Edited: 20-Jan-2017

A new user wanting to analyze NSTX data on the Linux cluster should have or do
the following:

1) A Linux cluster account (to request one, use help.pppl.gov).

2) Be in the nstx group on Linux (again, use help.pppl.gov, if this was not 
   done during account creation). If a user will run LRDfit they will need to be
   in groups nstxlrdfit & nstxres (on skylark and the Linux cluster) -- also see
   http://w3.pppl.gov/~jmenard/software/lrdfit/lrdfit-installation.htm; they
   will need a directory named /p/nstxusr/nstx-users/<user>, owned by them, e.g.
   
      mkdir /p/nstxusr/nstx-users/joeshmoe
      chgrp nstx /p/nstxusr/nstx-users/joeshmoe
      sudo chown -R rperkins /p/nstxusr/nstx-users/joeshmoe
      
   better to run /p/nstxusr/util/setup/mkdirLRDfitUser.csh joeshmoe
         
   If a user needs to create MDSplus trees or write to data files, they will 
   need to be in groups particular to those trees. 

3) If write-access is needed to some MDSplus trees, your username must be added
   to /etc/mdsip.hosts on skylark. If a user needs to login to skylark, she
   needs to be in /etc/netgroup on that computer.

4) To have read access to databases, as needed for accessing Logbook (via the
   IDL routine syb_entry) and EFITviewer, a new user should do following once
   on the Linux cluster, to create the necessary files:

       $NSTXUSR/util/setup/mkmdsplusdbfile.csh
   
   To have read or write access to databases, to use DbAccess or syb_entry from
   IDL, send e-mail to dbadmin@pppl.gov, and someone will give you appropriate
   permissions for the tables in the sqlnstx database ( do this in idl for user whomever:
   joeshmoe

   IDL> set_database, 'nstxlogs'
   IDL> a=dsql("sp_add_nstxdb_login 'joeshmoe','b'")

   IDL> set_database, 'code_rundb'
   IDL> a=dsql("sp_add_nstxdb_login 'joeshmoe','r'")  ; ignore complaint about duplicates

   IDL> set_database, 'blobs'
   IDL> a=dsql("sp_add_nstxdb_login 'joeshmoe','r'")

    ).

5) Include the following in your Linux startup file:

       module load nstx/mdsplus
   
   New users who use the tcsh shell (you can tell from "echo $SHELL") 
   may just wish to:
   
       cp ~/.cshrc ~/.cshrc_before_replace
       cp $NSTXUSR/util/setup/sample_nstx_cshrc.csh ~/.cshrc
       cp $NSTXUSR/util/setup/sample_nstx_logout.csh ~/.logout
   
   This ~/.cshrc file will be executed when you log in (assuming you are using
   the csh or tcsh shell), and the necessary environmental variables will be 
   defined. A ~/.login file also gets executed, but we tend to keep this file
   to a minimum.
   
   Frequently, new users just copy the .cshrc file from someone who does work
   similar to them. This usually works, but can include many, many things that
   are not necessary and can lead to Linux PATH issues, file name conflicts, 
   etc.

Send questions or comments to DbAdmin@pppl.gov.