Linux: Supported Services
Managed Linux Installations
CSG provide and support a managed Linux distribution suitable for use on both desktops and servers, deployed on all undergraduate lab machines and available as an option on CSG-provided machines for staff and PhD students.
The current supported DoC Linux distribution is a locally customized version of Ubuntu 14.04, aka version Trusty Tahr, released in April 2014. Previous standard distributions include customized versions of Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail), Ubuntu 12.04 (Precise Pangolin), Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal), Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx), Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope), Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron), Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn), Mandrake 10.2 and Mandrake 9.1.
Remote login
Remote login to DoC Linux systems is via secure shell (SSH). CSG recommend that you either SSH to the corona, edge, line or ray workstations in the undergraduate lab, or the shell or batch servers. Although you can ssh to all these machines within the college, you can only ssh to the following five DoC Linux servers from off-site (that is, outside the college network):
shell1.doc.ic.ac.uk
shell2.doc.ic.ac.uk
shell3.doc.ic.ac.uk
shell4.doc.ic.ac.uk and
svnuser.doc.ic.ac.uk (for version control access only, please).
You may ssh to any other DoC machine if outside the college network either:
- in two hops (via a shell server first) or
by first connecting to the College VPN and then ssh'ing directly to your chosen DoC machine.
Long running jobs (that is, over a day, and with very large ram requirements) should run on batch1.doc.ic.ac.uk or batch2.doc.ic.ac.uk.
The shell servers are intended primarily for Windows and off-site users wanting a Linux command line shell here at DoC. They are not intended for running lengthy simulations; we reserve the right to kill long running processes at our discretion.
batch1, running Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty Tahr), is a separate machine designed for long running jobs. batch2, running Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty Tahr), is also a separate machine designed for long running jobs.
When logging in from outside DoC, remember to use the full hostname, e.g. shell1.doc.ic.ac.uk, and provide your DoC username if that is not the same at both ends. For instance:
ssh dw209@shell2.doc.ic.ac.uk