Digital UNIX Overview

Digital UNIX is the operating system that runs on ITS’ UNIX systems. An operating system is the software that lets you tell the computer what you want it to do. The Digital UNIX operating system works on Digital’s Alpha, or AXP, computers. Digital UNIX is also known as OSF/1 UNIX.

• Why should I use Digital UNIX?
• How do I get help with Digital UNIX?
• How do I use Digital UNIX?

Why should I use Digital UNIX?

The newest, fastest, and most-capable multi-user computer systems offered by ITS take advantage of Digital UNIX. You should use it if you need quick responses and less run time for jobs requiring heavy use of the computer’s central processing unit (CPU).

Digital UNIX also offers new capabilities. For example, it allows you to store a personal home page for the Internet’s World Wide Web (WWW; see Personal Web Pages).

How do I get help with Digital UNIX?

• On-line help
  The help command shows a few of the basic user commands that work in Digital UNIX.
  
  The help listing does not provide detailed explanations of most UNIX commands. Instead, use the man (“manual”) command to view the manual page on a specific topic. Information about that topic appears on your screen.
  
  
  Example: To learn about the “list” command, type:
  % man ls

How do I use Digital UNIX?

• Get an RIT Computer account
  In order to access the ITS Digital UNIX systems, you need an RIT Computer Account. The username and password act as keys that unlock the door to various systems and services, including Digital UNIX. (See also: RIT Computer Accounts).


• Connect to Grace
  You can log in to Grace, the main Digital UNIX server, at the RIT from a Telnet session (see Telnet client):
  
  After you have connected to Grace, you need to enter your RIT Computer Account’s username and password at the “login:” and “password:” prompts, respectively. Be sure to type your username and password with all lowercase letters unless you have changed your password and you are sure it contains uppercase letters. Your password is not displayed on your screen; this prevents others from seeing it.
  


• Disconnect from Grace
  You can log out from Grace by typing logout or exit at the “%” prompt. and your Telnet, your session will end. You may also have to close the session window or quit the Telnet client program afterwards.


• Change your RIT Computer Account password
  The ability to change your account password has been disabled on Grace. If you need to change your password, go to start.rit.edu.