News

Central Unix system

created October 1997
last revised Nov. 23, 2004

CNS policies
and procedures
eIDs and passwords
Prohibitions
Network use
Mailing lists
Usenet news
Central Unix system
Group computing
Web resources
Reporting misuse
E-mail

Separate policies
Rates
Domain names
Spam filtering Wireless network

Computing labs
and InfoCommons
Recreational computing
Current policies
to be revised

Questions about CNS policies and procedures should be sent to cns@k-state.edu.

K-State IT policies apply to the use of CNS resources, as do all applicable K-State policies and procedures and all federal, state, and local laws.

For assistance with IT at K-State, call the IT Help Desk,
785-532-7722,
helpdesk@k-state.edu.

On this page

Overview
Unix disk quotas
Mail quota
Project space
Temp space
Recovering lost files
Executing programs (processes)

Overview

The university Unix system is a multi-user system, which has a potential for abuse. Therefore, K-Staters are expected to observe common rules of usage and courteous conduct.

Unix machines in the Dickens university computing lab are designed to remain powered on at all times. Power switches should never be toggled off/on, nor should the systems be rebooted in any way.

Unix disk quotas

Unix accounts are initially set up with default system resources, including disk storage and a webpage directory. Disk quotas can be raised from the defaults by the consultants in the IT Help Desk within limits defined appropriately for undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff.

The "soft limit" is the amount of disk storage a K-Stater is expected to remain below. Each time a K-Stater exceeds the soft limit, a warning is displayed and (s)he has seven days to remove or compress files to get back under the soft quota. If the time limit expires, the system will not allocate space for more files and the K-Stater may not be able to log in. A K-Stater cannot exceed the hard limit under any circumstances.

Disk-space limits
Category	New accounts	Maximum
Undergraduates	8 MB soft limit 12 MB hard limit	8 MB soft limit 12 MB hard limit
Graduate student	8 MB soft limit 12 MB hard limit	16 MB soft limit 24 MB hard limit
Faculty and staff	8 MB soft limit 12 MB hard limit	32 MB soft limit 48 MB hard limit

Mail quota

Mail quotas are listed on K-State's e-mail limits and quotas page.

To see the size of your mailbox, go to the eID website, sign in to your eProfile, and click "View your e-mail folder sizes".

K-State eIDs of extreme or unresponsive abusers may be disabled after attempts are made to contact them.

Project space

Space for special projects with large storage needs can be allocated independent of your eID so they do not impact your personal disk quota. Faculty and staff who need project space should provide the following information on the CNS Project Space Request Form:

Full name, K-State eID, department, and position of faculty or staff member responsible for the project space.
K-State eIDs of all others who need access to the space.
The name that will identify the project space. This is most often the log-in name of the sponsor, but can also be something else descriptive of the project. This will be the name of the directory created for the project in the file system so it must follow Unix directory naming conventions.
Brief description of project, such as "Census data to analyze with SPSS".
Estimate of disk space needs. If unsure, use "unknown".
Duration of project, after which the project space will be removed. If this is an ongoing project with no deadline, use "indefinite" and the space will have no expiration date. You will receive notification one month before the duration expires and have an opportunity to extend the deadline if needed.

Graduate and undergraduate students may also receive project space if the project cannot be reasonably accommodated in the eID space under normal disk-space quotas or with a minor increase in the personal quota. Requests for student project space must come from a sponsoring faculty member. Projects of indefinite duration are not allowed for students.

Project space may only be used for files specific to the project for which the space was assigned. CNS staff reserves the right to review the contents of the project space to confirm compliance with this policy.

Project space may be shared among multiple computer users. The project manager may use Solaris Access Control Lists (ACLs) to grant access to the other project members. The IT Help Desk consultants can help with ACLs.

Temp space

Space for brief storage of large files in transmission is available in a temporary (/tmp) subdirectory. Systematic use of /tmp files to evade the disk-quota mechanism is not allowed. Files stored in /tmp longer than one day are removed each night and whenever the system is rebooted.

Recovering lost files

Lost files, providing they existed at the time of a system backup, can be restored by the system administrators, but this task is very time-consuming. The process can sometimes take one to two days, and is done on a time-available basis. Sometimes, depending on when and where the file was created, a file may not be recoverable. To request a file restoration, fill out and submit the online Request for file restoration form.

Executing programs (processes)

Programs that are expected to run several hours should be run only on a central Unix server, not on a workstation in the university computing labs. Only one long program per Unix server may be run at a time. In general, K-Staters should avoid monopolizing computer or network resources at any level. Introduction or propagation of any program designed to damage, interfere with, or overload any computer system or network is prohibited.

The running of service daemons or mailing list software on CNS equipment without approval is not allowed. Neither origination nor transmission of electronic chain letters are permitted by CNS. K-Staters desiring mail filtering are encouraged to use a POP mailer and employ its filtering capabilities to achieve their ends.

Installing or configuring hardware or software to allow access by unauthorized computer users to any K-State information technology components is not allowed.

Do not run IRC robots from CNS equipment. CNS does not have the resources to support everyone running their favorite bot on our machines. More generally, K-Staters may not run bots, daemons, servers, or any other background program on CNS systems, except those that are part of the supplied environment.

Aside from a few approved exceptions listed and described at www.ksu.edu/tools/cgi, the use of CGI scripts by K-Staters is prohibited. Unapproved scripts have the potential of using unwarranted amounts of resource and/or causing system crashes.

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Kansas State University
July 20, 2006