Academic and Research Computing
QUICK STUDY #1
January 2003

RCS Basics

The Rensselaer Computing System (RCS) consists of hundreds of networked personal computers, UNIX workstations, and laptop jacks across campus. This document will give you an introduction to some basics you'll need to know as a member of the Rensselaer computing community.

Changing Your Password

Anyone who obtains your password and uses your account can read and alter your files, send potentially incriminating mail in your name, and charge printing to your account.

As soon as possible after you receive your Rensselaer computer account, you must change your password and you should change it frequently thereafter. Note that until you change your password for the first time, you will not be able to log in to most public machines or use WebCT. To change your password on-line, use a Web browser to access the main RPInfo homepage located at the URL www.rpi.edu/rpinfo. Next, select the Academic & Research Computing link from the Computing Services section of this main page, then select RCS Accounts, then Changing Your RCS Account Password and then You can change your password on-line which takes you to the on-line password changing program.

The system will prompt you to verify your identity by entering your RCS userID and current password. Then follow the instructions on the screen to change your password.

To change your password on the RCS UNIX platform, open a UNIX window and enter the passwd command at the UNIX prompt. For more information on selecting a good password, please see Quick Study #19, Changing Your RCS and Windows Passwords. (Please refer to the section below for information on finding this document.)

Getting Help and Additional Information

Help Desk. Academic and Research Computing's consultants are available to help you and answer your questions at the Help Desk in the VCC. They also have a web page which can be found by clicking Help Desk under the Computing Services section of the main RPInfo homepage.

You may also call the consultants at ext. 7777, or send electronic mail to consult@rpi.edu. And if you would like to make any suggestions, please send electronic mail to suggest@rpi.edu.

If you encounter any workstations or printers that don't seem to work properly, please call the Help Desk at ext. 7777 so that they can file a trouble ticket about the problem.

RPInfo. RPInfo, Rensselaer's information system, at www.rpi.edu/rpinfo, brings together information from all corners of campus, from class schedules and academic programs to Union clubs, library information, computing-related information, and more. For instance, you may reach the Student Information System and register for classes on-line by starting at RPInfo, or you might navigate to the Athletics section of the RPinfo homepage and choose an intramural team to join. No matter what your interest, RPInfo will lead you to many valuable on-line resources.

ARC Documentation. Have a computing-related question? Check out Academic and Research Computing's (ARC) homepage at www.rpi.edu/computing! From there, you'll find links to information about accounts, printing, upcoming short courses, various computing services, and lots more. To access the page, click on the Academic & Research Computing link under the Computing Services section of the main RPInfo homepage.

ARC Quick Studies and Memos are also available from the ARC homepage - click on Quick Studies and Memos or go to the URL http://www.rpi.edu/computing/docs/. Printed copies can be picked up from the documentation racks located outside the VCC Help Desk.

The Kiosk. Another good way to keep up with the latest computing news is to read the DotCIO newsletter, The Kiosk. The on-line Kiosk is available by clicking The Kiosk on the RPInfo homepage. Printed copies are also available free-of-charge either by subscription or at the VCC Help Desk. To subscribe, send your subscription request, along with your name, on-campus or off-campus address, and Rensselaer affiliation via electronic mail to kiosk-subscribe@rpi.edu.

UNIX On-Line Help. UNIX also has on-line help, called man pages. To check for additional help on a specific topic, enter a command of the form man topic from a UNIX window, replacing topic with the actual topic you wish to review.

Printing

You can often print your output directly from the application in which you're working by pulling down the File menu and selecting the Print option.

To print from a UNIX workstation, you can also print plain text or PostScript files by issuing the lpr command from the prompt. To choose a printer other than the default printer for your lab location, you can use the printerchooser utility from the RCS Applications menu, or use the -P option with the lpr command. (For more information, refer to the on-line ``manual page" on printing by issuing the man printing command from a UNIX window.)

You are entitled to $12.50 of free black-and-white PostScript printing each semester. For additional information about printing, including complete cost information, refer to Quick Study #16, Printing from RCS UNIX Systems.

Increasing Your Disk Quota

By default, you receive 25 MB of disk space in your RCS UNIX account, and you may use this space to store files and directories. Your web page HTML files should be stored in your public_html directory.

You may increase your account's disk quota, but you will be charged for any additional disk space. From the ARC home page, click RCS accounts, then Updating your RCS account quota, and then On-line Quota Request Tool. At a UNIX prompt, enter quota_request -quota # replacing the pound sign (#) with the total number of megabytes you want in your disk space.

Using the Student Information System (SIS)

The Student Information System (SIS) allows you to register on-line, view your grades and class schedules, and more.

To access SIS, click on the Student Information System (reg/drop/add) link on the main RPinfo homepage or go directly to the URL http://sis.rpi.edu.

About this document ...

Published by Academic and Research Computing, RPI, Troy, NY 12180