Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!bellcore!rutgers!mailrus!eecae!cps3xx!rang From: rang@cpsin3.cps.msu.edu (Anton Rang) Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards Subject: Autologout of unused terminals Message-ID: <1269@cps3xx.UUCP> Date: 9 Dec 88 03:24:35 GMT Sender: usenet@cps3xx.UUCP Reply-To: rang@cpswh.cps.msu.edu (Anton Rang) Organization: Michigan State University, Computer Science Dept. Lines: 43 Lots has been said on this, so just one fairly quick note. It is possible to compromise (gasp!) between these positions. The autologout program my undergrad school uses ("Bouncer"), locally developed, includes the following: 1. It kills idle jobs after half an hour. "Idle" is defined as processes which aren't using CPU or doing I/O. This is modified by a set of configuration files and other things.... 2. "Disconnected" jobs (terminal jobs not currently connected to a physical terminal, for those of you who don't know VMS) are not killed (since they aren't hooked up to a terminal, they aren't using enough resources to be worth killing). 3. There is a list of users who are never killed (in a file). This isn't used much, but is available in the rare cases when needed. 4. There is a list of images (filenames) which shouldn't be killed as long as any job in their "process tree" is running. For instance, a suspended editing process shouldn't be killed if its parent is doing work. (Again in a file.) 5. There is a list of terminals that users are never bounced from. This is mainly for the system console. 6. This is the nice one (that makes reading all this worthwhile :-). Under VMS, each process has a list of "identifiers" (sort of like groups under UNIX, but not exactly). There is a "NOBOUNCE" identifier which tells Bouncer not to kill the process, even if it would otherwise be eligible for killing. Suitably privileged users can turn this on and off (not superusers, just ordinary users who are allowed to do it--could be everyone). So if you're in your office and going out to lunch, locking the door behind you, you could do a SET RIGHTS/ADD=NOBOUNCE (or something like that) and know your process would still be there. You could turn it off later, if you wanted. So it *is* possible to compromise, with a little extra effort.... +---------------------------+------------------------+----------------------+ | Anton Rang (grad student) | "VMS Forever!" | "Do worry...be SAD!" | | Michigan State University | rang@cpswh.cps.msu.edu | | +---------------------------+------------------------+----------------------+