisition Toolboxes, provides a complete environment for image access, analysis, visualization, and algorithm development.
http://www.mathworks.com/mtd_impr
Data Analysis & Development with MATLAB 7
This webinar provides a high-level overview of the major capabilities of the
MATLAB 7 product family. It highlights major new features in MATLAB 7 including
new programming and code efficiency features, integer and single-precision math,
and point and click plot creation. This webinar is for people unfamiliar with
MATLAB. MATLAB users interested in learning about new MATLAB 7 features should
view the recorded webinar "What's new in MATLAB 7."
What's New in MATLAB 7
This webinar is designed for people who have used MATLAB before. MATLAB 7
includes major new programming and code efficiency features, such as integer
and single-precision math, conditional breakpoints, cell execution in the Editor,
and M-Lint code checking. It also includes major new plotting and visualization
features such as interactive plot creation tools and M-code generation from plots.
Genetic Algorithms & New Optimization Methods in MATLAB
The Genetic Algorithm and Direct Search Toolbox provides both graphical user
interfaces and command line tools for applying these nontraditional optimization
techniques, which augment the traditional methods found in the Optimization Toolbox.
This webinar is appropriate for those unfamiliar with MATLAB, as well as current
MATLAB users interested in optimization.
Please contact the ITC Research Computing Support Center with questions; email us at res-consult@virginia.edu or phone 243-8800.
Information Technology & Communication (ITC) in partnership with the University Library will host the 3rd annual Faculty Technology Open House for all faculty, researchers, and instructors at the University of Virginia.
Jump start your spring semester by attending the Teaching Resource Workshop in Ruffner Hall and then stop by the open house for a laptop tuneup, discussions on Spysweeper, MS PowerPoint tricks, a digital services' overview, and information on MyUVa and Sakai.
It will all be happening on January 18, 2005 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Charles L. Brown Science & Engineering Library, Clark Hall. Join us at this beautifully renovated Library as we "Share Ideas in Technology." Technical professionals will demonstrate some tips and tricks using technology and software tools to assist you in the challenges of teaching and research!
Visit the Open House website at
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/training/conferences/fto2005
for more information or contact Nancy Rogers, ITC Training Services,
nfr3f@virginia.edu or call 982-2991.
The "Virginia Visualization Group" will meet again in January
to discuss the use of computer visualization for teaching and research at U.Va. The exact meeting time will be posted on our ITC Researchers Portal "Hot Topics" when it is set. Check this Web page
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/reseachers/
for the announcement of the date, time, and location. You can also sign-up for the VVG mail list and have the announcement mailed to you, details below.
This meeting is a brown-bag affair and all are welcome. Discussion on the Virtual Reality Theater proposal: needs, wants, ways and means will continue.
In short, the purposes of the VVG are:
The VVG has created an opt-in mailing list for those interested in joining in their discussions. Visit http://lists.village.virginia.edu/mailman/listinfo/vvg
to subscribe to the mailing list. If you have any trouble subscribing, send email to Dave Luebke (luebke@virginia.edu) or Chris Jessee (jessee@virginia.edu).
The SASware Ballot is an annual software survey that consists of
suggestions submitted by SAS customers throughout the year. The
ballot is your opportunity to vote for new features you would
like to see added to our software. Complete your ballot now and
tell us what you want us to know. Votes must be received at SAS
by Jan. 7, 2005. Vote Now! Visit the website at
http://support.sas.com/techsup/feedback/sasware_ballot05/ballot.html
The Springer Verlag MATHEMATICS Yellow Sale (including Birkhauser's Green Sale!) for Fall 2004 will end on December 31, 2004.
Over 225 selected titles in Mathematics and related area of interest are available at substantial discounts off of the list prices.
Faculty, Staff, TA, and Departmental discounts apply in addition to Springer's discounts.
Keep an eye on our web site, http://www.bookstore.virginia.edu/, where we will soon have a link to Springer's YELLOW SALE 2004 Catalogue.
Questions: call us at 924-1073 or e-mail us at bookshop@virginia.edu.
The 30th annual SAS Users Group International Conference will be held in
Philadelphia April 10-13, 2005 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
For more information on this conference, visit
http://support.sas.com/usergroups/sugi/sugi30/index.html
The 2005 Maple Conference will be held at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario Canada, on July 17-20, 2005.
The Maple Conference is an annual meeting of Maple enthusiasts and experts from around the globe and a wide range of disciplines. The high-impact program enables you to benefit from the experience and insights of your peers and leading figures in mathematics and computing.
The program committee welcomes abstracts in the areas of:
The 2005 Joint Program Committee of the American Statistical Association, the International Biometric Society (ENAR and WNAR), the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and the Statistical Society of Canada invites submission of contributed papers for the program of the Joint Statistical Meetings to be held August 7-11, 2005, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Joint Statistical Meeting is the largest is the largest gathering of statisticians held in North America.
Abstract submission for Topic-Contributed and Contributed papers will open December 1, 2004 and will close on February 1, 2005 at 11:59 p.m., EST. For details on the conference and abstract submission, visit the conference site at http://www.amstat.org/meetings/jsm/2005/.
Happy Holidays from the Research Computing Support Group!
Please encourage your colleagues to subscribe to our Research Computing maillist today!
