Local Data Storage
All FLC desktops have a local hard disk with a capacity of several gigabytes which is mounted under /scratch. Furthermore there is a symbolic link /data which points either to the subdirectory /scratch/data or to /scratch itself. Ask one of your administrators if you need a personal directory in /data on a certain desktop host. Everything inside /data will be included in the FLC backup and will be available on the FLC servers via NFS.
If your desktop computer happens to have a second local hard disk, it should appear under something like /data2 – use the mount command to find out details.
In order to access floppy disks or CD-ROMs, use the commands mount /dev/floppy or mount /dev/cdrom, respectively. Check the output of the mount command to see where the contents of the disk can be found (something like /media/floppy or /mnt/cdrom, depending on your operating system). Use umount before ejecting the disk.
If you have the operating systems DL5 or SLD4, you should be able to use USB storage devices without problems. Plug the device into a USB port and wait for a couple of seconds – you may hear a faint beep. Now check the contents of the file /etc/fstab: At the bottom you should find an automatically generated entry containing the Unix device to which your USB device has been mapped (something like /dev/sda1, /dev/sdb1, or similar). Mount this device with the mount command – again, check the output of the mount command to see where the contents of the disk can be found. It is of vital importance to use the umount command before you unplug the USB device in order not to lose buffered output data.
A few FLC computers have special storage devices, such as disk writers or tape drives. Check the FLC computing pages or ask one of your administrators for details.