XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 LIP and the Traveling Physicist Jorge Gomes LIP - Computer Centre

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 About LIP

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 The LIP context –LIP is the Portuguese HEP laboratory. Lisbon, Coimbra and Faro > 100 persons –LIP does not host IT resources for groups or experiments with large external contributions. –Most LIP users are internal users. –One exception is Grid: LIP is involved in CrossGrid and DataGrid LIP supports the ATLAS, CMS and crossgrid VOs LIP hosts the CrossGrid central systems –Currently Grid systems are separated from the remaining systems.

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 Resource usage –LIP hosts regularly external researchers Foreigner Portuguese –External researchers use both LIP and external computational resources –LIP researchers travel frequently to: Other research institutes Conferences –Travelling is no longer only to HEP institutes: Astrophysics, nuclear medicine …

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 Access restrictions to LIP resources –LIP internal resources are closed to the Internet with the following exceptions: SSH Inbound access is open for some central systems Web servers Central web server ( Webmail server Mail Secure IMAP is allowed Tunnelling SSH is the only supported tunnelling mechanism Other forms of tunnelling are being considered Some exceptions are allowed for trusted hosts/networks

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 Local access to LIP resources –Guests are allowed to use local resources: Portable computers can: Obtain IP addresses from DHCP. Connect to the internet (using NAT). Send through the LIP mail server. Print through the central LPD/Samba servers. Use the VRVS reflector. Use the wireless LAN upon authorization. Some public workstations with windows are available. For external users that will stay at LIP for some time local accounts are provided.

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 Information access policies –The information publish in the web servers is divided: Strictly local Available only from internal web servers. For LIP users Accessible from the Internet with a password. General information Open to the Internet. –We are working to change the look of the web server: General public page Intranet page

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 Remote access –LIP provides remote access through: A pool of analog modems ISDN router Internet (SSH to some central systems) –Remote access using modem or ISDN: Has more rights than the Internet access More systems are accessible through SSH Mail server is open for sending Telnet to some systems is still allowed But much less rights than the local access

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 The user opinion

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 Remote access –Users want access to resources from: Universities and other institutes Conferences Home (through ADSL and Cable) Hotels Airports –Using: Their portables (everybody has one) Local workstations and terminals

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 Arriving to a site with a portable –Users complaint: Network configuration Different site policies (such as portable registration). Some sites still don’t have DHCP. Physical network Lack of network sockets for portables. Wireless networking coverage is often bad. Why doesn’t CERN have WLAN at the Foyer ??? Power Sometimes the power plugs don’t fit in. Most conference rooms lack power outlets.

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 Arriving to a site with a portable –Users complaint: Mail usage Home SMTP servers are closed because of SPAM. Access to the home mail server can be difficult without web mail. Obtaining the name of the local SMTP gateway can be a problem and requires reconfiguration of the mail agent. Different print environments In some sites special packages must be installed. Installation of drivers in Windows, Linux and Mac.

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 Arriving to a site without a portable –Users complaint: Workstations Need of a local account to use an existing workstation (even public). Different accounts at each site. Lack of public workstations for guests. SSH and SCP is not installed everywhere. Affects login, file copy and X applications. X servers to available in some public PCs Network Most sites don’t accept telnet This is a problem with the old X terminals

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 Generally –Users complaint: X being slow across sites. SSH compression doesn’t work when privilege separation is enabled. Access to the home directory without AFS is difficult. Differences in the commands available at the several sites. Problems with powerpoint compatibility across sites. Difficulties in transferring files namely when using portables. Access to systems behind firewalls. Certificates and CAs not recognized everywhere (affects webmail).

XXIII HTASC Meeting – CERN March 2003 Recommendations –WEBMAIL is essential when travelling. –Things that should be available at all institutes: Wireless LAN Power outlets DHCP SSH and SCP PS printers available through LPD Public workstations for guests Web page with information for travellers on how to use the local resources