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---+!! %MAKETEXT{"Welcome to the LHCb [_1] web" args="%WEB%"}%

This web-site collects information for the operation of the LHCb Online system. More specifically for the central and shared Online services, which are used by all sub-detectors and which are required to run the entire experiment. If you are a new user in LHCb, a shifter or a piquet, this one is (should be) a good starting point.

The amount of material on this web is quite big and we are painfully aware that the structure is far from perfect. Work is in progress to improve this. Please be patient or even better: *help*.

The material on this top-page is of interest for any user of the Online system. In addition you will find here specialised sub-webs dedicated to [[AdminGuide][System Administration]] ([[AdminGuideOld][old]]), the Online on-call shifter: OnlinePiquet and [[OnlineProjects][R&D projects]] in Online computing by members of the Online team. 
%TOC%
---+ %MAKETEXT{"The User environment"}%

This chapter is about getting an account, logging in, staying up-to-date, communicating with other users, how the Operating System environments are configured and much more.

---++ %MAKETEXT{"Working from home"}%

Since the LHCb Online network is not directly accessible from the internet working from home is not as straight forward as logging into CERN. Here we explain the recommended ways to access the Online system from outside. The minimum requirements are that you have a computer running Linux, Mac OS-X or Windows in a reasonably recent version, an internet connection and a valid CERN account, which allows you to login into lxplus.

The LHCb Online system has both Linux and Windows machines. On Linux tasks can often be achieved from the command line (ssh) alone, but some tasks, in particular PVSS panels require a graphical session. On Windows the possibilities of the command-line are severely limited (crippled some people would say) and for experts only, so graphical remote sessions are the only option. All these options from and to all OS-es will be explained here. The explanations here are sorted by the remote (i.e. home) operating system.

   * [[LoggingInFromUNIX][From UNIX Systems (Linux or MacOS)]]
   * [[LoggingInFromWindows][From Windows]]

---+ %MAKETEXT{"Understanding the system"}%

The LHCb Online system consists of several large systems, which are intimately connected: the DataAcquisition (DAQ) with its private network, the ExperimentControlSystem, the HLTFarm, the OnlineMonitoring

---+ %MAKETEXT{"Running your detector, LHCb or FEST"}%
   * [[UIsNSessions][PVSS UIs and permanent sessions]] (Running shortcuts and keeping your session Linux (NX) and Windows (Remote Desktop)
   * FEST 
      * [[UsingFest][Using FEST from your office]]
---++ Working with the raw-data
   * [[RunDatabaseTool][Check Runs and Files in the RunDB, Bookkeeping System or LFC]] Pin runs, Change LOCAL to OFFLINE
   * Monitoring applications 
      * [[HistogramPresenter][Presenter]]
      * [[MonitoringExpertGuide][Guide for monitoring experts]]
      * [[SaveHistos][How to save Histograms in the Monitoring Farm]]
      * [[LatestOnline][How to link your applications against the latest version of Online]]
      * [[HistoLabels][How to get labels on your histograms in the Presenter and SaveSets]]
   * <a href="StartingTheEventDisplayAtThePit" title="Event Display">EventDisplay</a>

---+ %MAKETEXT{"Troubleshooting"}%

_"Everything which can go wrong, will go wrong"_

Debugging problems in the Online system is not easy, but there are tools to help you. Here it is assumed that you have carefully checked any error-messages you might have on the PVSS panel (if used) and this did not help. The first step to a deeper under-standing are the logfiles written by most of the processes and the hardware devices in the system.

To see if (and where) you have a problem with data transmission, you can use the <a href="DataFlowMonitor" title="Data Flow monitoring">Data Flow Monitoring panel</a> available in PVSS. It shows amounts of data sent/received and rates for your detector (or FEST/LHCb) at each stage of the DAQ system.

---++ Crashes collector "CoreWatch"

Programs should never crash. Probably hevean's software is written that way. In LHCb you may use (or write youself) a code which sometimes _crashes_, reporting nothing to log files (if any). The crash collector [[http://lbcrashes.cern.ch/][CoreWatch]] (accessible only in LHCb network now, but this will change soon) will try to catch all such cases and record them to a DB. The web interface will give you access to all recorded crashes happend on LHCb computers. In addition you may debug most recent (last two weeks) "core" files produced by crashed programs.
---++ Logs

Several logging mechanisms are in place in the Online system: the Unix/Linux syslog mechanism, the FMC logging (used by all Gaudi based applications) and many simple text-based logfiles, like the ones produced by the PVSS managers. OnlineLogging of syslog and FMC goes via a central server and is available on all nodes.
---++ More Stuff
   * [[AutomaticStartupProcessWithFMC][Automatic startup of custom process on the Online Cluster]]
   * [[BackupAutomatic][Backup]]
   * [[ChangeTell1s][Change a TELL1]]
   * [[CircuitBreakerTrip][Circuit Breaker Trip]]
   * [[DataBases][Databases]] 
      * Explanation of [[DataMover#FileAndRunStates][File and Run states]]
   * ECS, PVSS, DSS, DIP and all that... 
      * [[PVSSListWindowsPIDRemotely][List PVSS Windows Process ID remotely]]
      * [[PVSSAutomaticStartupWindows][Automatic startup on Windows]] [[PVSSAutomaticStartupLinux][Automatic startup on Linux]]
      * [[PVSSArchiving][PVSS Oracle Archiving]]
      * [[UserDIP][DIP]]
      * [[ResetTerminalServerSession][Reset your remote desktop session from another server]]
      * [[UserFAQ][PVSS FAQ]]
      * [[https://lhcbweb.bo.infn.it/twiki/bin/view.cgi/LHCbBologna/FmcLinux][Farm Management and Control (FMC)]] (Bologna pages)
      * PVSS38UpgradeInstructions
      * [[Writetosw][Can't modify the components directory /sw/pvss]]
      * DSS 
         * [[UserDSSUI][DSS User Interface]]
      * [[UserTerminalDisplay][Terminal Display Configuration]]
   * EventBuilder
   * Event Filter Farm 
      * [[AddCounters][Adding Counters]]
      * [[DefaultOnline][What is the default version of Online used in the EFF]]
      * [[ChooseVersionOfMoore][How to select a different version of Moore or TCK in the EFF]]
      * [[CondDBSnapshots][How to make and use Conditions Database snapshots]]
   * [[OnlineGitForUsers][Git]] using the local github of the LHCb Online system
   * Mail 
      * MailSendToCern
   * MessagingSystem (stay up-to-date about the LHCb Online with our instant messaging system based on jabber)
   * [[MoD][Manager on Duty]]: your friendly sysadmin
   * Network 
      * <span style="color: #0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">[[AdminNetwork][Admin network]]</span></span>
      * [[UserTell1IPRange][Tell1 IP Range]]
      * [[Tell1PortNum][Tell1 Port Number]]
   * [[RawData][Raw data and CASTOR]] 
      * [[UserCastor][automatic copy from /scratch area]]
      * CastorFS : access to CASTOR user areas from plus. NewCastorFS using Xrootd and improved caching (beta)
      * DataMover and information sent to BookKeeping Database (BKK)
   * RunDataBase how to access fill and run meta-data
   * OnlineIncidents
   * Software (CMT and other) 
      * [[UserCMT][Checking out CMT projects (accessing AFS from the gateways)]]
      * [[WinExe][Winexe program &mdash; remotly executes commands on Windows from Linux]]
      * [[ConfDBSynchronisation][Synchronize devices data between lhcbintegration and ConfDB]]
      * [[Starting the EventDisplay at the Pit]]
      * [[UserSubversionLbgw][Upgrade of the svn default version on lbgw]]
   * User accounts 
      * [[UserFirstSteps][Online account: read first]] [[UserCreate][Get a user account]]
      * [[UserGroups][List of groups]] %ICON{"gear"}% [[UserGasGroups][List Gas groups + members]] %ICON{"gear"}%
      * [[UserResetPassword][Password reseting]] [[AFSonGW][AFS access on (lb)gw]]
      * <span style="color: blue;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">[[UserGenericAccount][Generic accounts]] (operator accounts)</span></span>
      * <span style="color: blue;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">[[UserPrivileges][User Privileges]] (a.k.a. "sudo rights")</span></span>
      * [[dbaccounts][Oracle database accounts]]
   * [[UserOnlinePrinting][Printing in Control Room]]
   * [[UserOperAccounts][Operator accounts ]]
   * Web services 
      * [[WebHelpdesk][Helpdesk]]
      * [[WebTwiki][TWiki]]
      * [[WebGroupSpace][Web diskspace for groups]]
      * <span style="color: #0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">[[WebServicesAdministration][Web services administration]]</span></span>
   * Winter shutdown 2011/2012 
      * ShutdownProcedure
      * ListOfMachinesKeptUp
   * [[AdminOperAccounts][Password list]]
   * [[Summerstudentlab][Summer student lab]]
---++ DiskUpgrade during TS1 2012
---++ %WEB% Web Utilities

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Main.NikoNeufeld - 28 Apr 2011
Topic revision: r151 - 2014-08-04 - DanielHugoCamporaPerez
Online

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