Toolserver:Getting started

So, your Toolserver account has been approved. What now?

The very first thing you should do is read the rules. These are mostly common sense, but violations are taken very seriously and you may not get a second chance.

There are two servers which are accessible to users: hemlock and nightshade. Most of the time, you should be logging into nightshade­­ -- this is the login server, which handles everything except serving web pages (that's on hemlock). Because the login server sometimes changes, rather than logging into it by name, use the alias login.toolserver.org.

Authentication is done via SSH public keys. There is no need (and no possibility) to use a password to log in; your client will present the private part of your SSH key, and the server will grant you access.

(You might be asked to enter a passphrase when authenticating; this is not your toolserver password, it's only used to encrypt your private key on your own computer, in case someone steals it. This passphrase is never sent to the toolserver, and you can change it at any time.)

When you log in, you will be presented with:
 * The current message-of-the-day
 * Whether you have new local mail
 * The date, time and location of your last login
 * Whether you are already logged in, and where from
 * Whether you have any detached screen(1) sessions
 * The date your account will expire
 * Any new system news

Occasionally, you might have a reason to log into hemlock, e.g. to examine the web server logs. Because home directories are shared between both systems, you can use the same SSH key to log in.

Web hosting
The toolserver provides web hosting to users. Your files should be placed in $HOME/public_html/, and they will be accessible from the Internet at  http:// toolserver.org/~ /</tt>.

For CGI scripts, there are two options: plain CGI and FastCGI. If possible, you should use FastCGI, since it's faster, and reduces the load on the web server. However, if you have already-written CGI scripts, you can use them unmodified if you don't have the time to convert them to FastCGI.

To use FastCGI scripts, place them in $HOME/public_html/</tt>, with the extension .fcgi</tt>, and make sure they're executable.

To use plain CGI scripts, place them in $HOME/public_html/cgi-bin/</tt>. They do not need a particular file extension (like .cgi</tt>), but they do have to be executable.

PHP scripts (which must have the extension .php</tt>) can be used anywhere in your public_html</tt>.

Access and error logs are located in /var/log/apache2/</tt> on hemlock</tt>.

Webalizer statistics for toolserver.org are here: (updated every 6 hours). Contact User:Duesentrieb if this is broken.

Email forwarding
The toolserver provides an email forwarding service. All mail to username@toolserver.org</tt> will be forwarded to the address you provided when your account was created. If you want to change this address, edit $HOME/.forward</tt>. If you remove this file entirely, mail will be stored locally on nightshade</tt> and you can read it there.

From time to time, toolserver administrators will use your toolserver.org email address to contact you about important issues. You should make sure it forwards to an address you read, or you may find your account unexpectedly disabled.

Subversion hosting
Subversion hosting is available for all users. See subversion for more details.

Database access
The toolserver provides replicas of the Wikimedia databases, and a private database for each user. more details.

Issue tracker
There is an issue tracker for use by toolserver users. If you would like your own project here, open a request in the Toolserver project.

Miscellaneous

 * Tutorial from meta
 * Intel compilers - how to use Intel's C/C++ compilers on the toolserver
 * Screen - how to use screen</tt> to keep programs running after you log out