[daip] advice on Linux version for AIPS

[Eric Greisen]

Robert F Willson writes:

 > Last week I installed the latest version of AIPS (31 DEC06) on my new 
 > Linux PC which has Redhat Enterprise as the operating system.  When I 
 > tried to start AIPS using the commands : . LOGIN.SH,  .START_AIPS: I 
 > got this message:
 > 
 > User data area assignments:
 > (Using global default file /home/rwillson/aips/DA00/DADEVS.LIST for 
 > DADEVS.PL)DADEVS.PL error - no disks selected at all
 > This is a FATAL error and nothing in AIPS will work.
 > 
 > START_AIPS: Cannot start AIPS because there are no defined data areas!
 > START_AIPS: (check DADEVS.LIST or .dadevs files, or AIPSASSN.\*)
 > [rwillson at localhost aips]$ /START_AIPS
 > 
 > During the install, I  set up an area in my home directory 
 > /home/rwillson/DATA/MYDATA but apparently this was not correct.
 > I've attached the DADEVS.LIST and NETSP files that perhaps you could 
 > look at and make suggestions on how to modify. I've also attached the 
 > HOSTS.LIST file which, I recall, should contain my IP address 
 > somewhere, but I'm not sure how it should be modified as well.
 > 

 > # DADEVS.LIST
 > #-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 > -  /home/rwillson/DATA/MYDATA

 > /home/rwillson/DATA/MYDATA 365.0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0
 > +  LOCALHOST    LINUX    TUFTS        NONE Put description here


In order for aips to work in an environment with 100s of computers
(like we have at NRAO) the startup functions look for disks that match
$HOST in some way (e.g. /DATA/PRIMATE_1 on my machine known as
primate, or /home/rwillson/DATA/LOCALHOST_1 on your machine if it is
setup as a "laptop").  You can get around this by "requiring" a disk
area on all computers that use your installation - put a + sign in
column 1 of the DADEVS file.  Otherwise change the MYDATA to $HOST_1
or some such (where $HOST is what you get after the . LOGIN.SH command
on a echo $HOST).

Cheers,

Eric Greisen