• If you think there is a problem, please contact a guru; we can only fix problems if we know about them.
• Workstations must be kept clean; eating is not permitted.
• People who want to work have priority over those who just want to surf and pass the time.
• Avoid unnecessary noise.
• Only lock the screen briefly. As a rule of thumb: If you leave your computer for longer than 10 minutes, please log out.
• The downloading or offering of copyrighted material is not permitted.

The pool rooms on E1 managed by the IRB will be locked in the evening from 7 pm. Access is then only possible with a magnetic card.

By default, we issue cards with access rights for the following pool rooms. Other rights (if possible) are only issued on request.

• D3.301
• D3.339
• D3.344
• E1.111
• E1.121
• E1.129
• E1.303
• E1.316
• P1.612.4
• P1.709.3
• P7.202.1

These cards are available in the guru room on campus for a signature. Please remember to bring a photo ID with you.

In order for a magnetic card to be issued, an IMT account must already exist and the computer access for computer science must be activated in this account. Instructions can be found here.

Important:

No card is required to participate in tutorial groups in the pool rooms on E1, as these rooms are open during tutorial times.

The pool rooms on E1 are open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and can be used as study rooms. The e-technology pool rooms in P7, P1 can be entered with the help of a magnetic card.

The maths pool rooms on D3 are currently closed.

Our pool computers allow you to run your own VMs (using VirtualBox) as long as you are logged in locally. This is the recommended configuration for events or if you have special requirements that our pool computers do not offer. We will be happy to advise you on this.

If you do not yet have a VDI VM image, you should create a local VM, install an OS on it (we offer common OSs via PXE), install your required software on it and then export this VM as a VDI.

The UPB network storage hierarchy is integrated in the pool computers under /upb; your VDI image should be stored there in a path that can only be read by the intended users of the VMs. Please ensure that the VDI image is not editable to prevent unintentional modifications.

We recommend that you create a script to simplify the use of your VM. An example of such a wrapper script that works with our pool computers is shown below:

Notice: This script was changed on 14th March 2025 because of security issues. Earlier versions of this script won't work anymore! Please use the following script from now on.

Thanks to Dennis Baurichter for making us aware of and helping us fix multiple security issues in our old script!

#!/bin/bash

set -eu

declare -r vm_name="$(basename $BASH_SOURCE)"
declare -r vm_dir="$(mktemp --directory /local/temporary_vbox_store/$USER.XXXXXXXXXX)"

trap 'rm -rf -- "$vm_dir"' EXIT

VBoxManage createvm --name "$vm_name" --ostype Windows10_64 \
  --register --basefolder $vm_dir/VirtualBox\ VMs

VBoxManage modifyvm "$vm_name" --memory 2048 --vram 32 \
  --audio-driver pulse --audiocontroller hda --usb on

VBoxManage storagectl "$vm_name" --name SATA-Controller \
  --add sata --controller IntelAhci --portcount 2 --bootable on

VBoxManage storageattach "$vm_name" --storagectl SATA-Controller \
  --port 0 --type hdd --medium "$(dirname "$(readlink -e "$0")")/$vm_name.vdi"

VBoxManage storageattach "$vm_name" --storagectl SATA-Controller \
  --port 1 --type dvddrive --medium emptydrive

VBoxManage snapshot "$vm_name" take 1

VirtualBoxVM --startvm "$vm_name" --fullscreen

VBoxManage unregistervm "$vm_name"

Place this script next to your VDI file and name both the same, except for omitting the .vdi extension; make sure that your script is executable. Running it will then start your VM, which will run on a temporary hard drive in full screen mode.

If you are interested (and belong to a specialised group or run an event) we can integrate your script into our session management, which would then offer it as a session on the login screen. We recommend against using Windows, but can provide a WindowsPE-specific version of the script above on request.