Lab Organization

This page is an attempt to codify the Unwritten Constitution of the CrySP Lab. It contains information that should be helpful to new members of the lab, and serves as a central hub for organization.

CrySP wiki

In the odd event that you are not reading this document on the web already, the live version can be found at:

• https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/twiki/view/CrySP
• Shortcut: https://crysp.org/wiki

The wiki is used to manage most aspects of daily life as a CrySP member. Any member can have an account to edit any page, and in fact this is encouraged to help keep the wiki informative and up-to-date. HTML can be used on the wiki, but we have made an attempt to stick to TWiki syntax when possible. The WYSIWYG editor has a tendency to mangle page source code, and it is advisable to use "Raw edit" mode instead. This mode can be made the default by changing the preference on your userpage. Markup can be protected from WYSIWYG mangling by surrounding it in <sticky></sticky> tags.

Weekly meetings

CrySP meetings are held weekly, and attendance is generally considered mandatory if you do not have another conflict with the time slot (such as attending a conference). Two members of the lab present half-hour talks at each meeting on a rotating basis. New students are usually added to the end of the rotation so that they have a chance to experience many talks before giving their own.

• See Speaker Schedule for the list of upcoming speakers
• See Speaker Archives for a list of past speakers and their subjects

Your Computer

All new students are given a computer for research purposes. Before you arrive, your supervisor should ask you what hardware/software option you want. See Graduate student workstation options for your options.

The computers in the lab are managed by the Computer Science Computing Facility (CSCF). By default, the machines grant full remote root access to CSCF staff, and the drives are not encrypted. All tech support requests should be submitted to CSCF through Thomas (see student responsibilities for a list of student roles in the lab). In general, expect CSCF to be slow to respond to requests (if they respond at all) that are submitted via email. For urgent situations, you should physically go to the CSCF offices in the building to ask for assistance.

Unlike other institutions and departments, you are permitted to change your computer. For example, it is completely fine (and common) to wipe the SSD as soon as you arrive and install your own OS. However, if you modify the core system, you will not receive CSCF support for that system. Only reinstall the OS if you are confident enough to manage your own computer.

Firewalls

All machines in the lab are behind a firewall that blocks most incoming ports. There are exceptions for ports 22, 80, 443, and 8080. If you would like to have additional ports unblocked for your workstation, ask the Quartermaster (Thomas) to submit a CSCF request.

Even though we are behind a firewall, you should install and enable a host-based firewall on your machine, since misconfigurations can and do happen. You probably already have a favorite, but if you don't, then we suggest ufw for Linux machines. On Ubuntu or Debian, simply sudo apt-get install ufw and then sudo ufw enable. See the manual for instructions for adding rules (e.g., sudo ufw limit in from any to any port 22 proto tcp). The built-in firewall for Windows machines is enabled by default and should be sufficient.

Additionally, you should be aware that SSH servers running on lab computers are routinely attacked by random zombie machines (expect tens or hundreds of brute force attempts per day). You should secure your SSH server . At the very least, you should disable password authentication and use only certificate-based authentication. If you don't need SSH, disable it completely (but note that this will prevent you from receiving CSCF support).

Lab door policy

All members of CrySP, including those with separate offices, should have keyfob access to the doors into the lab, as well as to DC 3335. The "door policy" determines when the door should be left open or closed.

We've established the following door policy (which is always open to discussion):

• The side door to the hallway and the door to DC 3335 can be used any time, but should not be propped open.
• The external atrium door can be used any time, but should only be propped open for the duration of office hours held in 3333A (the office hours room).
• The internal doors to the lab foyer, from 3333A and 3333J, can be left open or closed when the external door is closed. If that door is open (i.e., during office hours), then the door to 3333J should be closed.
• The back door to 3301 (the DSG lab) should not be used, except in the case of emergency, and should left closed at all times.

(If you're confused about which room is which, you can see the floor plan from plantops)

Printing

There is a list of all printers in the building available at: http://print.cs.uwaterloo.ca:631/printers/ The following printers are considered the most convenient for people that sit in the lab.

Location	Model	Connection string	Notes
DC 2583 (grad mailroom)	HP LaserJet M610DN HP LaserJet M610DN	socket://m610-grad1.cs.uwaterloo.ca:9100 socket://m610-grad2.cs.uwaterloo.ca:9100	Technically the only printers grad students are allowed to use, but they're a bit of a walk from the lab. You need to install the HP LaserJet M610 M611 M612 Postscript PPD file to use as the driver. In Ubuntu and Debian, you can get this driver by installing the printer-driver-postscript-hp package. On Fedora, install the hplip package.
DC3116	Xerox WorkCentre 5335 HP LaserJet P4015x	socket://xrxpr006.cs.uwaterloo.ca:9100 socket://lp7-cs.cs.uwaterloo.ca:9100	In a utility room along the corridor to MC (i.e., turn left, walk straight, the door is on your left). Generally open already from 9-5 M-F. Xerox PPD driver file for Linux. The HP printer is used more often, so we recommend using the Xerox to avoid the congestion.

Matrix chat

We have a student-run chat server for the lab. Many of us idle here, and we encourage all CrySP students to join. The sysadmin for the chat server is currently Vecna. Do not write down the Matrix registration token anywhere anyone but you can see it. Matrix only needs it once during initial setup. If you need it and don't have it, ask Vecna for it.

Some points to know about Matrix, and our setup:

• There used to be an IRC server too. It no longer exists.
• The main room is configured to not share previous messages with new users, but the default for new rooms is to share old messages. Check this before assuming one or the other.
• Rooms should have encryption enabled. Please enable it when creating a new room unless you have a specific reason not to.
• Matrix does not encrypt reactions, even in encrypted rooms. While reactions are a common way to informally poll something, actual Matrix polls do encrypt responses, so are probably a better fit for that purpose.
• Matrix federation is completely disabled. Any functionality that relies on additional servers will not work.

CrySP library

There is a small bookshelf in the CrySP Lounge that has a variety of crypto-related books you may find useful.

Responsibilities

Various responsibilities for lab upkeep are delegated to CrySP students. Positions are assigned on a volunteer basis, but students should avoid holding more than one or two titles at a time. Descriptions of each position and their duties should be placed on an associated TWiki page.

The current holder and title of a position is set in a variable on CrySP.WebPreferences, so that changes can be made from a central location. The student assigned to a role may freely change the title of that role with absolutely no effect on the associated responsibilities.

Title	Responsibilities	Assigned person
Scheduler of the Meeting	Picking group meeting time	Rasoul
Assistant Vice Speaker Rotator	Managing the speaker rotation	Vecna
Typey Lad	Updating the speaker archives with notes from weekly talks	Hossam
Spider-Man	Updating the CrySP website	Parjanya
Quartermaster	Assigning cubicles, fobs, CSCF interactions, and coordinating repairs & facilities	Thomas
Ancient of Knowledge	Managing the library and poster displays	Shreya, Alice, Mashal
CPI Mailing List Maintainer	See Information for CACR Representatives. (Duties are currently in flux while CPI operating procedure is established.)	Nils
Transadmin	Maintaining the Matrix/Mastodon server running in the lab	Vecna
TWikir	General wiki maintenance that doesn't fit other categories	Vecna
Area Deputy	Interfacing with faculty hiring committee	Bailey
Town Crier	Posting content to lab social media accounts	Sina

Changing seats

If you have a seating preference that is not currently being fulfilled, speak to the Quartermaster (currently Thomas) and it may be possible to change desks (or get on the waiting list for a departing student's spot). For more information, see the lab space allocation page.