Resources for Experimenters

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Calibration Sources

An inventory of calibration sources at the NSCL will be mailed to NSCL users upon request. Please contact Raman Anantaraman (raman@nscl.msu.edu).

Computer System

Supported Software at NSCL

Computer Trouble Reporting

If your experiment is receiving beam and requires immediate assistance, please go to room 166 (first door on the left if you walk from the east end of the data-U towards the seminar room) and let any person in room 166 know that you need help with a running experiment.

For less urgent problems, please contact the computer help desk:

Visitor Laptops: How to Connect to the Network

All outside user laptops are required to either use the university provided wireless network or the designated network ports in the Outside User Area.

Wireless DHCP registration is provided through Michigan State University's dynamic host configuration server. Registration requires an MSUNetID and password. The NSCL has some guest access credentials available: please see your host when you arrive if you wish to use the MSU wireless network. For more specific information, the links below take you to the MSU wireless help website. If you need further assistance once on site, please contact the NSCL helproom in room N-111 (Phone Ext. 407).

The outside user area (Room 175) provides 10/100 MB connectivity to the internet. This area is protected with a more restrictive firewall and provides a fallback area for laptops that cannot access the wireless network.

Computer Account for Experiments

An experimental computer account has two separate disk subdirectories associated with it, each with its own lifetime and purpose. One is used for collecting event data, while the other is used as a ‘home’ directory, containing data acquisition programs and other experiment-related files.

  1. The account’s ‘home’ directory, to be found under /user/expnumber, is the directory you get dropped into when you log into a UNIX/linux machine. It can also be mapped as \\homedir\home3\DAQ\\expnumber from a Windows machine. When the account gets deleted, so does this filespace and anything in it. This is where your dotfiles reside that determine your operating environment, PATH, etc. There is a 1Gb quota on this filespace, so do not put event files here! This filesystem is backed up nightly by the computer group.

  2. “Event space” to spool your data during an experiment will be assigned to you shortly before your run commences, and must be relinquished within 1 week of the end of your allotted beam time. These event areas mount as /user /event?, but only on the computers in the data acquisition area. Once your experiment finishes, you are responsible for copying your data to a tape, either ‘by hand,’ or by using the Stager part of the NSCL data acquisition system. Once your copy has been made, you must delete all files in this filespace so it can be re-used by a succeeding experiment. This filespace is NEVER backed up by the computer group: be sure your tape copy has been verified.
  3. In order to validate your data tapes by reading them back to a separate file area, the NSCL can provide (if requested) a large chunk of temporary file space for this purpose. Once you have confirmed that your data tapes are indeed ‘good’, this area will be wiped clean. This area is NEVER backed up by the computer group. It is strongly recommended to immediately validate your tapes after writing them! Once the event areas have been deleted, there is no copy of your data in existence except for the data tapes you have written!

When the beam time of the experiment concludes, the experimental account will be deleted after 30 days. It is the responsibility of the experimenter(s) to make backup copies of any data, configuration information, documents, etc. before the account is deleted. The computer group provides tape drives for this purpose. Once an account has been deleted, it cannot be recovered by the computer group. Please be sure to use supported media (LTO tape) if you expect to be able to read your backup tapes at the NSCL! As part of the closeout procedure for experimental accounts, you will be asked to confirm that the account’s files have been properly archived.

Data Acquisition

Detailed information on the NSCL data acquisition computer systems as well as the new readout and analysis software currently under development can be found here. Our aim is to be able to provide users with a user-friendly, yet flexible environment to perform their experiments as well as analyze their data. We envision that each supported "device" of the laboratory will have its own set of dedicated and maintained hardware and software, which can be pieced together relatively effortlessly. If you need clarifications or additional details, please contact Ron Fox (fox@nscl.msu.edu).