Hi Kirk,
We are using VnmrJ 3.2 on our Inova-500, Inova-300, and Mercury(Vx)-300
plus a couple of data stations. Also we have VnmrJ 3.2 on data stations.
All are running CentOS 6.4 with the latest updates (kernel version
2.6.32-358.23.2.el6.x86_64).
The PC's include an odd assortment of Dell Precision T3400, T3500,
Optiplex 755, HP Z400, and homebuilt boxes with both Intel and AMD
processors.
The same systems also happily run Bruker TopSpin 3.2 and the latest
Agilent VnmrJ 4.0 (workstations... not available yet for Inova).
The newer VnmrJ 3.2 or 4.0 software and CentOS 6.4 does not seem to
exhibit the annoying java-related GUI slow-down problems that plagued
earlier RedHat/CentOS 5.x + VnmrJ 2.2D installations. They've done an
excellent job of cleaning up the programming.
So far, I have encounted no reason whatsoever to make me regret upgrading
to the new software and OS.
I opted for CentOS rather than RedHat (even though we have a campus
RedHat license/satellite server) to avoid the annoying RedHat subscription
issues. Otherwise RedHat and CentOS are functionally equivalent, as far
as I can tell.
A strong recommendation for all RedHat and CentOS installations is to use
the "ElRepo" kmod-nvidia and nvidia-x11-drv graphics drivers. (they also
have support for Radeon graphics). The ElRepo distros (
http://elrepo.org)
are much simpler to install and maintain... and don't break whenever you
do kernel updates like drivers obtained directly from NVidia or AMD. All
of the NVidia cards used in Varian or Bruker PC configurations seem to be
supported by ElRepo.
To avoid bloated installations with a lot of unneeded packages and
services I tend to start with a minimal Desktop installation, then add the
specific packages that are needed by the Agilent or Bruker software or
other site specific needs, e.g. NFS. The new Agilent & Bruker installers
will quickly report any additional packages that are required... which can
then be installed on the fly with "yum".
I'd be happy to share any additional info on my installation procedures.
I've also got some hacks to remove the suspend/hibernate/shutdown/reboot
options normally presented to regular users. We use separate Linux
accounts for each user.
--Mike
-----------------------------
Michael Strain
Director, CAMCOR NMR Facility
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1253
mstrain_at_uoregon.edu
541-346-4605 office/lab
541-556-4077 mobile
http://nmr.uoregon.edu
On Fri, 18 Oct 2013, Kirk Marat wrote:
> We are finally (!) in a position to upgrade our INOVA 600 to VnmrJ 3.2
> on a Linux box. Due to financial constraints, the "powers that be"
> decided that we should purchase the computer and OS ourselves rather
> than buy the complete upgrade package, including computer, from Agilent.
> Agilent's officially supported platforms include a Dell T3500 running
> RHEL 5.3 and a HP z400 running RHEL 6.1. What we ended up getting is a
> Dell T3600 (U of M has a preferred supplier contract with Dell, and the
> T3500 is no longer available). I currently have RHEL 6.0 installed on
> it but it would not be too difficult to upgrade to 6.1, or replace RHEL
> 6.0 with 5.2
>
> Has anyone had any experience, good or bad, with the Dell T3600 or RHEL
> 6.0 (and especially on the combination!) for use with VnmrJ 3.2?
>
> Many thanks!
> Kirk
>
> Kirk Marat, Ph. D. NMR Facility Manager
> Dept. of Chemistry, University of Manitoba
> Winnipeg, Manitoba
> R3T 2N2, Canada
>
> Ph: (204) 474-6259 FAX: (204) 474-7608
>
>
>
Received on Tue Oct 22 2013 - 10:43:22 MST