Quidd Tech

Archived Home Directories

2007-09-13T15:55:00.000-04:00

In order to get to your old data, use the Finder "Go" menu, choose "Connect to Server". The server name is "xs-neon", authenticate and choose the "IDD Archives".

If you had a Home folder last semester, it will be there named <myusername>.dmg.

The archive will only be available until Thanksgiving.. after that, your old stuff is toast.

Flash giving you trouble?

2007-03-02T08:43:00.000-05:00

Won't publish? Crashes?

Try deleting your flash preference files. Make sure that flash isn't running, then clean out the following files: ~ means your home directory - you know the little house with your name on it ;)

~/Library/Preferences/com.macromedia.flash.8.plist

~/Library/Preferences/Flash 8 MRU

~/Library/Preferences/Flash 8 Preferences

~/Library/Application Support/Macromedia/Flash 8 -- (delete entire directory)

Sync! Network Home or Local Home?

2007-02-05T14:48:00.000-05:00

I would like to be able to talk to everyone once more about what "Network Home" and "Local Home" mean. It's important that you, as users, understand these terms in order to make the proper choice when confronted with this puzzling dialog box.

It is incorrect to just assume that one of the options is the right option all the time.

The IDD computers "sync" to a user's "Network Home". This means: when a user "logs on" to a workstation, that workstation copies the user's home files from the server to the local computer. When a user logs off, those files are "synced" back -- files that are new and files that have changed are moved back to the "Network Home", replacing their older versions.

Now, this pop-up that is causing confusion only shows itself when files have changed on the server SINCE the last logon and download of the files to the local computer. Example -- user Frank logs into a workstation, and the workstation pulls Frank's Home from the network. Then, Frank opens a document and makes changes to that document on that machine. Now, before the machine does a "sync", he makes changes to that SAME document on his "Network Home" -- this can be done by using another computer to access his "Network Home" remotely, or can be done from the SAME machine, if he mounts his network home and changes the document there.

The Mac realizes that the document has been modified in BOTH places, and then MUST ask Frank which document version to keep -- the one on the "Network Home" or the one that was modified with the local copy -- the "Local Home".

In this case, if Frank chooses "Network Home" the local copy of his document is discarded.. If he chooses "Local Home" the network copy of his document is discarded, and replaced by the local copy.

Making the right choice here requires that Frank understands that he has modified his document in two locations, and knows which location has the changes he wants to keep.

"Sync Later" is the exception, and is ALWAYS the wrong option. Choosing "Sync Later" when logging off means that you are discarding ALL changes to your local documents, whereby much grief is created for the student, instructor, and administrator.

Connecting to your FileSpace from a Mac

2006-11-01T11:17:00.000-05:00

The following post on how to connect to your FileSpace share from a Mac comes to you courtesy Stephanie Caruso. Please note that you must use a WebDAV-enabled browser (such as FireFox) for this to work. Safari will not work!

Select Connect to Server... from the Go menu in the finder.

Enter https://myfilespace.quinnipiac.edu/username as the server address (where “username” is your Quinnipiac login).

Log in using your QU network username/password.

The Filespace Drive will then mount on the desktop

Connecting to the IDD Server from Outside TH128/Media Services

2006-09-01T15:17:00.000-04:00

Hello and Welcome to the Fall '06 Semester!

I wanted to post a short note about connecting to your IDD server space from outside the lab. I know that several of you have asked about how to do it (from both the Mac and Windows platform). Remember: the IDD server is not visible off campus so you must either be on campus to access it, or running VPN from home/etc.

Access from Mac OS X anywhere on campus:

1) Select Connect to Server... from the Go menu in the finder.

2) Enter xs-radon as the server address.

3) Log in using your QU network username/password.

4) Select Home from the list of volumes to mount.

This will connect you to the server as a separate "volume" on your disk. An icon will show up on your desktop representing the network connection to the server. Generally this icon is automatically "opened" so you can see the folder contents, but if it isn't, simply double click on the icon on your desktop (see below). A list of home folders for all the users on the server will show up. Only your folder is accessible to you. When you open your folder you will have access to your home directory on the IDD server (including the Desktop folder). You can add/drop files to/from here. When you are finished, simply drag the icon below (on your desktop) into the trash to disconnect.

Access from Windows XP anywhere on campus:

The process of connecting to the IDD server from a Windows XP machine on campus is similar (you should make sure you are logged in to the QU domain when you try this because I don't think this is possible otherwise!)

1) Select Run... from the start menu and type in the name of the server (\\xs-radon)

[Note that you could do the same thing in the address line of Internet Explorer!]

2) Again, choose Home. You can then select your home directory from the collection provided to you (you only have permission to access your own home directory). You can drag/drop files to/from here.

New IDD Stuff for Fall '06

2006-08-26T12:32:00.000-04:00

     Hi folks! Please take a few moments to read about some changes to the lab.

Home folders

     You know those folders where you save everything? Well, I deleted them.. as you may have noticed when you first logged in this fall. Don't worry, you can still get your work back -- I'll explain in a moment. What you DO need to know, however, is that files saved in your new Home folders will not immediately be saved on the server. This means that you could potentially lose information, even if you save it to your Home, by not logging off or taking appropriate actions. (Those of you who crash the G5s are most at risk..)

     What we are using this semester is known as HomeSync. HomeSync lets you work with your Home folders without fighting for bandwidth or disk time at the server. When you login, your files are downloaded to the machine; and at logout, uploaded back to the server. Every 20 minutes or so, the G5s (and Duos) will try to sync your files back to the server. You can also sync files at any time, by using the HomeSync menu:

Click on that thing, and choose Sync Home Now (do it..)

     Ok.. super. This change to Home folders should give all the machines a boost in performance, and hopefully solves LG's mystery Friday problem. (I still think it was ... you know who you are.)

     Old Home folders -- they have been archived, and you can still get to the data. Please, do NOT copy your complete old Home into your new Home. Doing so will cause your HomeSync to run poorly.. please just mount and take what you need. In order to get to your old data, use the Finder "Go" menu, choose "Connect to Server". The server name is "xs-neon", authenticate and choose the "IDD Archives" sharepoint. If you had a Home folder last semester, it will be there named <username>.dmg -- mount it. Do NOT drag and drop your .dmg file onto your desktop! Just mount from the server (double click). The archive will only be available until Thanksgiving.. after that, your old stuff is toast.

     Last note about Home folders: Don't forget to log off! Your logoff will save all your local data back to the server.. you should always logoff.

     As always, good luck with the semester -- I'm sure I'll be seeing you guys as little problems crop up. Oh, and for pete's sake, participate. If anyone has HomeSync issues, let me know.

~B

Use the Scratch Folder for Performance

2006-02-20T09:13:00.000-05:00

     Attention heavy disk IO users! Think your IDD G5 should be faster when rendering/editing/compiling? Read on..

     Many applications that use large files, or access data in frames, or play back dynamically editable content require disk input/output (IO) while you work in the application. Why? Simply because the data that the application is manipulating is far too large to be held in the G5's memory. Every application can be looked at simply as instructions to modify data, and the more data there is to be modified, the longer your computer will take to perform the instructions in the application. Most apps modify only small amounts of data -- such as an email program when you are creating a new email message. For performance sake, an application will move the data that needs to be changed into the computer's memory, or RAM where changes can be made very quickly. However, if the data that is being manipulated is large, or the application is designed to manipulate large chunks of data, this data is read into memory from disk, modified, then moved back to disk in chunks. Apps that work this way include Final Cut Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. Apps that work with pictures, video, and audio very typically work not only with memory but also with your disk using the file created by the app, or a file known as a scratch file.

     Now, as you may or may not know, your home folder (the folders mounted on the G5 when you login where you save all your files) are not on the machine you are working on. They exist on a server across Quinnipiac's network. Because of this, programs that are working with files in your home folder and require disk IO must wait for the data to move from the server, across the network, and up into the G5's memory. This can be slow (or 'expensive' in IT talk) for applications, and you witness the expensive transaction by poor performance in the application. Video may be choppy. Audio may slice. You may have to wait for some time when applying mathematical transforms on entire chunks of data, like applying a filters or effects to an image.

     The solution? Work with your data on the local harddrive, and when you're done, move it back to the server (your home folder). I have set up a folder on 'Macintosh HD' called 'Scratch Folder' where you can save working files that require high IO. The G5's disks are SATA disks, and IO to the local disk is immensely faster than IO to a disk across the network. Just remember to move your files back to your home folders when done, and empty the scratch folder to avoid using up all the free space on the local disk.

     Many applications (Adobe, Alias, Macromedia) have settings within each application to set the 'scratch disk', or a place the app can use to hold temporary data while you work. I think you will find that changing the scratch disk setting to 'Macintosh HD/Scratch Folder' will greatly improve the performance of these applications.

~B

LG's IDD160 Drop Boxes

2006-02-20T08:39:00.000-05:00

..are all set up. There are three new shared folders for Idd160A, B, and C. To access the boxes, use Finder -> 'Go' menu -> 'Connect to Server'. Server address is XS-Radon. Enter your u/p, and choose the SP 'QuiddDrop'.

~B

Testing the new image...

2006-02-20T08:12:00.000-05:00

I'll get my earlier arrivers to put Indesign and Illustrator through the paces. We'll also be running After Effext today...

How to delete pesky burn folders

2006-02-16T14:59:00.000-05:00

     Hi folks, this one's not my fault. It's a bug with AFP and RO attributes -- thanks to Apple.

Here's how to delete 'em:

     Control-click the folder and choose 'Get Info'.
                 (or right-click if you heart PCs).

     On the Info form, check and then uncheck the 'Locked' checkbox.

     Close the Info form, and delete!

Cheers!
~B
(seriously, folks -- google)

Recent Rash of Illustrator and InDesign problems

2006-02-15T17:46:00.000-05:00

Are actually due to the change that was made early last week to default HomeDirectory mappings. Last week, we found that users were unable to logon -- root cause was corruption in the AFP service that was mounting user's home directories on the xserve (thanks LG for putting up with the class-time troubleshooting). There is a backup protocol (or service) - NFS - but the clients were not falling back to it, so Suzy and I configured all the client machines to disable AFP mounting of home directories. This solved the problem - everyone could logon and mount home directories using NFS. However, it caused a secondary problem that you Illustrator and InDesign users have been having ever since. These apps apparently hate NFS (some obscure problem about file header attributes not transporting that these apps use to identify and format the file), and so we need to go back to the AFP method of mounting directories. I repaired the AFP service on the server today, and we should be able to gradually (or wait until Friday's re-imaging) configure the clients to use AFP again. This will solve the Illustrator and InDesign problems. Sorry guys... we'll have it back like it was soon.

~B

Great Idea, Ben

2006-02-15T16:54:00.000-05:00

And thank you for all your hard work on the lab!

TH128 Scheduled Re-image

2006-02-15T11:08:00.000-05:00

Starting at 4pm Friday, February 17 I will be deploying a fresh image to the G5s in TH128 with software updates to the OS and several applications. The imaging process will run for 3 to 5 hours Friday night, and during this time the lab will be closed for use. We are deploying a fresh image to address several known software and OS problems.

OS Updates:
Compressor Update 2.0.1
Pro Application Support 3.1
Java 1.3.1 and 1.4.1 Release 2
J2SE 5.0 Release 3
Logic Express Update 7.1.1
Cinema Tools Update 3.0.3
QuickTime 7.0.4
iTunes 6.0.3
iTunes Phone Driver 1.0
Final Cut Pro Update 5.0.4
iPod Updater 2006-01-10
Mac OS X Update Combined (PowerPC) 10.4.5

Application Updates:
Adobe Bridge 1.0.3 Update
Adobe Photoshop Services Update
Adobe Stock Photos 1.0.5
Adobe InDesign CS2 4.0.2 Update
Adobe Illustrator CS2 12.0.1 Update
Alias Maya Update 7.0.1

Configuration Updates:
Energy Saver - Put computer to sleep set to 'Never' for resolution of Maya rendering problem failing when computer falls asleep.

Terminal - Fixed Terminal problem where Terminal would state "Administrator has set your shell to an illegal value". UserShell ldap attribute set to /bin/bash, and users should be able to use the Terminal application.

If you know of a change that needs to be made -- updates or otherwise -- let me know, and we'll get that into this version of the image.

(application updates to follow.. please check back)
~B