Documentation - Operating Systems
Basic Unix - 1. Introduction
Networking Services and Information Technologies (NSIT) operates the NSIT Server Cluster, which provide multi-user Unix services to the general campus community. NSIT also manages a variety of other services; these are described in the NSIT Resource Guide, available at computing sites around campus.
This manual will introduce the version of Unix which runs on the NSIT Server Cluster, specifically, it's interactive-use machine, harper.
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About your account
All faculty, staff and students automatically receive free accounts on harper. You can use your account as soon as you have "claimed" your Unix account. You claim your account according to the instructions on the "claims" letter that you receive as a new student. New faculty and staff, and returning students who do not remember their passwords, should go to the Accounts Administration Office at 1100 East 57th Street, Room 100F (in the Regenstein Library) to activate your Unix account.
If you've used your account in the past, just log in as usual. If you've forgotten your username or password, you'll need to come to the Account Administrator with your ID (this is necessary for security reasons).
Thanks to licensing restrictions, only academic uses of harper are permitted; administrative and commercial uses are prohibited.
After reading this manual, you should be able to:
- log in to harper;
- understand the essentials of Unix file structure;
- use some basic Unix commands to navigate your way around the system;
- manage files and directories;
- edit and print files you've created under Unix;
- communicate with other Unix users; and
- locate further information to expand your knowledge of Unix.
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Last updated: 7/17/08