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Which Computer to Select?
By now, you’ve probably begun to wonder how you know when to select one computer
and when to select all computers. The answer, as you might suspect, depends on what
you are doing.
With some commands, it doesn’t matter which computer you select. With others,
however, it’s crucial that you select one particular computer. With still other commands
you must select all computers. To help you make sure you always have the right
computer(s) selected, every procedure in this manual and the News Operation Manual
indicates which computer(s) you should select before executing a particular command.
Also, to give you an idea of what kinds of activities require that you select a particular
computer, all computers, or just any computer, we’ve included the following guidelines:
Select the Master Computer When...
You must select the master computer when you make major changes to the database
(e.g., when you purge stories, build up the free list, or examine the database for errors).
Select Any Computer When...
You can select any computer when you make minor changes to the database. Minor
changes include: modifying user and directory traits; backing up and restoring the
database; listing user, directory, or configuration information; sending messages;
removing edit locks; and checking the amount of free space available.
Select All Computers When...
You must select all computers when you are going to modify site files or shut down the
system.
Select a Specific Computer When...
You must select a specific computer when you are going to execute a command that
affects a device connected to that computer. For example, before you can restart a CCU
on the “A” computer, you must first select that computer.
Remember, though, that these are only guidelines; double-check the specific
instructions.
Console History
Along with connecting you to the computers in your system, the console can also record
everything it has displayed in the last few days—including commands entered at the
console and error messages. This record is called the console history, or simply history.
As you can imagine, this audit trail of console activity is an invaluable diagnostic tool if
a problem occurs.
Console Multiplexor User’s Manual—Release 11
Final Version
The Console
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