Navigating UCLA Math Department Webmail and Computing Resources
The UCLA Mathematics Department provides a comprehensive suite of computing resources and support to its faculty, staff, and students. This article outlines essential information about accessing webmail, managing spam filters, utilizing available software, and connecting to the department's network.
Accessing Webmail and Multi-Factor Authentication
UCLA Enterprise Messaging employs Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) through the DUO app. When accessing your webmail, you will encounter the “Sign In with your UCLA Logon ID” screen, after which you'll be prompted to authenticate via DUO.
Spam Filtering
To safeguard the department, multiple layers of spam filters are implemented. Despite these precautions, unwanted emails may still reach your inbox. Remember that no anti-spam filter is perfect.
Managing Spam
If spam infrequently appears in your inbox ("false negatives"), simply delete it. However, if it becomes a recurring issue, you can fine-tune the spam filter sensitivity using the Advanced Menu option in spamscript. Exercise caution when lowering your Spam Hit Level, as this may increase the likelihood of legitimate emails being flagged as spam ("false positives").
Enabling Spam Filtering
To enable spam filtering:
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- Log in to your Linux account via SSH or Putty.
- Type
spamscript. - Follow the menu-driven instructions.
Printing Resources
All members of the department are expected to use the printers responsibly. While faculty and staff do not have printing quotas, graduate students are limited to 300 free pages per quarter. Unused pages are carried over to the next quarter, with the quota resetting at the end of the summer.
NEMO Cluster
The NEMO cluster comprises nine Intel Xeon rack machines, each with a 3.4 GHz processor and 9.0GB of memory. These machines run SuSE Linux version 10.3. The nodes are numbered nemo01 through nemo09.
Origin and Purpose
The nine machines of the Nemo Cluster were donated to UCLA Math by Tony DeRose and his colleagues at Pixar. They previously formed part of Pixar's rendering farm. The primary purpose of these machines is to execute serial and parallel computing jobs, particularly for parametric studies and algorithmic development. The substantial extended memory makes them ideal for memory-intensive tasks, such as those involving large matrices.
Usage Guidelines
The job queuing system has been disabled. Users can log into any node and run their compilation or computation directly. However, users should be mindful of others on the system.
Security
Direct SSH connections from the Internet to hosts on the Math network are blocked for security reasons. Connect to the campus VPN before attempting to SSH to a host on the Math network.
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Creating a Web Page
Web files and presentations are hosted on the UNIX/Linux system.
Connecting to Your UNIX Account from Windows
To connect to your UNIX account from Windows, follow these steps. This guide uses a sample user called "Math User" with the username "mathuser." These are included on standard issue Department of Mathematics Windows machines.
Creating the public_html Directory
Use the following commands to create the directory and grant the webserver the necessary permissions:
cd $HOMEmkdir public_htmlchmod 755 public_htmlcd public_htmlNow you are in your public_html directory, where your webpage files can be placed.
Adding a Template Page
Copy a simple template page into your directory using:
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cp -p /net/arachne/h1/www/htdocs/templates/homepage.html index.htmlThe -p switch preserves the original permissions, allowing the webserver to read the file. If you omit -p, you can reset the permissions using:
chmod 644 index.htmlThe page must be named index.html to be your home page.
Editing Your Web Page
On Linux, use a file editor such as vi or nano to edit the new page. nano is generally easier to use. Start editing by typing vi index.html or nano index.html. To save and quit in nano, press CTRL+X and follow the prompts to save your file.
If you are unfamiliar with editing HTML or using vi or nano, search for help online.
You can also download/upload files from/to your public_html folder using WinSCP (on Windows) or Filezilla (on Mac). Ensure your files have the appropriate permissions.
Styling Your Page
Refer to the W3C Wiki Page for general syntax and element references, as well as Sitepoint’s CSS reference, to improve the styling of your page.
Password Protecting Web Pages
To restrict access to solutions for homework problems, quizzes, or exams, consider using password protection. The mathematics computing group has developed a script to simplify the creation of password-protected directories.
To password protect your web page using the command mkwebpass on your UNIX account:
- Log in to your UNIX account.
Mathematical Software Packages
UCLA-Mathnet has several mathematical software packages installed for both Windows and Linux hosts. Most of these are licensed, and the Mathematics Department has purchased licenses for a certain number of simultaneous users.
When you have finished working on your project, close the program to free up the license for others. Log out from your computer at the end of the day for security.
The best way to utilize mathematical software is to use the subroutines it provides, rather than implementing complex algorithms using their scripting language.
Maple
Maple is for symbolic mathematics. It can manipulate formulae, substitute variables, solve equations (including differential equations), and perform numerical solutions.
To start Maple, type maple at the command prompt for a text-mode interface. Use the -x option or the command xmaple for an X-Windows interface. Alternatively, find it in your desktop environment’s software menu in the Mathematics category.
Mathematica
Mathematica, by Wolfram Research, is another symbolic mathematics package similar to Maple but with a different style.
To start Mathematica, type mathematica at the command prompt. Alternatively, find it in your desktop environment’s software menu. This will launch an X-Windows interface.
Matlab
Matlab, by Mathworks, is primarily for numerical and matrix computations and data visualization. The Math department has a network license available for all departmental Linux and Windows computers, as well as licenses for a number of Matlab toolboxes.
To start Matlab, type matlab at the command prompt or find it in your desktop environment’s software menu.
Octave
Octave is a free alternative to Matlab with a similar programming language. Programs can be easily ported between the two.
To start Octave, type octave at the command prompt. This provides a text interface, but graphs are plotted using X-Windows (OpenGL). To see the online documentation, use tkinfo octave.
Sage
Sage is a free open-source mathematics software framework that incorporates many other open-source packages, including:
- GAP (computational discrete algebra, computational group theory)
- PARI/GP (number theory)
- Maxima (symbolic mathematics, descendant of Macsyma)
- mwrank (elliptic curves)
- R (statistics)
- singular (polynomial rings and noncommutative algebras)
- KANT/Kash (algebraic number theory)
- Macaulay2 (algebraic geometry and commutative algebras)
The framework language is Python.
To start Sage, type sage at the command line. Once the sage: prompt appears, enter commands or type notebook() for a GUI. This will open an instance of Firefox on the local machine, allowing you to use Sage from the web form.
Alternatively, use Sage via the SageMathCloud, a free service hosted at the University of Washington.
Math Libraries
Mathnet hosts a range of mathematical software and libraries in addition to the major packages listed above. These include:
liblapack3: For simultaneous linear equations, least squares, eigenvalues, singular value problems.libfftw3-3,libfftw3_threads3: For discrete Fourier transform.
DocuSign
DocuSign is an online electronic signature application that allows the distribution, completion, and signing of forms and documents digitally.
Wireless Network
The Mathematics Department has a wireless network in the Math Sciences building that provides access to department-specific resources such as printing.
Mathematics Computing Group (MCG)
The Mathematics Computing Group (MCG) is available to answer questions and assist with all types of computing issues. In-person consulting is available by appointment daily from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM and again from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM (hours are 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM when classes are not in session).
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