Changing Other System Defaults

Changing Other System Defaults

These system-wide defaults affect programs and system functions:

the system display
the time zone
the name of the system
the network address
the default system printer

Some of these defaults are described more thoroughly in specific sections of this guide, but they are all presented here to provide a more thorough overview of the IRIX system.

Setting the System Display

You can make the output of programs and utilities running on one system appear on the screen of another system on the same network by changing the DISPLAY environment variable. This is useful if your network includes graphical systems and non-graphical servers. In order to view information from the server graphically, you reset the display to a graphics workstation.

For example, if your server has only a character-based terminal as its console and you wish to run gr_osview(1M) to visually inspect your CPU usage, you would issue commands similar to these on the server:

setenv DISPLAY graphics_machine:0

gr_osview

When you invoke gr_osview, the window with the output will appear on the machine name you specify. In this example, graphics_machine was used in place of the system name. The :0 used after the machine name indicates that display monitor 0 (the graphics console) should be used to display the output. When you have finished using the graphics console, be sure to reset the display by issuing this command on the server:

setenv DISPLAY local_server:0

where local_server is the name of your server.

Changing Processors on Multi-Processor Systems

If you have a multi-processor system, the mpadmin(1M) and pset(1M) commands allow you to change the way programs are assigned to the various processors on your system. To determine if your system is multi-processor, use the hinv(1M) command. A multi-processor system returns information similar to the following in its hinv output:

Processor 0: 40 MHZ IP7 
Processor 1: 36 MHZ IP7 
Processor 2: 40 MHZ IP7 
Processor 3: 40 MHZ IP7 
Processor 4: 40 MHZ IP7 
Processor 5: 40 MHZ IP7 
Processor 6: 40 MHZ IP7 
Processor 7: 40 MHZ IP7

Or, alternately, output similar to the following:

8 40 MHZ IP7 Processors

A single-processor system returns information similar to the following for the hinv command:

1 100 MHZ IP22 Processor

If you have only one processor on your system (and the vast majority of systems have only one processor) these commands still operate, though they have no useful purpose.

The mpadmin command allows you to ''turn off'' processors, report various states of the processors, and move system functions such as the system clock to specific processors. The pset command is used both to display and modify information concerning the use of processor sets and programs running in the current system. The pset command provides a much more detailed level of control of processes and processors.

For complete information on mpadmin(1M) and pset(1M), see the respective reference pages.

Changing the Name of a System

The name of the system is stored in several places. If you wish to change the name of your system, you must change all these files together or your system will not function correctly:

in the file /etc/sys_id
in the file /etc/hosts (for networking purposes)
in a kernel data structure, which you read and set with either hostname(1) or uname(1)
in an NIS map on the NIS master server, if you are running NIS

Note that you should not arbitrarily change the name of a running workstation. Many programs that are started at boot time depend on the name of the workstation.

To display the name of the system, use the hostname command with no arguments:

hostname

This displays the name of the system. The uname command also displays the name of the system, along with other information.

To change the name of the workstation, follow these steps:

Log in as root.
Edit the file /etc/sys_id. Change the name of the host to newname. Write and exit the editor.
You must also change the name of the host in any network files, such as /etc/hosts, and possibly in the NIS map on the master NIS server.
Reboot your system.

The name of the workstation is now changed. When the workstation is booted, all programs that are started at boot time, and read the host name when they start, now use the correct host name.

For information about the Internet address of a workstation, see the IRIX networking documentation. For more information about the name of the system, see the hostname(1) and uname(1) reference pages.

Setting the Network Address

The system's network address (IP address) is covered more thoroughly in the IRIX networking documentation.

To set the network address, follow these steps:

Place the network address in /etc/hosts on the same line as the system name.
If you use the network information service (NIS), place the name of your domain in the file /var/yp/ypdomain, if it is installed.
Use the nvram(1M) command to set the variable netaddr to the IP number of the machine. For example:
nvram netaddr 192.13.52.4

Setting the Default Printer

The lpadmin(1M) command sets the default printer. This command sets the default printer to laser:

lpadmin -dlaser

Note that the printer laser must already exist and be configured. For complete information on setting up printers, see the IRIX print services documentation.

Setting the Time Zone

To set the time zone of the system, edit the file /etc/TIMEZONE. For a site on the east coast of the United States, the file might look something like this:

# Time Zone
TZ=EST5EDT

The line TZ=EST5EDT means:

The current time zone is Eastern Standard Time.
It is 5 hours to the west of Greenwich mean time.
Daylight saving time applies here (EDT).

The TZ environment variable is read by init(1) when the system boots, and the value of TZ is passed to all subsequent processes. The time zone designation (such as EST) is simply passed through for your convenience. The important parts of the designation are the specification of the deviation from Greenwich Mean Time and the presence of the Daylight Savings Time indicator. The following tables provide convenient time zone information for the majority of North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South America, and Australia and New Zealand.

North America Time Zones
Region GMT Differential Abbreviation
Newfoundland -3:30 NST
Atlantic -4:00 AST
Eastern -5:00 EST
Central -6:00 CST
Saskatchewan -6:00 CST
Mountain -7:00 MST
Pacific -8:00 PST
Yukon -9:00 YST
Alaska -10:00 AST
Hawaii -10:00 HST
Bering -11:00 BST
BajaNorte -8:00 PST
BajaSur -7:00 MST
Mexico General -6:00 CST

North America Time Zones
Region	GMT Differential	Abbreviation
Newfoundland	-3:30	NST
Atlantic	-4:00	AST
Eastern	-5:00	EST
Central	-6:00	CST
Saskatchewan	-6:00	CST
Mountain	-7:00	MST
Pacific	-8:00	PST
Yukon	-9:00	YST
Alaska	-10:00	AST
Hawaii	-10:00	HST
Bering	-11:00	BST
BajaNorte	-8:00	PST
BajaSur	-7:00	MST
Mexico General	-6:00	CST

Europe Time Zones
Region GMT Differential Abbreviation
Ireland 0:00 BST
The United Kingdom 0:00 BST
Western Europe 0:00 WET
Iceland 0:00 WET
Middle Europe 1:00 MET
Poland 1:00 MET
Eastern Europe 2:00 EET
Turkey 3:00 EET
Western Russia 3:00 WSU

Europe Time Zones
Region	GMT Differential	Abbreviation
Ireland	0:00	BST
The United Kingdom	0:00	BST
Western Europe	0:00	WET
Iceland	0:00	WET
Middle Europe	1:00	MET
Poland	1:00	MET
Eastern Europe	2:00	EET
Turkey	3:00	EET
Western Russia	3:00	WSU

Asia Time Zones
Region GMT Differential Abbreviation
Rep. Of China 8:00 CST
Hongkong 8:00 HKT
Japan 9:00 JST
Rep. Of Korea 9:00 ROK
Singapore 8:00 SST

Asia Time Zones
Region	GMT Differential	Abbreviation
Rep. Of China	8:00	CST
Hongkong	8:00	HKT
Japan	9:00	JST
Rep. Of Korea	9:00	ROK
Singapore	8:00	SST

Middle East Time Zones
Region GMT Differential Abbreviation
Israel 2:00 IST
Egypt 2:00 EET

Middle East Time Zones
Region	GMT Differential	Abbreviation
Israel	2:00	IST
Egypt	2:00	EET

South America Time Zones
Region GMT Differentia Abbreviation
Brazil/East -3:00 EST
Brazil/West -4:00 WST
Brazil/Acre -5:00 AST
Brazil/DeNoronha -2:00 FST
Chile/Continental -4:00 CST
Chile/EasterIsland -6:00 EST

South America Time Zones
Region	GMT Differentia	Abbreviation
Brazil/East	-3:00	EST
Brazil/West	-4:00	WST
Brazil/Acre	-5:00	AST
Brazil/DeNoronha	-2:00	FST
Chile/Continental	-4:00	CST
Chile/EasterIsland	-6:00	EST

Australia and New Zealand Time Zones
Region GMT Differential Abbreviation
Australia/Tasmania 10:00 EST
Australia/Queensland 10:00 EST
Australia/North 9:30 CST
Australia/West 8:00 WST
Australia/South 9:30 CST
Australia/Victoria 10:00 EST
Australia/NSW 10:00 EST
New Zealand 12:00 NZT

Australia and New Zealand Time Zones
Region	GMT Differential	Abbreviation
Australia/Tasmania	10:00	EST
Australia/Queensland	10:00	EST
Australia/North	9:30	CST
Australia/West	8:00	WST
Australia/South	9:30	CST
Australia/Victoria	10:00	EST
Australia/NSW	10:00	EST
New Zealand	12:00	NZT

For complete information about setting your time zone, see the timezone(4) reference page.

Changing the Date and Time

Use the date(1) command to set the date and time. For example, to set the date to April 1st, 1999, and the time to 09:00, log in as root and enter:

date 0401090099

Changing the date and time on a running system can have unexpected consequences. Users and administrators use system scheduling utilities (at(1), cron(1), and batch(1)) to perform commands at specified times. If you change the effective date or time on the system, these commands may not execute at the desired times. Similarly, if your users use the make(1) utility provided with the system, the commands specified in Makefiles can incorrectly compile or process your users' work. Always try to keep your system date and time accurate within reason. Random changes of the date and time can be extremely inconvenient and possibly destructive to users' work.

If timed(1M) is running on the system, and it is a slave system, the time is reset by timed and not the above command. For more information, see the timed(1M) reference page.