Instruments by Science Group
Macromolecular
Soft Condensed 
Imaging and
Biological
Magnetic
Structures and
Crystallography 
Spectroscopy I22 Contact
Beamline phone numbers:
+44 (0) 1235 77 8617
+44 (0) 1235 77 8713
Principal Beamline Scientist:
Nick Terrill
Tel: +44 (0) 1235 778047
E-mail: [email protected]
Science Group Leader
Robert Rambo
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)1235 56 7675
Connecting to Diamond from external sites
Diamond provides multiple ways for users and staff to remotely connect. The most convenient, and recommended, is using NX. This method, described here, does not require any special/extended privileges on the DLS network or machines.
Using NX to connect to nx-user.diamond.ac.uk
NX (http://www.nomachine.com) is an alternative to VNC which has even better compression. It has the disadvantage of not being able to take over the console - you get a new X session.
NX server software is installed on nx-user.diamond.ac.uk
Typically, you just run an NX display from nx-user.diamond.ac.uk, and you can do this directly by:
- Download and install an NX client from nomachines. If you are using the Windows client, make sure you also download and install all available font packages for NX.
- Details of how to set this up can be found in the User Office Miscellaneous documents linked here
- Network speeds can be higher on good networks i.e. LAN not ADSL). Things to note the recommended Desktop is GNOME. You should not ssh directly into nx-user.diamond any more. This machine has changed recently and access should only be via nxclient.
- Login with your normal username and password.
This gives you a session on a system inside the Diamond network (i.e. you are now, basically, logged in to a normal Diamond desktop).
There are occasional font problems with NX, especially with edm. Later versions of NX are better than earlier ones. You need at least a 3.3 version of the NX and client. You also need to download and install all the additional NX client fonts (as mentioned previously).
If you have problems with fonts in EDM screens, try typing the following immediately after logging in:
- dls-nx-fonts.sh
No Machine are aware of this and working on it; there is also work going on to patch edm to get around it.
Accessing old data
It is highly recommended that you access and backup all your data as soon as possible after your visit to Diamond. However, there are occasions when this is not possible and Diamond do continue to make your raw data available to you. With the large volumes of data collected at Diamond each day, data is only guaranteed to be stored on disc for 30 days after your experiment. Older data are stored on tape.
Data no longer accessible directly from the data directories on the beamline can be retrieved from the Diamond archive, Topcat (https://icat.diamond.ac.uk).
If you were not an investigator on the original session or the proposal when the data were collected, the Principal Investigator or Alternate Contact can now add you in UAS to the session for you to be able to access the data.
In extreme circumstances, if you have problems with using this archive please contact Diamond IT support ([email protected]), who may be able, with the permission of the PBS, to re-enable access to the data on the beamline. Please note we do not guarentee to keep data older than six months on these disks - if the data has been removed this option is not available.
Diamond Light Source is the UK's national synchrotron science facility, located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire.
Diamond Light Source Ltd
Diamond House
Harwell Science & Innovation Campus
Didcot
Oxfordshire
OX11 0DE
Copyright © Diamond Light Source. Diamond Light Source® and the Diamond logo are registered trademarks of Diamond Light Source Ltd
Registered in England and Wales at Diamond House, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0DE, United Kingdom. Company number: 4375679. VAT number: 287 461 957. Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number: GB287461957003.