- csc-general - CSC Mailman

Loss of data on /scratch
by Computer Science Club 29 Aug '17

29 Aug '17

Hello everyone, The /scratch array failed (likely due to a failed drive) at some point during the past weekend. The Systems Committee attempted to recover the data on /scratch but was unsuccessful. We have created a new /scratch on different (larger) drives, and /scratch is now available again. This failure required us to reboot corn-syrup at 9pm on August 28th. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the loss of data on /scratch and the reboot of corn-syrup. Thanks, CSC Systems Committee

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Systems Updates / Planned Maintenance from the Systems Committee
by Computer Science Club 15 Aug '17

15 Aug '17

Hello everyone, This email contains multiple sections: 1. Updates and reminders 2. Upcoming Maintenance (including machine reboots) on Friday, August 18 3. Introducing the CSC Cloud SECTION 1: UPDATES / REMINDERS A few updates and reminder: - Disk space: Please remember that disk space is limited. Home directories have a 4GB quota and SHOULD NOT be used for computational purposes. Please use /scratch or /scratch-hfcs for large storage and computational purposes. Disk space in both is limited, so please remove large items once you are done with them. If space is fully utilized, the systems committee may remove large items to make room for others. - caffeine: When caffeine was upgraded to Debian Stretch a few weekends ago, PHP was not fully upgraded. This has been resolved, and we are now running PHP 7. - Networking for all MathSoc clubs (including the CSC) was upgraded to provide additional redundancy and capacity. On Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017, there were some issues when the inter-building (MC -> DC) link was activated that resulted in unavailability of the CSC network for periods of time during the day. These issues have now been resolved and we apologize for any inconvenience caused. - Is there a piece of software that you'd like installed on our machines? Email syscom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca to request the package. SECTION 2: UPCOMING MAINTENANCE On Friday, August 18, 2017, from 12pm to 6pm, the CSC will be in a maintenance period. During this period: - Machines will be rebooted to upgrade their kernels (including security updates). Please ensure that all program state is saved prior to the start of the maintenance period to ensure minimal loss. - corn-syrup and high-fructose-corn-syrup will have a 10Gbps network card installed. SECTION 3: INTRODUCING THE CSC CLOUD The CSC systems committee is currently working on the development of a private cloud for all CSC members. Our cloud, powered by OpenStack, will allow us to offer virtual-private servers to members. We are currently looking for beta testers. Please email cloud(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca if you are interested in joining the beta. *Please include your CSC username in the email.* We will ask you for your feedback and ask that you report all issues to us. Thanks to the Math Endowment Fund (MEF) and CSC members for hardware donations that made this project possible. CONCLUSION Finally, we are looking for people interested in joining the systems committee. Please contact syscom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca if you are interested in learning more. If you have any questions/concerns/comments about the content of this email or about the CSC systems, please email syscom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca. Thanks, Zachary Seguin Systems Administrator Computer Science Club | University of Waterloo syscom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca

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System upgrades: upcoming maintenance window (Sun. July 30)
by Computer Science Club 23 Jul '17

23 Jul '17

Greetings programs, Syscom will be performing Debian system upgrades on most of our stable systems (taurine, mail, caffeine [webserver]) on Sunday, July 30th between the hours of 8am and 8pm EST. During that time, mail and web hosting services may be interrupted briefly. We do not anticipate any system reboots at this time. taurine will be getting irssi and weechat upgrades, so we recommend you restart your IRC sessions once the maintenance is complete to take advantage of the new software. You may have noticed that we already completed upgrades on all our Debian testing systems (sucrose, corn-syrup, hfcs). Please reach out to the Systems Committee if you have any questions, concerns, or deep dark secrets you'd like to share: syscom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca Thanks for flying CSC Air, -- Elana Hashman Systems Committee Computer Science Club University of Waterloo syscom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca

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End of Term Party!
by Computer Science Club 20 Jul '17

20 Jul '17

Hi Everyone, Come join CSC for the End of Term party next Monday, July 24 from 6pm - 10pm in MC Comfy! We will be serving Urban Bricks! Events page: https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/events/MC_Comfy-2017-07-24-6:00_pm Regards, Bo

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Alt-Tab S17
by Computer Science Club 16 Jul '17

16 Jul '17

Hi everyone, CSC's Alt-Tab is back! Join us for food and interesting member talks. The current lineup includes: Ifaz Kabir<https://www.facebook.com/ifazk>: "The comment that took Stack Exchange down and the algorithm that could have saved them" Fatema Boxwala<https://www.facebook.com/fatema.boxwala>: "Manic PXE Dream Servers" Charlie Wang<https://www.facebook.com/charliewangg>: TBA (Something About Typed Racket) Sean Harrap: "Register Allocation With Graphs" Bryan Coutts<https://www.facebook.com/bryan.coutts.5>: "Vehicle Routing" Reila Lee: TBA Facebook event page found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/501869783485380/. Secretary, Bo

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Talkers and Hackers and CS, Oh My
by Computer Science Club 07 Jul '17

07 Jul '17

Hey you, CS Club member! If you came out to our CSC/WiCS bonfire then we hope you appreciated the marshmallows and samosas as much as we appreciated seeing your faces. Because now we have more events coming up! And this time you get to be part of them. -------- *Alt-TAB:* You talk about something you find interesting CSC will be hosting our Alt-Tab on Jul 17/18 this term and is currently looking for speakers, please email z34wei(a)uwaterloo.ca with the topic you would like to talk about and approximate time needed (preferably within 30 minutes) Before July 14. In past terms, people have talked about train signals in the TTC, writing kernel modules in Rust, and finding the closest pizza shop on a graph if the pizza shop takes negative time to cook your pizza. More details soon, once we get speakers! -------- *Crypto CTF, Solve Security Puzzles:* Get brownie points for doing it! On July 13th between 1800h and 2100h, the University of Waterloo Cryptography, Security, and Privacy (CrySP) lab will be hosting a Capture the Flag (CTF) competition in STC 0010. For this competition, the CrySP lab has created challenges and puzzles to test your programming, logic, forensics, and other computer science related abilities. The more challenges you solve the more points you get! Winning teams will receive prizes! Even if you don't think you will win, this is a good opportunity to test your skills and gain instant feedback on how well you are doing. We host these competitions so participants can learn new skills, expand on old ones, and understand alternative uses for their knowledge. If you would like to join us, please sign up at ctf.uwaterloo.ca ! (You will need to bring your own laptop to the event.) If you have any questions please email bpostnikoff(a)edu.uwaterloo.ca <bpostnikoff(a)uwaterloo.ca>. -------- Submit your talks, come to the CTF next Thursday! -- Patrick Melanson Computer Science Club University of Waterloo pj2melan(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca

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Code Party 0!
by Computer Science Club 21 Jun '17

21 Jun '17

Hi Everyone, Code Party 0 will be held in STC 0020 on Thursday, June 22 from 6-9pm! Abstract Come code with us, eat some food, do some things. Personal projects you want to work on? Homework projects you need to finish? Or want some time to explore some new technology and chat about it? You can join us at Code Party 0 and do it, with great company and great food. Secretary, Computer Science Club Bo Mo

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Machine Learning talk by Professor Shai Ben-David
by Computer Science Club 14 Jun '17

14 Jun '17

Hello everyone, Professor Shai Ben-David will be holding a talk on Machine Learning tomorrow June 15th at 6pm at MC4060! Abstract We are all aware that we live in the era of ("big") data. In contrast to classical scientists that devoted much of their resources to collecting data, nowadays researchers are flooded with data and the focus has switched to trying to make sense of and utilize the big and complex available data. Machine learning is aimed to use computer power to do just that. It is therefore no wonder that machine learning is currently a hot topic. Evidence is all over the map, from NYTimes articles to being a top priority for research investments by Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook. Throughout its (short) history, machine learning has enjoyed fruitful interactions between theory and practice. The growing awareness to its power keeps stimulating research towards new applications to the field, which in turn spur the development of algorithms and inspire new frontiers for our theoretical pursuit. In this talk Professor Shai Ben-David will explain the basic principles behind machine learning and how these principles relate to some of headline-making practical tools. Ben-David will also describe some of the major research challenges and research directions that address the fast expanding scope of potential machine learning applications. Regards, Bo Mo Secretary, Computer Science Club

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Office Training Spring 2017
by Computer Science Club 30 May '17

30 May '17

Hello Everyone, I will be conducting office training on Tuesday June the 6th at 4:00 pm in the CSClub office (MC 3036). Please attend if you would like to become office staff. If you cannot make it at the given time, please contact me directly. Thank you, - Uday Barar (ubarar) Office Manager IMAPD

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Unix 102 Tutorial
by Computer Science Club 29 May '17

29 May '17

Hello everyone, Fatema Boxwala will be holding a Unix 102 talk at MC 3003 from 6pm - 8pm on June 1, 2017. Abstract Finished the bash unit in CS246 and still don't see what's great about Unix? Want to gain some more in-depth knowledge, or some less well-known tips and tricks for using the command line? Unix 102 is the event for you! Fatema is "kind of successful" and "knows things about Unix" and you can be too! Topics covered will be: users, groups and permissions, ez string manipulation, additional skills, tips and tricks. Bring a computer with Minecraft installed if you have one. Bo Mo Secretary

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