gettingstarted

EE 564

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Getting Started

This document contains information to help you log on and manage your account on the Mentor Graphics software servers. The following topics are covered:

Working in the UNIX Environment

Working in the Mentor Environment

Mentor Graphics Servers

There are two Sun Workstation servers available for you to run Mentor Graphics from remote terminals. The machines are called SIF and HEL and their complete addresses are:
sif.ee.engr.uky.edu
hel.ee.engr.uky.edu

You can access these machines from either the UNIX terminals in the basement of the Oliver H. Raymond Building(Civil Engineering) or from the PCs in the Microlab on the second floor of the Raymond Bldg.

Student Accounts

An account for each student in EE564 has been setup on both SIF and HEL. Your account username is your last name, e.g., mason. If your last name has more than 8 characters, your account name is the first 5 letters of your last name. Your initial password is your username followed by 123, e.g., mason123. You should change your password on both SIF and HEL when you log in for the first time.

Logging In -UNIX Terminals

Login from UNIX terminals:
1. If you are using the terminals in the basement of the Raymond Building (recommended), there will be a list all servers that we can login to. Choose SIF or HEL, one of the two Mentor servers. If you are at some UNIX terminal that does not have list list, try the option menu and see if they are listed there.
2. Type your username and password and you will be on the Mentor server.

Setting Up the Font Server:
Before you run a Mentor application, enter the following at a command prompt:
        > xset fp+ tcp/freya.ee:7000
You only need to enter this once after each time you log in. To simplify future logins, you can (but do not have to) set an alias for this command in you .tcshrc file. Edit the .tcshrc file (in your home directory) and add the following line then save the file:
    alias fontset 'xset fp+ tcp/freya.ee:7000'
Once set, you simply type
        > fontset
in a command line after logging in.

Logging Out:
When you are done working with Mentor Graphics you need to log out of the Mentor server. Right-click on the desktop and choose 'Log Out' from the list. Alternatively, you can click on 'EXIT' button at the bottom of the windows manager.

Logging In - Windows PCs

Login from PC via X-Windows:
1. Open X-Windows. An icon for this application should be on the desktop.
2. Right-click on the X-Windows window and select
session > sif or session > hel
from the pop-up window. This will connect you to either SIF or HEL and your session will run in a window on the PC. If SIF and HEL do not appear on the sessions list, see below.
3. Login to the Mentor Graphic server (SIF or HEL) by entering your username and password.

Adding SIF and HEL to the X-Windows sessions list:
If SIF and/or HEL do not appear on the X-Windows session list, they need to be added. Since this is the first time Mentor Graphics has been used at UK, you will probably have add these to each PC you use until we’ve done it on all of them. Here are the steps:
1. After you start X-Win32, right-click on the bar at the top of the X-Win32 window and select X-Util32
2. From the X-Util32 window, select
          session > new session
3. Add a session for SIF by entering the following data:
          session name = sif
          connect using = XDMCP
          host name = sif.ee.engr.uky.edu
4. Save the session
5. Repeat steps 3&4 for HEL substituting ‘hel’ for ‘sif’
6. Exit X-Util32 and return to X-Win32 to begin a session

Setting Up the Font Server:
If you log in form a PC using X-Win32 and get this error message when you try to run a Mentor application:
    WARNING: Font loading failed. Please see the following notes....
then you need to log out and add a setting to X-Win32. This should only need to be done once for each individual PC.
1. After logging out of the Mentor server, open X-Util32 by right-clicking on the top bar of X-Win32 and selecting X-Util32
2. From the X-Util32 window, select
        Font > Path
then choose
        Add Font Server
3. In the Add X Font Server window, type
        Font Server = freya.ee.engr.uky.edu
        Port = 7000
4. Press OK
5. Exit from X-Util32 and return to X-Win32 where you can log in by following the steps above.

Logging In from Home:
We will not be supporting logins from home PCs, but if you want to try using an X-client from home you will need to enter the following command before you begin a Mentor application:
> xset fp+ tcp/freya.ee:7000

Mentor will be very slow from any off-campus computer.

First-Time Issues

Environment Selection
The first time you login to your account you will be asked to select a login mode. Select “Command Desktop Environment(CDE)”.

Sun Registration

When you first login to SIF or HEL you will get a message about registering to Sun Microsystems. You can ignore this. It would be best to select More Information then select Never Remind Me (click it twice), and you won't get the message again.

Changing Your Password
You should change your password the first time you log in. You have to change your password both on SIF and HEL individually, but it is recommended that you set them both to the same password.
To change your password, open a terminal command window and type
> passwd
You will be asked to type the previous password and then type your new password two times. You may change your password at anytime using this command.

Working in the UNIX Environment

Your HOME Directory
Each student has been assigned a directory located at:
/class/ee564/<username>
This directory is called your home directory and is represented in UNIX by the symbol ~. For example, the command cd /~ will move you from your current directory to your home directory. You may create any subdirectories that will help you organize your files, but you should keep all your files within your directory.

Other Directories of Interest
Library Directory
You will need to access several files used by Mentor Graphics which contain information about the specific process we are using for our design projects (process file, library file, design rules file, etc.). These files will be located in:
/class/lib/
Public Directory
A public area for exchanging files, etc. has been created at:
/class/ee564/class

Workstation Menu
If you right-click on the desktop you will pop-up the Workstation Menu which provides access to many of the functions and applications you will need.
To Open a Command Terminal
Select “Hosts”à ”Terminal Console”, and a command terminal will be opened. This is a window with a command prompt which allows you to enter basic UNIX commands (run applications, move around within your file structure, etc.).
To Open the File Manager
Select “Files”à “File Manager” to open an icon-based file manager.
To Open a Text Editor
Select “Applications”à “Text Editor” to start an application which allows you to read and edit text files.

Working in the Mentor Environment

Cell Directories
Each circuit created using Mentor Graphics is called a cell. All of your cells should be kept within your home directory. Each student has been assigned a home directory located at:
/class/ee564/<username>
You may create any subdirectories that will help you organize your files, but you should keep all your files within your directory (or your teammates directory, in the case of the final project).

Setting your Mentor 'Working Directory'
Before you start any Mentor Graphics application you need to tell Mentor what your working directory is. Typically your working directory will be your home directory, but it may possibly be a subdirectory or a directory within your teammates home directory. In a command window, navigate to the directory which contains the cells on which you will be working using the “cd” command. You can use the “pwd” to determine which directory you are currently in. Once in the proper working directory, type
> swd
The ‘swd’ alias sets the Mentor 'working directory' to the current directory. You should type the command ‘swd’ before starting any Mentor application from the directory your cells are in.

Required Files for Mentor Graphics
You will need to access several files used by Mentor Graphics which contain information about the specific process we are using for our design projects (process file, library file, design rules file, etc.). These files will be located in:
/class/lib/

License Limit in Mentor Graphics
A limited number of Mentor Graphics applications can be run simultaneously due to license restrictions. If you login and can not run a Mentor application, it may mean there are no available licenses. The best thing to do is try again later in the day. Please inform Dr. Mason anytime you notice license limits affecting your work so we can determine if we have enough licenses for the class.