Samson for Windows and Mac OS X
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To use Samson to connect to the Spires computer, you will need to create a "session definition" you will invoke. You can create it either manually, as described in the Instructions for first-time setup below, or very simply by downloading the "Spires session installer" from the Essential Stanford Software (ESS) webpages for Windows and Macintosh, as described below.
The instructions here are for users of Samson for Windows and Samson for Macintosh OS X. The pictures come from the Mac version of Samson, but the dialog boxes for Windows are essentially the same.
If you are a Windows user, you should already have installed:
- Samson for Windows, version 5.1 or later
- PC-Leland, version 2.1, or Kerberos for Windows
If you are a user of Samson 5.2 for Macintosh OS X, you should already have installed:
- Samson for Macintosh OS X, version 5.2 or later
- MacLeland, version 2.1, or the Kerberos Configuration Tool for Macintosh
The software mentioned above is all available for downloading from the Essential Stanford Software (ESS) website.
Instructions for (installed) first-time setup
The easiest way to create a Samson session definition for the Spires computer is to use our installer to do it, available on the ESS pages. Here's what to do:
1. Go to the ESS website.
2. Choose the "Spires Session Installer" that is right for you. Read the "Learn More First" documentation (the ReadMe file) if you like. Then download the installer to your computer.
3. Find the installer on your computer. On the Mac, it's called "Spires Installer". On a PC, it's called "SpiresSession.exe". Run the installer.
4. The installer will add a session called "spires.stanford.edu" to the list of sessions shown in the Connect dialog box.
If you're not sure what to do next to login, continue with the instructions for connecting and logging in below.
Instructions for (manual) first-time setup
You can also create the session manually rather than do the download and installation. It only takes a minute or two. Here's what to do:
1. Start Samson, and select the Connect command (File menu), if the Connect window doesn't open automatically. The Connect window will look something like this:
3. Clicking on it once, select the forsythe.stanford.edu session, if it is not already selected (it may simply say "forsythe"). Then click the Duplicate button. You will see:
4. Clicking on it once, select the new copy. Then click the Edit... button. You will see:
Change the following in the Connection pane:
- Session name: change it to Spires or some word or short phrase meaningful to you. (The installer described above calls it spires.stanford.edu.)
- Hostname: change to spires.stanford.edu
- Port: 23 (do not change)
- User name: leave blank unless you have been given a special, personal account to use on the Spires computer. If you have one, enter it here.
In the left column of icons, use the scroll bar to go to the final one, labelled Advanced, and click on it. The dialog box should look like this:
Using the drop-down menu for Terminal type, select Force Samson.(If you omit this step, Prism will not be in color, and special keys such as function keys may not work properly.) Then click the OK button. Then you'll be back to the Connect dialog box, with your new Spires terminal session ready to use.
See the instructions below to start your Spires session
and login.
Instructions for connecting and logging in
This is where you'll start every time from now on, when you use the Connect command in the File menu:
Make sure your new Spires session (the session the installer installs, described above, is called spires.stanford.edu) is selected, and click the Connect button.
If you are not already logged into SUNet via PC-Leland or MacLeland, you will be prompted to do so at this point.
A Samson terminal window will open—you can ignore what you see (the screen may write some text and then blank out) until you get to either:
a command prompt (if you have your own personal account), in which case you are ready to begin working:
spires.stanford.edu[1]>
or
the Welcome to Prism screen.
Be sure to return to the basic instructions page about the Spires computer if you haven't finished reading about how to use it.
