The lab PCs are networked to a unix workstation called "gis" (full IP address is gis.geo.umass.edu) which has many gigabytes of disk storage available for courses and workshops (see GIS Lab Policies for more information on scheduling courses and arranging disk space).  If you have an individual or course account on gis you can access data on gis disks by "mounting" one or more disk partitions on your lab PC using software called NFS (Network File System) Maestro from Hummingbird. Mounting means that the disk partition, which is really attached to the gis workstation, appears as though it's another disk drive directly attached to the lab PC you are on, and it's given a disk drive letter (like E:, or F:, or G:…). You can also use this procedure to mount disks from any other remote system visible to NFS Maestro.

As an example, to mount the gis server disk partition named "suffolk" on the GIS lab PC you are using, follow these steps:

• on the lab PC, run the program called "NFS Network Access" by following these menus: Start (lower left corner of your screen); Programs; NFS Maestro; NFS Network Access (alternatively you can use the button called hclnet on the Office Toolbar if it is active)
• a somewhat complicated-looking dialog box appears (below), in which you need to provide just 3 pieces of information:

1. in the top text box labeled "Network Path:", choose the server and disk partition you want to mount from the drop-down menu list, or choose it with the Browse… button by opening the list under gis.geo.umass.edu (or whatever remote server you want to mount from).
2. in the textbox labeled "Username:" type in your gis server account username (or username for other remote server if you are not mounting disks from gis)
3. in the textbox labeled "Password:" type in your gis server account password (or password for other remote server if you are not mounting disks from gis)

• click on the "Connect" button; if all has gone well, you should get a confirmation dialog saying the disk has been mounted as drive "E" (or F, or G, ...)
• you can now treat that disk as though it were attached directly to your lab PC -- it's available from the My Computer icon, from Windows explorer, and from within applications (though in some applications such as ArcView you have to select the drive "E" or "F" or "G" or whatever from a dropdown list before you can get at its contents).
• you can repeat this procedure to mount as many remote disks as you want
• If for some reason you need to disconnect (or unmount) a drive, bring up the NFS Maestro Network Access dialog as above, click on the Disconnect tab, choose the partition you want to unmount, and disconnect it.

Last revised 26-Jan-2000