DataMuseum.dk

top - metrics - download

    Length: 2763 (0xacb)
    Types: TextFile
    Names: »doc«

└─⟦a0efdde77⟧ Bits:30001252 EUUGD11 Tape, 1987 Spring Conference Helsinki
    └─⟦this⟧ »EUUGD11/euug-87hel/sec8/untamo/doc« 

TextFile

.nr PS 12
.TL
The 'Untamo' Project
.AU
Andy Wilcox
.AI
Purdue University Computing Center
.PP
The Purdue University Computing Center needs more machines and
terminals to provide better services to our users.  The purchase
of more machines and terminals will come in time.  However, ways are needed
now to more evenly distribute our present resources.
The Untamo project is an attempt to solve these and related problems.
.PP
There is always a problem at the beginning of the semester with naive
users who turn their terminals off without logging out.  Many of these
unfortunate souls will soon be in the consultants office explaining
how their account was booby trapped by a malicious user.  Untamo will
decide that a terminal is idle if the keyboard has not been touched
for thirty minutes (this choice of time is under investigation).  Untamo
will then log out idle terminals after a warning message has been sent to them.
This will help combat this serious security problem, and save large
amounts of work on the user's part if his or her files were deleted.
.PP
Sometimes it is advantageous to have idle terminals, for example, a
Vaxen console.  Untamo also provides an 'exemption' feature that allows 
such cases.
.PP
Late in the semester when final projects are due, there are inevitably
waiting lines for the terminals, and ideally we would prefer one user to
be logged on only once.  With job control in c-shell, there is no
need to be logged in more than once.  Untamo looks for these multiple logins,
warns each one of them, and then will log out all but the first terminal
to be logged on.
.PP
Once again, there are exceptions to the case of multiple logins.  
Many times the consultants can log a person in again and fix a hung terminal
by killing a runaway process without having to call the console room.
Untamo allows a few minutes of multiple login time, which is enough time
to locate and kill a runaway process.
.PP
It is important to note that Untamo will primarily affect our public
terminals.  Most other terminals will be 'exempt'.
.PP
Untamo is a dynamically reconfigurable program, so if there is a 
problem with someone needing more idle time, or a multiple login,
it can be added without killing Untamo, recompiling, reinstalling, 
and restarting.  These changes take effect in a few minutes, so the
wait is not long.  
.PP
The amount of time Untamo 'sleeps' between checking logins and idle times
is also redefinable, it can be made larger by the operator on a 
heavily loaded machine to allow more time for a multiple login.  This 
necessary human interaction with Untamo is questionable, and 
ways of making the sleep time a function of the 
load are being investigated.  In any case, the operator always has
final control of Untamo.