Relaunch of the RWTHapp 2.0
Following a complete redesign, the RWTHapp will be available in version 2.0 from April 3, 2023.
The RWTHapp…
- is an application for mobile devices
- provides information about studying, preparing for university, and everyday university life
- can be used for e-learning
- can be used anonymously or via Single Sign-on
- is available in German and English.
Which operating systems is the app available for?
The app is available for…
- Android
- Apple iOS13 or newer
Features:
What is available in the RWTHapp?
- Provides information about RWTH facilities, buildings, (learning) rooms, and employees
- Shows students their grades, timetables, and appointments
- Keeps users up to date with RWTH news and events
- Displays information about courses at RWTH
- Provides access to RWTHmoodle
- Enables access to the RWTH job portal
- Shows a quick way to student representatives and the International Office
- Provides information about central RWTH facilities, such as the university sports center, university library, and IT center
- Provides information for first-year students to prepare for their studies at RWTH.
New software environment and operating system for CLAIX
Since CentOS 7, the Linux Operating System of CLAIX, is outdated, and since CentOS Linux 8 reached End Of Life (EOL), we have to shift to a new Linux distribution. We have selected Rocky Linux 8.7, which is also Red Hat Enterprise compatible.
Going hand in hand with this change, we also prepared the shift to a new software environment based on EasyBuild and Lmod. These tools are also widely used at other HPC centers. We expect them to improve the user experience and the maintainability from the administrator’s perspective.
However, for you as a user, both changes require that you
(1.) learn how to use the new module system (e.g., names of the modules changed, toolchains, etc.) and
(2.) recompile your software and
(3.) revise and possibly modify your batch scripts accordingly.
Understanding that you need time to prepare for these changes, we will offer support for the old (CentOS 7) and the new (Rocky Linux 8) environment in parallel for a transition period of approx. 7 weeks, ending on April 30th, 2023. During this period, more and more compute nodes will be migrated to the new environment. Consequently, the waiting times for jobs scheduled to run in the old environment might increase over time.
How to proceed?
During a maintenance on March 8th, 2023 the following login nodes were migrated to the new environment:
- login18-2.hpc.itc.rwth-aachen.de
- login18-3.hpc.itc.rwth-aachen.de
- login18-x-2.hpc.itc.rwth-aachen.de
- login18-g-2.hpc.itc.rwth-aachen.de
- copy18-2.hpc.itc.rwth-aachen.de
Jobs submitted from these login nodes will automatically be submitted to compute nodes running Rocky 8 and the new module environment. Any batch job submitted from non-migrated login nodes (i.e., not in the list above) will be scheduled to the old environment.
You can use these login nodes in order to test your new workflows, make modifications and get familiar with the new software stack. For an example on how to find software easily with “module spider” in the new module system, please refer here.
Please note: If you would like to use a graphical remote desktop session, ensure you are using FastX 3 (newer version).
We provide an overview on the changes with the transition and a separated branch here about the new module system (including example scripts for different software packages).
You can track any disruptions or security advisories that may occur due to the aforementioned change in the RWTH-HPC category on our status reporting portal.
Introduction RWTHmoodle
RWTHmoodle was launched in the summer semester 2019 with Moodle version 3.6.3, replacing L²P which had been used until then. A lot has happened regarding RTHmoodle since 2019, with regular updates to newer versions, as well as new functions and changes. The biggest changes and a redesign came with the upgrade to version 4.1 in March 2023.
Functions
Course index:
- left sidebar listing all sections, activities and materials
- students: color hightlights indicates the completion of an activity
- standard topics format: collapsing and expanding of sections
- right block drawer: collapsable
- managers: edit mode via switch at the top right corner
Improvement
Redesigned start page:
- reducing the amount of information
- focus on login
- clearer distinction between login via RWTH Single Sign-On and login for local accounts
Dashboard:
- landing page after login
- important blocks: „Timeline“, „Recent Badges“, „News“ und „Helpful Links“
My Courses:
- list of course rooms
Course index:
- activity block (previously on the left sidebar) can be added by the managers in the block drawer
Horizontal menu bar:
- centrally located
- managers: course settings, participant administration, grade administration, and reports. Other elements, e. g. course import, are grouped under “More”
Question bank (managers):
- expanding of question management
- questions can now be saved as drafts
- versioning of questions
- comment on questions for necessary revision steps as part of a review process
- Facility index and discriminative efficiency of a question are displayed directly in the overview
- flagging of questions if a review is necessary
Other improvements (managers):
- “Label” resource is now “Text and media area”
- In the editor, creating links has been simplified
- participent administration: dropdown menu to get easier access to the group section and other options for managing participants
Data from CAS Campus visible on RWTHcontacts
The data of persons and rooms originating from CAS Campus are displayed on RWTHcontacts. The data is updated at irregular intervals.
Further information can be found on the IT Center Blog.
RWTH Organization Directory Go Live
RWTH Organization Directory Go Live. In the RWTH Organization Directory, organization administrators can maintain the functional addresses and contacts of their organization. The database was initially transferred from CAS Campus. The subsequent use of the data in digital processes is now transferred from CAS Campus to the RWTH Organization Directory. The data can already be seen on RWTHcontacts.
Organization administrators are role holders of the role “Verwaltung Organisation”. This role is available to all organizations in the IdM role administration as of today.
Presentation of the project at the admin round of the IT Center.
Presentation of the project at the admin round of the IT Center.
Newsletter publication
Newsletter publication “RWTHcontacts – The new organisation and person directory on the RWTH Aachen University“
Deletion of course rooms of the winter semester 2019/20
In line with the life cylce of course rooms with connection to RWTHonline, the winter semester 2019/20 course rooms were deleted on November 2, 2022.
RWTHcontacts goes live
On RWTHcontacts you can see the organization data from the new central organization directory, including entries from the old CAS Campus System.
The OrgIDs for all organizations of the RWTH Aachen University can be found.
Further information can be found on the IT Center Blog.
Deletion of course rooms of the summer semester 2019
In line with the life cylce of course rooms with connection to RWTHonline, the summer semester 2019 course rooms were deleted on May 2, 2022.
