Nevis Linux Cluster Node Names

These are the names of the computers in the Nevis Linux Cluster.

Some machines that are not listed:

• the systems on the Nevis condor batch farm;
• machines that are not part of the cluster (e.g., electronics testing boxes).

Each group has an informal naming convention for its machines. The list below includes the different groups with machines in the cluster, the basis for the names, and description of each Linux machine normally used by that group.

ATLAS

Mostly named after members of the Romanov dynasty

Name	Function	Derived from
kolya	ATLAS workgroup server	Tsar Nikolai II Alexandrovich (1868-1918)
xenia	ATLAS Tier3 server	Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna (1875-1960)
tanya	ATLAS client	Grand Duchess Tatiana Nicolaievna (1897-1918)

DOE / Heavy-ion

Named for Chinese imperial dynasties ( pronunciation guide)

Name	Function	Derived from
shang	DOE workgroup server	Shang Dynasty, 16th century B.C. - 1066 B.C.

Neutrino

Named after streets in the area of Columbia University

VERITAS

Named after characters in the Earthsea books by Ursula K. LeGuin

Name	Function	Derived from
tehanu	VERITAS workgroup server	Tehanu is the fourth book in the series
vetch	VERITAS file server	A friend of Ged
ged	VERITAS file server	Ged is the main protagonist of the first book
serret	VERITAS file server	Daughter of the Lord of Re Albi
ekumen	VERITAS workstation	A galactic federation in Leguin's Hainish Cycle
shevek	VERITAS GPU machine	Shevek is the main protagonist of The Dispossessed
odo	VERITAS lab machine	Laia Odo, founder of Odonism

Electronics design

These systems have functional names, because it is rumored that electrical engineers have no sense of humor.

Shared between workgroups

A mixture of names from times when these systems were dedicated to specific workgroups or functions. The functions shifted, but the names remained.

Name	Function	Derived from
notebook	Jupyter server	A somewhat-practical name. Let us not forget that the name derives from Jupiter, the king of the gods in Roman mythology.
milne	student file server	A. A. Milne, creator of characters in the Hundred-Acre Wood
hogwarts	General shared server Xen virtual machine	Hogwarts, a school where wizards are trained

Administrative machines

Virtual-machine hosts

These are the hosts that run the virtual systems listed below. They are named after moon-related goddesses in Greek mythology.

Name	Function	Derived from
hecate	library server	Hecate (or Hekate) is the goddess of magic, the night, and the moon. She is also associated with necromancy, which may be important if we have to resurrect your system from the dead.
artemis	administrative server	Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and the moon.
selene	file server	Selene is the goddess of the moon incarnate.

Virtual-machine guests

These are virtual machines that run on the hosts above. They are (mostly) named for historical figures who made important contributions to Western thought

Name	Function	Derived from
hypatia	central admin server	Hypatia of Alexandria (d. 415), a teacher and philosopher who was killed for advocating experimental science and other heresies.
hermes	DNS server	Hermes was the messenger of the gods; a god of intellect, invention, travelers, communication, and many other attributes.
franklin	mail server	Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), who was (among many other things) the first Postmaster General of the United Sates.
ada	web server	Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852), the founder of scientific computing.
lincoln	log server	Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), lawyer, statesman, and 16th American President; said to have been born in a log cabin.
shelley	backup server	Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851), writer and philosopher, best known as the author of Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus.
sullivan	mailing-list server	Take your pick: From Anne Sullivan, who taught Helen Keller how to communicate; From Sir Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert and Sullivan, who composed The Mikado ("...he's got 'em on the list...").
vulture	Condor	A vulture is a bird of prey, one of whose species is the condor.
cups	print server	CUPS is the standardized printing protocol for UNIX systems.
twiki	wiki server	Twiki is one of the popular formats for wiki pages. The name originally comes from a small robot in the 1979 TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
elecdesign	Electronics software license server	As noted above, some of the EEs have no sense of humor.

Why the funny names?

Well, there's the sheer intellectual over-indulgence of it all, but there's also a serious reason: the function of a given computer can change over time; for example, a computer that used to be Jones' Linux desktop client may become an FTP server in the future. If the computer's name was jonespc or d0pc3, we'd want to change it to ftpserver or something like that. If the computer's name was hanuman.nevis.columbia.edu, there'd be no reason to change it, nor any need to update the various databases of names (/etc/hosts, NIS, DNS, etc.).

Obviously, we have this luxury because there are relatively few computers at Nevis. We can configure them individually and know each one by name. If we had a hundred boxes, this would be impossible.