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Getting Started with UBUnix

UBUnix is an operating system using RedHat Enterprise Server Linux with academic software installed that you can connect to from a personal computing device.

UBUnix is a legacy Linux based time-sharing environment similar to computing services offered before the popularity of personal computers and graphic user interfaces.  

 

UBUnix must be accessed through the Internet using terminal emulation programs such as PuTTY, ssh and sshfs; File Transfer Protocol programs such as SFTP, Fetch and FileZilla; and remote windowing software such as X-Win32 and X11.

 

UBUnix does not have a Graphic User Interface and requires familiarity with Linux commands through a command-line interface. Unless you have a specific and compelling reason to use UBUnix, we strongly suggest using popular personal computing alternatives with easy-to-use interfaces.

 

Information about UBUnix is primarily for people who are already knowledgeable with Linux and UNIX based time-sharing environments to document locally developed and configured UBUnix solutions and options.

Creating a Secure Connection to UB

UBUnix only accepts connections from non-UB (remote) locations by affiliated UB faculty, staff and students that are made using secure protocols.

Register a Remote Address to Use Secure Connections

If you do not have a secure connection to UB as described above, use a Web browser to visit remote.buffalo.edu and complete an IP address registration using your UBITName and the IP address of your remote computer.

Many ISPs give a new IP address each time you connect. This would require you to visit remote.buffalo.edu every time you connect to the internet and wish to access UBUnix. However, very often the IP addresses you are given from your ISP will have the same first two "octets". For example:

  • First Time: 192.168.14.88
  • Second Time: 192.168.56.23
  • Third Time: 192.168.56.71

Notice that each time the IP address started with "192.168.".

To access UBUnix from any IP address that starts with "192.168." (or whatever the first two octets of your IP address are), leave the first two parts of your IP address on remote.buffalo.edu as they are and make the last two parts of your IP address blank.

Logging In to UBUnix

See how to connect to UBUnix

Accessing UBfs Files from UBUnix

All files in UBFS can be accessed from UBunix:

  • cd /ubfs to reach the top of the UBFS directory tree.
  • cd /ubfs/Myfiles/ /ubfs/Myfiles/1st_UBIT_LETTER/2nd_UBIT_LETTER/UBITName/ (where 1st_UBIT_LETTER and 2nd_UBIT_LETTER are the first and second letters of your UBITName) to reach your Myfiles space.
  • cd /ubfs/collab to reach the top of the Collaboration (shared) directory tree.

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