• The new PCs with Intel Pentium processor under Debian GNU/Linux (formerly S.u.S.E.).
• The old DEC workstations with Alpha processor under OSF/1.
• We got finally rid of the ancient DEC workstation with Mips processor under Ultrix. ;-)

1. we have installed the new user 'sysstw' to make general files for the use of our computer system available at the Sternwarte. You can find in the directory '~sysstw' (please do not specify the disk cos this may change in the future) some subdirectories of general interest:
   • computer manuals concerning our system,
   • personal system configuration files,
   • mails concerning the Computer System   (click here to read the single mails),
   • some small programs and scripts,
   • PostScript examples,
   • TeX texts   (for LaTeX 2.0.9 and the new version 2e),
   • Fortran sources,
   • MIDAS stuff and
   • IRAF files.
   In each of these directories you can find a 'README' file (see the links above) which contains the latest overview of the embedded files, and all people can write to these directories (!please be careful!).
   Please make wise use of it.
2. the local UNIX command 'query' displays general information about the computer system of the AIUB:
   • WorldWide Astro Info via astro and astro-l - 'astro*.lis' by Chris Benn & Ralph Martin:
     • astropersons,
     • astroplaces and
     • astropostal, and
     • "The StarPages" by André Heck,
   • hosts,
   • mail-aliases,
   • phones,
   • printers,
   • users.
   The used files are found in '/aibn91_0/globals/site-info'.
3. HOT and realistic benchmark are available now: I have tested the speed (since December 1997) of Linux-PCs and OSF-Alphas by making an DAOPHOT-Allstar run, fitting simultaneously point-spread-functions to a 30 min B exposure of the 1.54 m Danish telescope, with a framesize of 1800×1800 pix² and a static array of 2048×2048 pix² with 23 653 convergent stars. The times needed and the "hypothetic" CPU frequency of a normal Intel Pentium is given. On all tested machines, the allstar task got more than 90% CPU time, so there were no other processes, and swapping never happened.

   Machine	Time / [hr:min]	Pentium frequency / [MHz]
   aibn33 (Alpha - old)	4:49	'66'
   aibn34 (Alpha - old)	6:10	'52'
   aibn19 (Alpha - new 433 MHz)	0:44	'438'
   wotan (my private PC: Pentium 133)	2:25	133
   aibn43 (PC, Pentium 200)	1:22	'235'
   aibn45 (PC, Pentium 200 MMX)	1:31	'212'
   lap3 (my private Notebook, Pentium 230 MMX)	1:18	'247'
   aibn35 (PC, Pentium 230 MMX)	1:09	'280'
   aibn38 (PC, Pentium II 233)	0:53	'365'
   aibn46 (PC, Pentium II 333)	0:37	'522'

   I don't know why 'aibn43' is faster than 'aibn45', but I could reproduce the given values.
   This is a pure floating point test, so the FPU of an Alpha is not better than the one of a Pentium - in respect of the CPU frequency - and the prize for an Alpha is much higher.   ;-)
   This is quite striking as Intel should only be able to beat the new RISC (reduced instruction set code) computers with the IA-64 line. The current situation is normally given as follows:
   Intel PII 450 MHz: 0.45 GFLOPS; MIPS R12000 300 MHz: 0.6 GFLOPS; Sun UltraSPARC-II 400 MHz: 0.8 GFLOPS; DEC/API Alpha-CPU 600 MHz: 1.2 GFLOPS; HP PA-8500 400 MHz: 1.215 GFLOPS.
   The fastest computer system is Intels ASCI Red (>2 TFLOPS, 9472 CPUs).
4. Please look at the older Computer System Notes (ancient entries formerly written here) or the System News (mails to all members of the Sternwarte concerning our Computer System), both available at this site.

In the future we intend to have one workstation for every member of the Sternwarte who regularly reduces huge datasets (that is the way one has to understand the main user[s] of the machine / hard disks, which can differ from the real situation right now).

Additionally, we use (or want to use) the following transportable media:

Name of Medium	Size	Space	Format	Manufacturer	Price per Medium
Drive Location
Magneto Optical Disk (MO)	5.25"	2×600 MB	512 B/sector	Verbatim	52.25 DM (04/97)
aibn70
Compact Disk (CD-ROM)	5.25"	650 MB 700 MB 790 MB	(74 min) (80 min) (90 min)	Kodak Lidata ?	2.40 DM 2.65 DM 3.35 DM (05/99)
burn: aibn39, aibn75, aibn76; read: (aibn31), all Linux machines
Digital Versatile Disk (DVD)	5.25"	4.7-17 GB		-	-  (--/--)
available on all new Linux machines
Magnetic Floppy Disk	3.5"	1.44 MB	DS, HD	-	0.80 DM (01/97)
All Linux machines: aibn35, aibn36, aibn37, aibn38, aibn39,   aibn42, aibn43, aibn44, aibn45, aibn46, aibn75
Zip Disk		100 MB		Iomega	19.80 DM (10/97)
aibn97   (and PC [2.04])
Zip Disk		250 MB		Iomega	40.00 DM (??/00)
aibn79
Data Cartridge (DAT tape)	4 mm	2 GB	90 m	Maxell	8.00 DM (10/98)
aibn75   (and aibn91, aibn20)
Data Cartridge (Exabyte)	8 mm	2.3 GB	112 m	Maxell	9.00 DM (02/98)
aibn32   (and aibn91, aibn53)

• Addresses of shops/people relevant for STW computers
• Computer Fun Page   New!
• Software on Alpha and MIPS computers
• Software on the Linux PCs
• System Administration for the DEC workstations  (Alpha-OSF/1 and Mips-Ultrix)
• System Administration for Linux PCs
• HTML helpfiles for Computer Programs
• WWW manual for the AIUB (HPAM)