Supported by: ACS
Accessing your account on the Rensselaer Computing System (RCS).
To begin a UNIX session, enter your login name at the prompt:
login:
or
Userid:
and your password at the prompt
Password:
The line will remain blank while you are typing your password.
The prompt login: will appear if you are logging in to UNIX with a remote connection.
A Message of the Day (MOTD) may appear during login. You can read the MOTD and then continue by left-clicking on the Click here to continue button. (If you are remotely logged in, the MOTD will scroll by on its own.) Once you have logged in, a Messages window will appear in the bottom left corner of the screen (it displays system information). An RCS Applications menu will appear in the upper right corner of the screen. Above the menu will be a mailbox and a clock. The mailbox turns black and raises its flag when it you have received new mail.
To issue commands, you need to enter them in a UNIX window. To open a UNIX window, left-click on the UNIX option in the RCS Applications menu.
A UNIX shell prompt will appear in the UNIX window. The shell prompt will look somewhat like this:
/afs/rpi.edu/home/31/userid (1)
You can enter commands at this prompt. This also indicates that you are logged in properly and have access to your "home directory," which is where your files are stored. Every home directory has some default files placed in it and three subdirectories, public, private, and yesterday, which are described in this document.
For general information about RCS Accounts and using them, please refer to Memos RPI.112, Using UNIX Workstations, and RPI.113, Using UNIX: The Rensselaer Computing System (RCS).
If you cannot remember your password, go to the VCC Reception Counter, and ask to have your password reset. No one can read the password file, so it is impossible to give you your old password. Remember to bring your Rensselaer ID card with you.
If you have some trouble logging in and see a message like:
login incorrect
you might have typed your userid or your password in the wrong letter case. Remember that UNIX is case-sensitive. If your userid is in lowercase letters, then you must always type it in lowercase letters. The same rule applies for passwords and commands
If you log in and your UNIX prompt appears as bash$ that means the computer that your RCS home directory is stored on is down. You should try logging in again later.
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Please send comments and suggestions to
consult@rpi.edu