Dear All:
Thanks for this info. In thinking more about this, I realized that I do not
want to use the Bruker accounting files to clean up after the problem happens,
but rather I need a preventative solution like the one John Decatur describes,
having the OS detect at logout time if TopSpin is still running and killing it
if it is. And I was thinking maybe the user is presented with a message requiring
that they stop the acquisition and exit TopSpin before they can log out. Then
they either must get out of TopSpin, stopping the acquisition, or not log out
to continue the acquisition in the case they were trying to cheat my accounting
method. This should also fix a problem we have encountered of users (who are not
running an acquisition) not exiting from TopSpin, after which other users cannot
run TopSpin because the license is tied up.
Margaret
> From: main_at_ammrl.groups.io on behalf of John Decatur via groups.io
> Date: Tuesday, August 26, 2025 at 9:40 AM
> To: main_at_ammrl.groups.io <main_at_ammrl.groups.io>
> Subject: Re: [AMMRL] AMMRL: Accounting by computer login - How to prohibit gaming the system
Hi All,
I basically duplicate the info given by the last command by having scripts
in the /etc/dgm/PreSession and /etc/dgmPostSession directories. These are
executed upon login and logout. The PreSession script logs the user info into
a file while the PostSession script checks for Topspin and, if running, kills
it prior to logging output data and then executing the logout. i then have
an ancient Perl script that processes the info in this monthly stored file.
You could customize what these scripts generate to fit with your existing
processing programs.
I tell my users if they logout then their experiment stops (which is true!)
and thus I have no one attempting to circumvent paying by logging out. I have
never noticed an issue generated by killing Topspin in this way (although
almost all users exit Topspin prior to logging out).
I notice mismatched pairs occasionally in this log file (one or two a month)
but those are easily cleaned up and removed. My guess is that these are the
result of a user that has, instead of logging out, either powered down the
computer or reboot it but I’ve never bothered to track down the
precise cause.
Happy to share to those in need.
John
On Aug 26, 2025, at 9:05 AM, gregory.wylie via groups.io wrote:
Hi Everyone
We have noticed that when using the Bruker accounting file we miss time, and
have started comparing our accounting with the reservation system we use.
We are also going to start using last files as well to see how things turn
out that way too. I was able to replicate some of the missing time issues
we were seeing with the Bruker accounting file. A couple things we found that
cause us problems:
1. Double starting the software
2. If the user started the software from terminal and then closes the terminal.
3. Not waiting for the software to fully close before logging out of the computer.
Most often these result in miss matched line pairs in the Bruker accounting
file so our current scripts throw them out. This has resulted in a potential
lose of ~1500 hours of billable time on 1 machine over a year. We only have
1 Bruker that runs manually all others are in IconNMR and we have not seen
any issues on these systems.
We do think using last will work better as we currently use last to compare
with the reservation system to look for users who may be abusing the rules
of usage. We do this twice a month and send out emails to offenders to be
better. We don't think users are doing anything intentionally because if we
find too many issues in a month we will ban the user from the system!
Very interested to see what others are doing as well.
Greg
Gregory P. Wylie, Ph.D
NMR Facility Manager
Texas A&M University
Department of Chemistry #3255
580 Ross St.
College Station, TX 77843-3255
gpwylie_at_tamu.edu<mailto:gpwylie_at_tamu.edu>
979.458.0705 (voice)
979.845.4719 (fax)
706.206.0007 (cell)
http://nmr.tamu.edu
John Decatur, Ph. D.
Senior Research Scientist, Director of Chemical Instrumentation
and Precision Biomolecular Characterization Facility
Department of Chemistry
3000 Broadway, Mailcode 3179
Columbia University
New York, NY 10027
212-854-2155 (voice)
212-932-1289 (fax)
jdd13_at_columbia.edu
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Received on Tue Aug 26 2025 - 10:00:03 MST