Installing The GBT Proposal Submission Tool

Notes:

Note for NRAO staff: the PST may already be installed at your site; please check with your local system administrator.

Quick Installation Instructions:

If you already have PST 1.1 installed

For Unix systems, assuming you installed the PST in a directory called "pst", the file needs to be copied to: pst/resources/gbtExt/gbtDatan.xml.

For Windows systems, assuming you installed the PST into a directory called PST in the "Program Files" directory, the file needs to be copied to: \Program Files\PST\resources\gbtExt\gbtDatan.xml.

Unix (including Mac OS X)

If you already have Java 1.2.2 or higher already installed on your machine, you may choose to simply download the PST application itself. Note that the PST does not work well under some Java/OS combinations; if you have problems, download the full installation with the correct Java Runtime Environment included. If you do not have Java 1.2.2 or higher installed, follow the Detailed Installation Instructions below.

• Download the current distribution of the Proposal Submission Tool. 
• Use gunzip and tar to unpack the distribution:
  gunzip -c pst.tar.gz | tar -xvf -
• The distribution unpacks into a single directory named pst.
• Run the PST. You can use the complete path to the startup script, as shown below, or you can include that directory in your PATH.
  $ pst/PST.sh

Windows:

The Windows installation comes with a Java Runtime Environment in included. Simply:

• Download the current Windows distribution of the PST 
• Run the installer to install the PST.

Detailed Installation Instructions:

This page contains instructions for downloading and installing the PST. You can install the software on individual machines or for an entire network of workstations. Versions are available for the following operating systems:

• Windows (95 / 98 / NT / 2000)
• Solaris (2.6 with patches, 7 or 8)
• Linux (Redhat 6.2 or 7.2 recommended, others may be possible)
• Mac OS X

If you experience any problems installing or running the PST, please see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page for the latest information.

The distribution contains an example proposal (gbtDemo.xml) which you can load from the default directory using the "open" (previously saved program) button within the PST.

Using the GBT Proposal Submission Tool on Windows

The PST has been extensively tested on Windows NT, the Gemini version has been tested on 95 and 98. The Windows version appears to extremely stable; see the FAQ page for the latest information. We have no reason to believe there will be problems on NT as long as the Java included in our distribution is used.

Installing on Windows

• Download the current Windows distribution of the PST 
• The Windows distribution is provided as a Windows executable installer.
• Use Windows Explorer to display the directory in which you downloaded the installer. You must have at least 20 megabytes of disk space available to install the Phase I Tool on Windows.
• Double-click the installer executable and follow the installer instructions. When the installation is completed, you will see a congratulatory message. Press the "Done" button to exit.
• The installation places a PST entry in your start menu. Selecting the entry launches the Proposal Submission Tool

Results from benchmarking of the Gemini PIT are shown below. Sufficient memory appears to be the most important element affecting performance and, while the PST will run with less, we suggest a minimum of 32 megabytes of memory and a recent Pentium II or III processor when using the PST on the Windows platform.

Using the GBT Proposal Submission Tool on Solaris

Solaris 7 or Solaris 8 are the recommended Sun operating systems for running the PST. Solaris 2.6 may be used if numerous patches are installed. Gemini has available for download collections of patches related to running Java applications for Solaris 8, Solaris 7 and Solaris 2.6.

The PST distribution for Solaris includes a script which will indicate if your Solaris 2.6 or 7 workstation has the required patches installed. For Solaris 8, only a single patch is required. Please see your local site system administrator if patches are required.

Installing on Solaris

• Download the current Solaris distribution of the Proposal Submission Tool. 
• Use gunzip and tar to unpack the distribution in a directory where you have at least 55 megabytes of disk space.
  gunzip -c pst_sol.tar.gz | tar -xvf -
• The distribution unpacks into a single directory named pst_sol.
• Run the PST. You can use the complete path to the startup script, as shown below, or you can include that directory in your PATH.
  $ pst_sol/PST.sh

Results from benchmarking of the Gemini PIT are shown below. While the PST will run with less, we suggest that the machine should be a recent UltraSparc with at least 128 megabytes of memory.

Using the GBT Proposal Submission Tool on Redhat Linux

The PST has received extensive testing under Redhat Linux versions 6.2 and 7.2. The distribution may or may not work on other versions of RedHat or other Linux distributions. Please send us information if you try it with a distribution other than Redhat Linux. See the FAQ page for the latest information.

Installing on Linux

• Download the current Redhat Linux distribution of the Proposal Submission Tool
• Use gunzip and tar to unpack the distribution in a directory where you have at least 35 megabytes of disk space.
  gunzip -c pst_linux.tar.gz | tar -xvf -
• The distribution unpacks into a single directory named "pst_linux".
• Run the PST. You can use the complete path to the startup script, as shown below, or you can include that directory in your PATH.
  $ pst_linux/PST.sh

Results from benchmarking of the Gemini PIT are shown below. Sufficient memory appears to be the most important element affecting performance and, while the PST will run with less, we suggest a minimum of 32 megabytes of memory and a recent Pentium II or III processor when using the PST.

Using the GBT Proposal Submission Tool on Mac OS X

• Download the current distribution of the Proposal Submission Tool
• Use gunzip and tar to unpack the distribution: gunzip -c pst.tar.gz | tar -xvf -
• The distribution unpacks into a single directory named "pst".
• Run the PST. You can use the complete path to the startup script, as shown below, or you can include that directory in your PATH.
  $ pst/PST.sh

Gemini PIT benchmarks

Approximate times for the Gemini PIT to start up on various machines are given as a guide to the effect of processor and memory on performance. On PCs benchmarking was carried out with no other applications loaded, on Sparcs under 'usual' system loading.

Note that these benchmarks were obtained with the 2000QS version of PIT.