Frequently asked questions
From OCF Help
Contents |
General
Am I eligible for an account?
Please consult our account eligibility documentation to see if you qualify for an OCF account.
When does my OCF account expire? Do I need to renew my account?
Your account does not need to be renewed from semester to semester. All your personal files and data will carry over. After graduation, our policy is to leave accounts alone unless they are inactive for several years thereafter. There is always the slight possibility that this policy can change in the future (we would warn you), but aside from that, it's generally safe to assume that you can keep your account even after you graduate.
Databases
Why does the OCF use separate database passwords?
Database passwords are independent of the primary OCF account password to protect the account from being compromised by a web application attack, or other attack on the database. (MySQL and PostgreSQL passwords are also separate from each other.)
I want to install multiple web applications...Can I have multiple databases?
The short answer is "no, only one database per user", but let me explain why that is not a problem. Many (most) web applications out there require access to a database. Typically, they will assume that you are able to create a new database just for them, but the applications they distribute don't actually require they own personal database, just access to a database.
A database can contain any number of tables, which is where the data is actually stored. Usually if a web app requires a database, it will ask you for a table prefix during installation that it will prefix to all the tables its going to create in the database. For example, if you install the Wordpress blogging software, it will default to using a table prefix of wp_, so all of its tables will start with wp_ (wp_users, wp_permissions, wp_posts, etc...). If you then wanted to install the Gallery photo gallery software, it will default to using a table prefix of gallery2_, so all of gallery's tables will start with gallery2_ (gallery2_users, gallery2_permissions, gallery2_comments, etc...). This allows multiple web apps to use the same database without causing problems for each other. So to follow up on the short answer, though you only get one database per user, you only need one database per user.
Printing
How much printing do I get?
Please consult our list of account services for the current print quota.
How can I request more print quota?
If you have already run out of print quota, please contact us if you have a good reason to need more print quota.
As a student organization, we are unable to accept monetary payments for increased print quota. If you are in dire need of paper and we are unable to grant your request for a quota extension, you can always pay for paper at the on-campus Workstation and Microcomputer Facilities.
Are there any overage charges?
Due to the design of our print accounting system, it may be possible to use slightly more than your allocated print quota. There is no charge for this overage.
Web Hosting
How do I create a web site?
Please consult our activating web space documentation.
My public_html directory is empty or missing.
The public_html in your home directory is actually a symbolic link to your actual web directory, which is located in the /services/http/users/u/username directory (where u and username are replaced with the first character of your username and your OCF username, respectively). Follow these steps to re-create the link:
- Login to your account via SSH.
- Move or delete the current public_html folder if it exists:
rmdir ~/public_html
- Create a link to your web space:
ln -s /services/http/users/u/username ~/public_html
Remember to replace u/username with the first character of your username and your OCF username.
