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User Policies

ARSC operates an unclassified and non-sensitive computing environment. Do not introduce classified or sensitive work on ARSC systems.

ARSC users are required to abide by current ARSC policies governing systems and resources operated by ARSC. The following list of policies should be reviewed by users on a regular basis. Significant new policies, or changes to existing policies are announced through the message-of-the-day (motd).

Abuse

Computer system assets of the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center are the computational hardware, software, data and networks utilized by our users and staff and owned, leased, licensed or operated by the Center.

Abuse may consist of, but is not limited to:

Using or attempting to use ARSC's assets without prior authorization (which includes account sharing) or for unauthorized purposes.
Tampering with or obstructing the operation of the computer systems, or attempting to do so.
Inspecting, modifying, distributing, or copying privileged information, data or software without proper authorization; misusing copyrighted materials, or attempting to do so.
Supplying, or attempting to supply, false or misleading information or identification in order to access ARSC's assets.
Testing ARSC security without prior consent of the Director or Information Systems Security Manager (ISSM).

This policy statement applies to everyone who is granted access to any ARSC accounts including: employees, students, staff, faculty, contractors, visitors, consultants, and other ARSC affiliated persons.

Abuse of ARSC's computer assets is a serious matter that is subject to immediate action. Use of ARSC's assets is subject to ARSC policy, University of Alaska Fairbanks regulations, University of Alaska and Regents Policy, State of Alaska and Federal laws.

ARSC may terminate or restrict any user's access to ARSC's computer assets without prior notice to insure availability and security for other users.

Perceived, attempted, or actual abuse of ARSC's assets will be brought to the attention of the Director for action and/or appropriate referral.

A violation of standards, procedures or guidelines established pursuant to this policy shall be presented to the Information System Security Officer or Account Management (ISSO/Account Management) for appropriate action and could result in disciplinary action, including loss of account privileges, dismissal and/or legal prosecution.

Account Activation/Passphrase Distribution

Upon our receipt of your signed Agreement Form, your account will be created using a randomly generated, default passphrase (or Kerberos password) and system assigned PIN. The passphrase, SecurID card and PIN will be communicated to you via U.S. mail. The passphrase and PIN will be in a separate mailing from the SecurID card.

E-Mail Address

Your ARSC e-mail address is userid@arsc.edu, and can be read on any ARSC SGI host, or using APOP from mailhost.arsc.edu. Please Read our e-mail services document.

Purging of Old E-Mail

E-mail messages stored on any ARSC system, other than the designated e-mail server, are eligible for automatic purging if they have not been accessed in over a year.

Inactive Accounts

If your account is inactive for 180 consecutive days (6 months) it will be inactivated. If you do not contact us to have your account reactivated within six months of inactivation, your account will be disabled. Upon disabling of your account, all your files will be deleted and your account will be closed.

Login Shells

The following login shells are available on ARSC systems:

sh (Bourne Shell)
ksh (Korn Shell) default
bash (Bourne-Again Shell)
csh (C Shell)
tcsh (Turbo C Shell)

If you would like to have your login shell changed, please contact the ARSC Help Desk (907.450.8602, consult@arsc.edu).

Initial Login

ARSC uses kerberos in combination with SecurID cards to prevent access by unauthorized individuals. To login to an ARSC host you must possess both a valid passphrase (also called a Kerberos password), and a valid PIN. If you have kerberos clients on your workstation you should use kinit to obtain a kerberos ticket. After obtaining a kerberos ticket you can then access ARSC system using kerberos clients, such as ktelnet or krlogin. If you are logging in at an ARSC host console you will automatically obtain your kerberos ticket during the login process. All ARSC hosts have kerberos clients installed.

Please login soon after receiving your initial passphrase (or Kerberos password), your SecurID PIN, and your SecurID card. Your account will be inactivated if you do not login within 30 days of account creation. Please change your passphrase using kpasswd as soon as you login.

For more information on logging into ARSC hosts please read our Kerberos/SecurID Login Procedures.

For users that already have a DOD HPC kerberos account and SecurID card, please read our document explaining how to connect to ARSC with a non-ARSC realm.

Intellectual Property

ARSC users will not execute, copy, or store copyrighted or proprietary software on ARSC systems without proper authorization.

Lost Data

ARSC makes a reasonable attempt to ensure the availability and integrity of user data, including programs, data sets etc., through regular on-site backups of users' home directories. ARSC does not maintain off-site backups of user data. Users assume all responsibility for risk of loss by any means for data stored on ARSC computer systems.

For more information, please see our storage policy.

Lost Resources

ARSC makes a reasonable attempt to ensure the availability of the computing systems, but periodically the systems will go down for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. Users are responsible for ensuring the recoverability of unexpectedly lost jobs wherever feasible.

Use of ARSC computer systems is at the users' own risk. Any warranties express or implied, including, but not limited to, any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any purpose, are hereby disclaimed.

Publications

All publications resulting from research supported by ARSC grants shall include the following credit: "This work was supported in part by a grant of HPC resources from the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks as part of the Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program." PIs must submit to ARSC copies of articles accepted for publication.

As a condition of continued access to ARSC resources, PIs will submit a brief annual report on their project, as directed by ARSC, describing research objectives, computational methodology, results, and significance of the research.

Security

Every user of ARSC systems can rightfully expect his or her e-mail, programs, data, documents, etc., to be inaccessible to others, secure against arbitrary loss or alteration, and available for appropriate use, at all times.To help achieve this goal of protecting system security, ARSC system administrators reserve the right to routinely examine certain features of user accounts, such as the permissions set on environment files, the contents of specific environment files, and encrypted passphrases. ARSC also reserves the right, in cases of suspected security incidents, to inactivate and examine the contents of user accounts, without prior notification. For more information follow this link, or chose a topic from the following list.

Data Retention

Please see storage policy pages.

Visualization Labs

The Visualization/Access Laboratory computers are authorized for non-sensitive data only.
Do not introduce sensitive data onto these systems.

Please review ARSC's Visualization Labs Access Policy and Discovery Lab Use Policy.

Arctic Region Supercomputing Center
PO Box 756020, Fairbanks, AK 99775 | voice: 907-450-8600 | email: