You should have the appropriate hardware/software prerequisites
before you start.
Any desktop device must be somehow connected to the main computer or
network, which usually requires a plug in the wall. Make sure that the responsible person at
your site is informed if you want to connect your equipment, for advice and support. Typically,
an application for network connectivity must be filed. If you do not understand what the required
information is, ask your colleagues or inquire with the local network administrator.
If you have a workstation, PC or Macintosh, you
need software (commercial or public domain) for connection to the
IP network . To work with molecular biology software, you will most certainly need a terminal
emulation program and (optionally) a so-called Web browser
. The standard setup at your site will most probably include such software but if you are uncertain
make sure that you ask for this prerequisite. Note that, depending on the application you want
to run (such as WPI or SeqLab ), your desktop device must
run additional software
which makes it possible to display "windows" on the screen. The usage of this so-called X-Windows system is
described below . Note that the use of such an X-Server might impact your PC's performance
in considerable fashion.
NOTE: Even if you have all cables ready, you MUST call the responsible person
BEFORE you connect. Network connectivity REQUIRES that your host is properly named and configured.
SECURITY ADVICE: Some computer vendors or "colleagues" recommend
that you use some pre-set address or just invent one. NEVER FOLLOW THIS ADVICE. MALFUNCTION OF
THE ENTIRE LOCAL AREA NETWORK WILL BE A POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCE which will, most probably, affect
your presence on the network in a very negative sense.
If you wish to use a local printer attached to your PC or terminal,
you need to make sure that this printer supports so-called 'pass-through' printing.
Note that, depending on your local configuration, printing will most probably use the
network , which implies that various devices at different physical locations are accessible.
Biology software, like the GCG package, might require specific settings. Setup details are described
later .
The following assumes that the hardware and communication software are
properly installed and that you use a device with keyboard
input. PC (Windows) or Macintosh applications might offer a click-and-enter interface where you
just need to give the
name of the computer to connect to (e.g., a graphical user interface to 'telnet'). Examples
are 'versaterm' on the macintosh and 'reflection' or 'procomm' on the Windows platform.
SECURITY ADVICE: You will most probably be able to connect to
any computer in the world once you are connected to a central computer and use this as a 'base'
for 'Internet surfing'. If you do use international networks, and access
systems outside of the local area network, you will access environments, programs, databases
and computers which are not under local control. Rules which are available for local use, therefore,
might not apply in the usual way. This consideration is particularly important for environments
beyond firewalls (commercial companies). ANY UNSOLICITED EXPOSURE OF SEQUENCE OR OTHER PROPRIETARY
DATA IS PROHIBITED. Be aware that such a rule will also be appropriate for academia, however,
it might not be strictly enforced as in industrial environments.
Open a window if you are on a PC or Mac, otherwise hit <RETURN>. If you get a prompt which identifies a LAT terminal server (LAT: Local Area
Transport, a DEC-proprieraty protocol for local area networks), e.g.,
Enter Username>
enter your account name and hit <RETURN> again. (You could also
abbreviate your name here, at this point there is no check.) If you get
local>
you will be able to connect to your host on the local network. E.g., to connect to the host
BALU, type
local> connect balu
Open a window if you are on a PC or Mac, otherwise hit <RETURN>. If you get a prompt which identifies a LAT terminal server (LAT: Local Area
Transport, a DEC-proprieraty protocol for local area networks), e.g.,
Enter Username>
enter your account name and hit <RETURN> again. (You could also
abbreviate your name here, at this point there is no check.) If you get
local>
you will be able to connect to your host on the local network. E.g., to connect to the host
BALU, type
local> connect balu
Open a window if you are on a PC or Mac, otherwise hit <RETURN>. If you get a prompt which identifies a broad band ethernet terminal server, e.g.,
#
enter the service name. E.g., to connect to the host residing at 631, type
# call 631
PC or Mac System
If you run a computer which is capable of opening 'telnet' communications directly, you need
the application 'telnet' or a similar utility. A famous public domain program for various systems
is available from NCSA, ask your computer expert for details. Famous commercial programs are
versaterm, reflection, procomm. The naming and addressing works as described below.
IMPORTANT: The network setup must be done correctly. Your PC or Macintosh computer will
not behave correctly on the network if it has not been configured to do so. You need a 'network
configuration', which is a set of data obtained from the computer centre's specialists. These
data have to be entered in the 'network configuration' panel or the 'MacTCP' tool before the
connection is made. Frequently, errors occur if the NAMESERVER addresses were not entered correctly.
It can be that your computer does not understand TCP/IP names because it is not connected
to a name server . Then, you need to find out
the so-called 'address' of the remote computer. This address is typically a set of four numbers
separated by dots. The WWW browser and other networking software will most certainly fail if
the name server system does not operate properly.
VMS System
If you have an account on a VMS machine, and you wish to connect to another system which runs
TCP/IP , the command to connect to the host example.site.domain.com
would be
$ TELNET EXAMPLE.SITE.DOMAIN.COM
The command 'telnet' may fail if it is unknown on your local computer. TCP/IP is an optional
product on VMS systems and needs to be configured or purchased separately. Ask your system manager
for assistance. It can be that your VMS system does not understand TCP/IP names because it is
not connected to a name server . Then, you need
to find out the so-called 'address' of the remote computer. This address is typically a set of
four numbers separated by dots. For example, to connect to a node called 164.77.1.23, type
$ TELNET 164.77.1.23
This command might fail because the remote computer is currently unavailable for communication.
Then, the error message would be
network is unreachable
or similar.
UNIX system
If you have an account on a UNIX machine, and you want to connect to another system which runs
TCP/IP , the command to connect to the host example.site.domain.com
would be
% telnet example.site.domain.com
It can be that your UNIX system does not understand TCP/IP names because it is not connected
to a name server . Then, you need to find out
the so-called 'address' of the remote computer. This address is typically a set of four numbers
separated by dots. For example, to connect to a node called 164.77.1.23 type
% telnet 164.77.1.23
This command might fail because the remote computer is currently unavailable for communication.
Then, the error message would be
network is unreachable
or similar.
If you have an account on a VMS system, and you need to connect to another system which still
runs DECnet (Phase IV), the command to connect to the host biox would be
$ SET HOST BIOX
It may happen that the command fails because the computer name is not known on your local
computer. Then, the error message would be
%F, remote host is unknown
In this case, you must determine the full address of the computer. Consider the following
example: If the area number of the host is 47, and its host number is 36, the calculation is
to multiply the area by 1024 and add the host number. In this example (47 * 1024) + 36 gives
48164. The command to be typed is then
$ set host 48164
This command might fail because the remote computer is currently unavailable for communication.
Then, the error message would be
%F, remote host is unreachable
or similar. If your computer is connected to the public X.25 network, you need the PAD number
of the remote computer. To connect to a node with the number 06225463552423, type
$ set host /X29 06225463552423
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