Mopra Remote Observing

How it works

Before you may remote observe, you need permission: use the Remote Observing Request Form.
You control Mopra via a remote desktop session (VNC)
We highly recommend you observe with more than one screen, at the very least, run VNC on one computer/screen, and TOAD on a separate computer/screen.
This can either be done directly from within ATNF, or through an SSH tunnel from externally, or by connecting to ATNF via VPN (staff only).
For observing coordination, please follow instructions on how to connect to the IRC channel used for coordination."

Setup guide for observers with a single screen

If you plan to remote observe with Mopra using a single screen computer, follow these steps. If you have more than one computer available, or a computer with several monitors, please skip to the next section:

Download a VNC client. We recommend TightVNC. TightVNC exists for Linux and Windows. Mac users should use Chicken of the VNC
Make sure you keep monitoring Mopra with TOAD during your observing run. To start, check your browsers:
- TOAD works best with:
  - Safari (Mac and Windows, free download here)
  - Google Chrome (Windows only at the time of this writing, free download here)
  - Firefox and other Mozilla derivatives (Linux/Windows)
  - Opera 9 (Linux/Windows)
  Stay away from Internet Explorer, it lacks proper support for the canvas object, resulting in very slow graphics. (Windows)
- Click here to open TOAD in a new window: http://www.narrabri.atnf.csiro.au/mopra/TOAD
If connecting from outside ATNF:
- Establish an ssh tunnel into ATNF for VNC's use:
- ssh your_ident@venice.atnf.csiro.au -L 5910:mpvnc1.atnf.csiro.au:5910
- Start the VNC Client on your local computer and connect to 127.0.0.1:5910
- Proceed with Authentication (see below)
If connecting from inside ATNF:
- start the VNC client on your computer and connect to mpvnc1.atnf.csiro.au:5910
- Proceed with Authentication (see below)

Setup guide for observers with more than one screen

To set up on multiple screens:

If necessary, download a VNC client. We recommend TightVNC. TightVNC exists for Linux and Windows. Mac ssers should use Chicken of the VNC
Make sure you keep monitoring Mopra with TOAD during your observing run. To start, check your browsers:
- TOAD works best with:
  - Safari (Mac and Windows, free download here)
  - Google Chrome (Windows only at the time of this writing, free download here)
  - Firefox and other Mozilla derivatives (Linux/Windows)
  - Opera 9 (Linux/Windows)
  Stay away from Internet Explorer, it lacks proper support for the canvas object, resulting in very slow graphics. (Windows)
- Click here to open TOAD in a new window: http://www.narrabri.atnf.csiro.au/mopra/TOAD
If connecting from outside ATNF:
- Establish an ssh tunnel into ATNF for VNC's use, you will need one tunnel for each screen. Up to three screens are available:
- ssh your_ident@venice.atnf.csiro.au -L 5910:mpvnc1.atnf.csiro.au:5910
- ssh your_ident@venice.atnf.csiro.au -L 5911:mpvnc1.atnf.csiro.au:5911
- ssh your_ident@venice.atnf.csiro.au -L 5912:mpvnc1.atnf.csiro.au:5912
- Start the VNC Client on your local computer and connect to 127.0.0.1:5910
- Start the VNC Client on your local computer and connect to 127.0.0.1:5911
- Start the VNC Client on your local computer and connect to 127.0.0.1:5912
- Proceed with Authentication (see below)
If connecting from inside ATNF:

start the VNC client on your computer and connect to mpvnc1.atnf.csiro.au:5910
Proceed with Authentication (see below)

Authentication

Please contact balt.indermuehle@csiro.au for the VNC password.

Some hints and tips

For convenient observing, make sure you have a screen resolution of no less than 1280x900

Observers can stop reading here, the rest of this page is for support staff

Setting up the TightVNC Server (for support staff only)

These steps are for setting up remote observing on mpvnc1. Only Mopra support staff should be following these instructions.

Start vnc server on mpvnc1:

ssh atcaobs@mpvnc1.atnf.csiro.au
execute .tightvnc/start_tightvncserver
This will result in a TightVNC Server setup on ports 5910, 5911 and 5912.
VNC into mpvnc1.atnf.csiro.au:10 and set up the virtual desktops and start the applications:
- Desktop 1: TCS
- Desktop 2: MOPS and MOTP
- Desktop 3: SPD, Pointing, Utilities (attest, atdrivemon)
Log into each of the other servers below and set up the respective applications. This is for multi machine remote observing
mpvnc1.atnf.csiro.au:11 MOPS and MOTP
mpvnc1.atnf.csiro.au:12 SPD, Pointing, Utilities (attest, atdrivemon)

Mopra Remote Observing Guide