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@begin(transparent, font avantgarde, size 18)@i(M.I.T. Ocean Engineering) @end(transparent)@begin(transparent, font helvetica, size 18)@y(B)@end(transparent)@begin(transparent, font souvenir, size 18) @p(Project Athena)@end(transparent)
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@begin(titlebox)
@majorheading(Job Description)

@majorheading(for Ocean Engineering)

@majorheading(Athena Cluster Manager)
@end(titlebox)

@center(
@researchcredit(
@p(By Ian Busch)

@p(7-321, x3-0050)
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@p(@value(date))

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@chapter(Room Environment)

One of the primary duties of the OE cluster manager is maintaining the environment of the room itself.  This means several things.  

First, the room is to be kept relatively neat.  People will tend to leave papers lying around.  The most effective way of dealing with this problem to date uses the black paper trays found on the table in the middle of the room.  These trays are labelled each:

@begin(itemize)
One Day Old

Two Days Old

Three Days Old

Four Days Old

Scrap Paper
@end(itemize)

When papers are found lying around the room they first go into the top bin.  As each day passes, they move down, bin by bin, until they turn into scrap paper.  When the scrap paper bin is full, about half of it is tossed out.  This gives people the opportunity to retrieve their stuff if they really needed it, keeps the room clean, and provides scrap paper for people and the printer.

The room will also get dirty (as opposed to not being "neat").  For the most part this is taken care of by the folks at physical plant.  There are, however responsibilities for the cluster manager.  Every once in a while the physical plant crue may need a nudge to do something unusual, like wax or mop the floors.  You do the nudging.  

In addition, there are areas of the room that are not easy to get to for the custodians.  In cases like these (like behind workstations that are on the floor, and behind desks with equipment on them) it is the OEACM's responsibility to clean and sweep out those areas as opportunity provides (like 2x per year).  

The equipment in the room should also be maintained in a clean state.  This applies to four major items:

@begin(itemize)
@b(Mice:)  In general the new mice need very little in the way of maintenance.  The old mice, however (like the IBM one and the one on m7-321-1) occasionally need to be opened for cleaning.

@b(Keyboards:)  The keyboards will require cleaning about every year or so.  The most effective way to clean them is to disconnect them and use compressed air to blow out behind the keys and 409 or Fantastic and a cloth to wipe the grunge off the front of the keys.

@b(screens:)  Use Lino-Kleen cleaner occasionally to take the finger prints off the screens.  Use a Smith and Wesson 357 to blow away the people who keep touching the screens.

@b(outsides:)  Occasionally, it is good to clean off the outsides of the equipment itself.  The printer in particular can always use a good wipe with 409.
@end(itemize)

In addition to maintaining the room in a physical sense, it is good to maintain it in a more surreal way.  In other words, try to ensure that the atmosphere in is not one of simply a dry computer center.  While keg parties are @i(not) advised, some other form of nicities are.  I had used plants and some design drawing to make the room look more palatable; you might try posters or something.  The room is @p(not) to be the sterile kind of place that the public clusters are.  That is what they are for.  From the beginning the OE cluster is intended to be a kind of drawing room environment where people are encouraged to talk to their colleagues about current projects and, even occasionally, how the Sox are doing.  It is not a coffee house, but it is not a library either.

To this end, it should also be recognized that while food and drink are @p(not) allowed in public clusters, there is no set athena policy on the private ones (like ours).  Therefore, judgment (@i[gasp]) must be used.  Sodas and stuff are OK.  Sandwiches and stuff every once in a while are OK to.  Yogurt fights are out of the question.  Make sure people clean up after themselves, and @b[MAKE SURE THAT NO EQUIPMENT GETS DAMAGED: @ux{HEADS WILL ROLL!}]  Remember, you are completely within your authority to say no food at all if it should come to that.



@chapter(Liaison With Athena)

In addition to maintaining the room itself the OEACM must also maintain relations with the people at central Athena.  Most of the necessary names are listed in the document called Contacts.

These people can provide you with information about aspects of Athena you may not be familiar with, procedures, software, and many other topics.  In addition, they will come to you for questions about OE.  It is essential to maintain a good relationship with them.

In addition, several professors in OE try to make good use of Athena for their coursework.  These profs include, but are not limited to, Sclavounos, Kerwin, Yue, and others.  They should be kept abreast of important new developments and sought out for suggestions on improving the cluster.  On the note of suggestions for improvements, questionnaires, or better yet, informal discussions should be conducted with the faculty on a regular basis (yearly or more often) on how to improve the facilities.  Also keep abreast of the suggestions from the TA's.






@chapter(Printer Maintenance)

One of the most critical tasks of the OEACM is maintaining the printer.  Printer maintenance comes in four areas:

@begin(itemize)
@b(Printer paper:)  The OEACM is responsible for supplying the printer with paper.  The paper @i(should) be obtained via requisition from lab supplies.  They will deliver (a good thing `cause the stuff weighs a ton).  Keep paper locked up.  It has a nasty habit of disappearing.   

Try to encourage people to use scrap paper as much as possible.  Make sure that all scrap paper used for this purpose has no holes, cuts, tears, folds, dirt and especially @ux(no staples).

@begin(multiple)
@b(Toner and Maintenance Kits:)  Printer toner and maintenance kits must be requisitioned and maintained on hand.  It is the OEACM's responsibility to install them properly.  This @i(must) not be left for other people to do.  Be very careful with the stuff `cause its expensive.  Always try to keep between one and four of each kit on hand at a time.  The toner kits get replaced every 3000 to 5000 sheets.  The maintenance kits every 10,000.

The toner cartridges @i(must) be shaken like mad for about 5-10 minutes before installation in order to make sure that the toner doesn't bunch up and make crappy print outs.  A sure sign of not doing this is a white streak vertically down each page.  Be VERY careful not to get toner spread around.  It makes a mess and stains.

When replacing the maintenance kits be very careful to make sure that sunlight or the overhead flourescent light does not get on the replacement roller assembly.  30 seconds in the light on a bright day is enough to damage it.  Once it is removed from the opaque bag, put it in the printer FAST.

Instructions for using the kits are in the boxes with the kits.  Note that the used toner bottle should be replaced every 2 toner cartridges.  There are extra toner bottles and cleaning pads in the desk drawer.
@end(multiple)

@begin(multiple)
@b(Record keeping:)  Every time maintenance is performed on the printer it should be logged in the file @verbatim(/mit/13.cluster/References.dir/printer_log)  This log contains the maintenance history for the last 2 years.  Be sure to include an accurate page count.  

Once the printer_log file has been updated update the files @verbatim(printlog.w20) and @verbatim(paperlog.w20) with the 2020 spreadsheet.  These files automatically indicate the consumption of paper over a semester and give a comparison of the rate of replacement of the kits over the last three replacements compared to all previous records.  The information in these two files is important for maintaining an accurate estimate of yearly and semesterly paper consumptions and to indicate if things are going goofy with the printer (increased recent kit consumption).  
@end(multiple)

@b(General Printer cleaning:)  Every once in a while, like every 20,000 sheets, go over the printer from top to bottom.  Clean out all accessible areas and air blast all non accessible ones.  
@end(itemize)


@chapter(Hardware/System Software:)

The duties of the OEACM center more around hardware than software.  To this end, the hardware must be kept from harm, fixed when harm comes to it, and improved.  Improvements are dealt with in the section on AACHU 


@b(Power Failures:)  Power failures are a none to infrequent occurance at MIT.  There is usually notice listed in the hallways or in headquarters.  If a power failure is imminent, then it is the responsability of the OEACM to ensure that all of the equipment is properly shutdown and powered off before the power goes off.  If the machines are not properly halted and then powered off, the hard drives could be damaged.  This action applies to all of the workstations and the printer.  Similarly the OEACM should ensure that equipment can be reactivated within 12 hours of the power coming on.  Be forewarned that during power failures the lock will not operate and remain in the locked closed condition until power is restored.

Notices should be posted that state specifically that the OE Athena cluster will be down.  If the rest of Athena is unaffected then the signs should indicate where else users can log on.

@b(Fileservers:)  Occasionally one or more of the Athena NFS fileservers will go down, preventing some users from being able to use their account in a normal way.  When warning of this is available it is recommended that the OE manager use the database routines available to provide listings of the affected users.


@b(Rebooting systems & fsck:)  Sometimes when the machines crash or when they are rebooting automatically they will require the file system check routine to be run.  Familiarity with this procedure is necessary as it will avoid annoying delays.

@b(Fixing mice:)  The older mice will need cleaning on a yearly basis if not more frequently.  This procedure should be carried out when complaints arise from users.

@b(Calling hardware hotline:)  For the rest of the problems that affect the cluster (in general), the primary responsibility of the OEACM will be to call hardware hotline and provide information so that they may work on the problem.

@b(Updates:)  The helpful  folks at Project Athena unfortunately send us new releases of the system software every few months.  There is always a considerable amount of warning.  The OEACM should be around the day the new release comes out so as to help along people unfamiliar with its use.




@chapter(Security)

@b(Locks on computers:)  All of the equipment in OE athena is locked down with compulock 007 locks.  The OEACM should maintain this equipment and furnish keys to the appropriate people at Athena.  When new equipment arrives, it must be locked down before the end of the same day.

@b(Lock on the door:)  The door lock must also be maintained.  The combination should be changed every semester.  The door lock serves two purposes.  First, it helps to prevent equipment from being stolen.  Second, it prevents people from other departments from using our equipment.  To this end, the OEACM should check unfamiliar faces to find out if they are really OE students.  Those that are not should be asked to leave.





@chapter(Aachu)

The process of getting new equipment for Athena has been refered to as AACHU for @u(A)nnual @u(A)thena @u(C)luster @u(H)ardware @u(U)pgrade.  Two of these programs have been implemented to date.  Each year additional efforts should be made to advance the state of the equipment in the cluster.  Aachu3 should probably consist (as an example) of procuring an IBM PS/2 Model 70/120 to replace the Tandon PC compatible, possibly upgrading the monochrome workstations to color, possibly swapping out some more VAXstations for DECstations, acquiring digitizers, or some other combination of activities.  It is necessary to ask around @u(a lot) to find out just what it is that we need.

The equipment itself tends to fall into two catagories: Free and Expensive.  All of the workstations and the printer are examples of free equipment.  The plotter and a new PC are examples of expensive equipment.  Getting free equipment from Athena is starting to turn into getting blood from a stone, but it should definitely be pursued with great vigor.  The expensive equipment can be a little harder to come by and represents equipment not normally deployed by Athena.  






@chapter(Operating System, Window Manager, and Applications)

Perhaps most of the working time of the OEACM is consumed in one of the lowest priority tasks: helping people with software problems.  Be reminded: @b(it is not required that the OEACM find solutions for peoples problems.)  That is what the Athena consultants are for.  

The OEACM should, of course, attempt to find such solutions when practical.  But, especially when starting the job, time is better spent finding out where to go for answers than actually finding them.

There are three things that the OEACM should do to assist students in using the software.  The first is to ensure that there is an adequate supply of "official" documentation available.  The second is to ensure that posters on the walls are available for answering simple questions.  The third is updating and distributing copies of the document @u(An Introduction to Athena for Ocean Engineers).

Each of the last two efforts can be complementary.  Many of the original posters are merely reformatted and edited pages from @u(An Introduction to Athena for Ocean Engineers).



@end(transparent)