This supercomputer is the fastest computer in Hong Kong and is an excellent scalable computing system. Several popular scientific research applications including Gaussian, VASP (Vienna Ab-initio Simulation Package), Fluent and AMBER (Assisted Model Building with Energy Refinement) have been installed and the supercomputer has demonstrated an outstanding scalability performance with the use of parallel programs.

Apart from the installation of the above applications, a parallel operating environment has been set up to support the use of high-performance compilers, scientific engineering library and job management system.

The HPC Support Team is ready to provide you with consultations on the use of the system, installation of your programs in the system and customization of your programs. Please contact us at hpc-help@cuhk.edu.hk. In addition, we will organize a series of workshops and seminars on high-performance computing in November. The schedule and arrangement details will be announced later through ITSC Digest.

Details about the new supercomputer and its use can be read on-line at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/itsc/compenv/research-computing.

Decommission of the Data Library and Academic Applications Software Server (Theory)
The Data Library and Academic Applications Software Server (Theory) was decommissioned on August 1, 2002, because the vendor no longer provides support for the hardware. To meet your academic needs, existing services provided in "Theory" (including applications software, user accounts and files) have been migrated to the "Logic" server.

If you had a Theory account, all your existing files in "Theory" have been migrated to Logic as follows: a. If you already had an account on "Logic", your files were placed in a sub-directory called "Theory-files-20020801" under your Logic account. b. If you did not have an account on "Logic", a new "Logic" account was automatically created for you and your files were placed under your home directory.

In both cases, all files and their attributes (e.g., time stamp, file protection settings, etc.) were restored without any changes. To learn more about the working environment in the "Logic" server, please visit http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/itsc/compenv/logic.

System and Network Services Maintenance on September 2
Most of the centrally managed computer systems need to be shut down regularly for maintenance work, which includes user file back ups, system testing, software/hardware upgrades, and hardware preventive maintenance. Therefore, we suggest you avoid scheduling important computing activities during the maintenance periods.

The next maintenance day has been scheduled on September 2. The affected services include the following:

9am-1pm ITSC PC LAN System (including Datalocker - datalocker.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk)
7am-1pm CUHK Community Homepage Server (iHome)
7am-1pm CU Forum (http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/cuforum)
9am-1pm Dial-up Modem Pools
7am-1pm Campus-wide E-mail System (CWEM)
7am-1pm ITSC Electronic Helpdesk (http://helpdesk.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk) 7am-1pm Firewall Server (hardrock)
7am-1pm General-purpose UNIX Server (Logic)
9am-1pm Data-intensive Computing Server (Orient)
9am-1pm Numeric-intensive Computing Server (Origin)
7am-1pm WebCT (http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/webct)

The User Area (1/F of Pi Ch'iu Building and Room 103 of Wong Foo Yuan Building) will also be closed between 9am and 1pm on September 2.

You can check other maintenance schedules at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/itsc/announce.

Special Notebook Purchase Program 2002
With joint efforts of the University Student Union; the Student Unions of Chung Chi College, New Asia College, United College and Shaw College; the Business Office and ITSC, a special purchase program for notebook computers has been finalized through a tender exercise. The University has selected IBM ThinkPad notebooks and awarded the tender to Jardine OneSolution (HK) Ltd (JOS). This program aims at encouraging students and staff to fully exploit the teaching and learning resources being deployed by the University and to develop their competence in IT.

The program offers several models of IBM ThinkPad notebooks with substantial discounts. Prices for notebooks range from $6,852 to $13,824. The offer is applicable for all CUHK students and staff with valid Student ID or Staff ID cards. Both students and staff can enjoy a 12-month installment plan using a dedicated credit card.

Students and staff can place orders from September 2 to September 13 2002 at LG/F, Benjamin Franklin Centre and pick up their notebooks on campus starting from early September. A cash trade-in offer for used notebooks will be available at the same location during the ordering period. Please find the Program details and update at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/price/special or call JOS Program Hotline at 2579 5325 / 2579 5344 for any enquiries.

Note: Department purchases will not be accepted and reimbursement of notebooks for staff purchases will not be accepted.

Recruitment for Student Computer Assistants
ITSC is now looking for student computer assistants to assist in computer laboratory management, campus network services support and web page design. Interested students should fill in the application form by August 31. Successful applicants will be contacted before the end of September 2002.

Application details can be read online at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/itsc/announce/sca-recruit.html.