The 2nd minor update to ScientificLinux 6 (which is based on RHEL6) is now ready for deployment to the Informatics SL6 DICE office machines. A minor update like this provides us with the opportunity to update important software and fix any bugs which are not security issues (we apply security updates as soon as they […]
As most of you will be aware, access to the School’s AFS file system requires that the user be in possession of a valid Kerberos ticket. Most of the time, this is handled behind the scenes and doesn’t cause any problems. Default Kerberos ticket is only valid for 18 hours though and this can cause […]
Back in summer 2009 we reviewed our School Database provision. The result of that review was to commence a project to re-factor both of the existing back and front ends. This project also “adopted” a number of additional areas not specifically covered in the original review, including: integration of the old IGS and ISS Access […]
Periodically, we test our preparedness for disasters by holding a mock disaster exercise. On 27th February, the computing staff were told that part of the roof of the Forum server room had collapsed due to flood damage and that this had destroyed a number of the server racks. Obviously in such a scenario, it would […]
Major updates have been provided for the firefox web browser and the thunderbird mail client on ScientificLinux 6 which will take us up to version 10 (Extended Support Release). These updates provide a large number of fixes for serious security holes as well as many feature enhancements. We have tested these updates and do not […]
In a previous post we mentioned that noise levels in the self-managed server room (i.e. B.Z14) of the Informatics Forum were higher than we might like. And users of that room can’t have failed to notice that it’s also been much hotter and stuffier than anyone might like … We’re pleased to say that alterations have […]
As a result of a 2009 EU directive, the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (“PECR”) have been amended such that visitors to web sites must now give their prior consent to the placing of cookies. The way in which this is to be done is not specified by the regulations; the ICO’s […]
It is possible to set up self-managed machines to use kerberos with ssh to connect to DICE machines without entering a password and we strongly recommend that you do this. We have created step-by-step instructions to help you set this up under Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. These instructions are also linked to from […]
An overview of what browsers are available on DICE
In early October 2011 we discovered that the School of Informatics SSH service had been seriously compromised. Since that time our Computing Team has been working very hard to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the event and provide a robust response. As part of the response to this event we have written a detailled report. […]
