[wplug] suggestions on Unix/Linux machines at Pitt labs?

[Michael A. Smith]

gll6+ at pitt.edu wrote:

>Juan,
>I am also a pitt student in oakland.  As a quick fix, you can up your quota in the unix system to 20 MB with a call to computer accounts services (624-9343)
>After 20 MB you need a professor or ta to increase the quota for you.  For instance I am finishing up cs1550 intro to OS and we code in nachos, so the ta increased my quota from 20 to 50 MB.
>  
>
When I was a student at Pitt I had to get a prof's notice to go from 10
to 15. Keep in mind just how many students to whom Pitt grants 10MB. It
turns out to be quite a lot of space to administer.

>I doubt you will need much more than 15MB for anything...altho you didnt specify what you actually need the space for.
>  
>
They'll probably be amenable to a space increase for most any legal
academic activity: I'm sure one of the reasons they keep space low is to
discourage using your UNIX account for illegal filesharing.

>The labs are usually empty because many people find it easier to ssh into the solaris system via javalab.cs.pitt.edu
>  
>
Man, I've been gone a long time! What happened to unixs.cis.pitt.edu and
unix-eval.cis.pitt.edu?

>As for you advising professionals how to do their jobs more efficiently...by means of relaying suggestions not your own...from a novice standpoint... is a little rediculous.
>  
>
This sounds a bit harsh to me, Gary. I often get frustrated by so-called
professionals who refuse to take advice. There are an awful lot of good
examples of novices who came up with novel solutions to professional
problems.

That being said, Juan, I think if you're looking for technical reasons
why Pitt won't automatically grant students more space: besides the
large number of students, and to discourage illegal filesharing, I think
you'd better ask the pitt helpdesk (via email would probably get you a
more verbose response than via phone).

I'm going to spawn another thread from this topic, because I'm fighting
a trend at my company with similar traits...

-Mike