Having just joined this mailing list on 10/7, I was amazed that the
first mail I received concerned my own computer!
1. Please be advised that BALROG is a member of a VAX cluster which
serves as the primary data acquisition, analysis and archiving system
for a core facility. It also serves as the primary server for more than
50 local users for interactive data analysis. We have, as a favor to
Stephen Shaw, made LDAD available via anonymous ftp. To date, there
have been thousands of logins to LDAD, numbering in the hundreds per day
after a new release!
2. Since BALROG is very busy, you should expect that at times you will
have difficulty with access, since we have neccessarily assigned low
priority to user logins. When things are very busy, it is possible that
you will timeout, or that things will be so slow as to be unusable. Our
busiest times tend to be Tuesday - Friday from 9am - 8pm. System work
is usually done between 7 and 9 am, so the system will at times be
unavailable then. However, the system is frequently used at night and
on weekends and could be busy at any time.
3. We have at times noted that anonymous ftp logins are "left" on the
system for inordinate periods of time. We presume that this is because
the user was hung or the connection was degraded for some reason. (For
example, the routers in our building are notoriously unreliable.) In
these cases, we will unilaterally kill your job.
4. Obviously, this could all be improved a bit by increasing
communications between the users and our facility.
The system manager for BALROG is DON PLUGGE.
His e-mail address is: systex@balrog.nci.nih.gov
You are welcome to contact Don if you are having problems with access.
We would appreciate a message if you have disconnected from BALROG
without logging out. It would also be useful to know of any other
problems anyone has in accessing the LDAD data base.
In summary:
1. Contact Don Plugge ( systex@balrog.nci.nih.gov ) if you are having
problems accessing the LDAD data base via BALROG. Don's telephone, FAX
and mailing address are same as mine below.
2. You will have better luck if you try to avoid peak use periods for
BALROG (try Mondays, after 8 at night, weekends)
Susan Sharrow
Experimental Immunology Branch, NCI Voice: 301-496-2776
Building 10, Room 4B-17 FAX: 301-496-0887
NIH
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20892