Obtaining and Using Accounts on MSRC Systems

Last updated 1999-06-21
This information is subject to change!

Upcoming Changes!

Effective 1 October 1999, the account policies at all four MSRCs will become more uniform.  All centers will require a completed NAC before an account can be granted (current ARL policy).  This will put an end to CEWES's generous policy of granting an interim account until the NAC investigation was complete, which allowed us to get some accounts quicker.  It is not clear if this change will have any effect on ASC's policy of not allowing foreign nationals to get accounts at all.

Recent communications suggest that CEWES will be the home site for all PET accounts (or at least the security checks).

General

The process required to obtain an account on any of the MSRC computers is non-trivial, and you should plan on it taking several months to complete.  To start the process, contact David Bernholdt, who will handle submission of all of the paperwork.  If you have an account at one Center, it is often easier to setup accounts at other MSRCs, but experience shows that even this can take as long as a month due to bureaucratic bungling and/or slowness.

 If you do not make me aware of the urgency of a request, or of problems or delays you are experiencing, I cannot help resolve to them!

Please let me know when you actually receive your account so I can keep track!

Forms

The forms listed here can be obtained from David Bernholdt.  The first two are available only in hardcopy form, and we may have to request them from the Center, which delays things by a couple of days.  The Account Request form is in electronic form only, and is pretty easy to fill out.

National Agency Check (NAC)

All sites require that you complete a "National Agency Check" (NAC) form, which is a 9-page form identified as "Standard Form 85P" in the upper left corner of the cover page.  Though it is long and somewhat tedious, you should take the completion of this form seriously -- it will provide the basis for an investigation of your background which must be successfully completed to obtain an account.  You should assume that everything you write will be independently verified, and that references will be interviewed, though this is not always done.

Please return the completed form to David Bernholdt, who will make a copy for local records (these forms have an unfortunate tendency to disappear in the government paperwork mill) and pass it on to the MSRC.

The NAC investigation process can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to many months (usually shorter for US citizens and longer for foreign nationals).  Recent reports indicate NACs are taking 6-9 months or more for some foreign nationals.

Please note that it is only necessary to fill out a NAC form once.  If you have done so and need an account at another MSRC, the necessary information about the NAC can be transferred from one security office to the other (it must remain "untouched by human hands").  This too is initiated by David Bernholdt.

Fingerprint Cards

You are also required to submit fingerprint cards along with the NAC form (either one copy or two, depending on the site).  Your fingerprints must be taken professionally (i.e. by cops), though it is not always easy to get them to do so without breaking the law (which is not officially endorsed as a way to complete these fingerprint cards).  In the past we have had success in asking the SU Department of Public Safety to take our fringerprints.  You need to call them to make an appointment (443 2224 is the general non-emergency number) to get this done.  You will need to tell them that you are an SU employee, and you need the fingerprints to accompany your application for a security clearance (which is what the NAC amounts to).  You must bring the fingerprint card(s) you get from me, and you must bring appropriate ID so the person taking your fingerprints can attest that they've properly identified the person fingerprinted.  I suggest both your SU ID card and driver's license.  You should fill out appropriate portions of the top of the card only in the presence of the person fingerprinting you. Above all, please be polite -- they don't have to do this (people at other universities have had real trouble obtaining fingerprints).

The fingerprint cards accompany the NAC forms, and also need to be completed just once.

Account Request Forms

There are short and simple forms in which you give your name, contact information, preferred user ID, etc.  Additional blanks will be filled in by David Bernholdt, hopefully before you are asked to complete the form.  This form is transmitted by email.

Some sites, quite illogically, also require that you submit a signed copy of the form acknowledging receipt of your username/password at the time you apply for the account.  Since your signature is required, this form must be faxed

Using Your Accounts

Activiation

Eventually, you will receive a large packet of papers with information about your account.  Included among these will be several receipts that you must sign and return (by mail) before your account will be activated.  Please be sure to notify David Bernholdt when you receive your account packet and return the receipts.  If your account is not activiated in a timely fashion, please contact me again for help in following this up.

Security

All sites require the use of Kerberos and a SecureID card to authenticate logins.  You will be provided with a SecureID card and appropriate instructions along with your account information.  If you have accounts at multiple sites, you may have multiple SecureID cards. Please label them according to the MSRC they are for, or you will forget and confuse them!

The latest approach to managing multi-site accounts uses a single SecureID card. The first site you get an account at is considered your "home", and to access computers at other MSRCs you must first login to your home site and get your Kerberos ticket and from there login to the gateway machine at the site you want to work at. For example, your if CEWES is your home and you want to work at ARL you would:

  1. Login to wesgate.wes.hpc.mil and get your Kerberos credentials
  2. From wesgate login to microcosm.arl.hpc.mil
  3. From microcosm login to the system of interest
Recent communications suggest that from now on, CEWES will be the home site for all PET accounts.

General

If you have any questions or problems regarding the use of your accounts at a specific site, please contact me and I will try to put you in touch with other NPACers who have accounts at that site.  And of course please avail yourself of the various web and help-desk resources available to users.

Site-Specific Considerations

ARL (http://www.arl.hpc.mil)

ASC (http://www.asc.hpc.mil)

CEWES (http://www.wes.hpc.mil)

NAVO (http://www.navo.hpc.mil)

No experience so far.  Their policies are reportedly similar to ASC's, but foreign nationals are considered on a case by case basis and reportedly most get accounts.

Distributed Centers

If you already have an MSRC account, this ought to be a matter of a few more email forms and a transfer of NAC information.

Designated Countries

If you are a citizen of a "Designated Country", you should expect to have a harder/longer time getting an account.  I do not have a pointer to the current Designated Countries list, but a copy of a 1997 version of the list should give you an idea which countries are on the list:

Comments, suggestions, corrections to David Bernholdt <bernhold@npac.syr.edu>