Much of the information presented here can also be found on the CSBS Computing support web page at http://support.csbs.utah.edu .

Q. How do I get help with computer problems?

A. CSBS Computing has a database-driven web page called the HelpDesk where users can report problems or otherwise request assistance. All requests for computing support must be made through the HelpDesk at http://support.csbs.utah.edu/helpdesk.

Q. What do I do if my computer is not working and I am unable to submit a problem to the HelpDesk?

A. Submit a problem through another computer that is working (e.g., an associate or staff member) or contact CSBS Computing at 585-8985.

Q. How are problems prioritized?

A. Generally, problems are addressed in the order that HelpDesk requests are received. If a problem is time critical (e.g., research deadline) or affects a large number of users (e.g., a server or network device failure), it may take priority over other individual user problems. Similarly, problems that affect the mission of the College (e.g., conducting classes, student lab facilities, or research) may also take priority over other individual user problems. To maximize their efficiency, the computing support staff search the HelpDesk database for other problems in a particular building location to avoid making multiple trips to remote locations.

Q. Why can’t a computer support staff person be assigned to departments?

A. There are several reasons: 1) CSBS networks and services are so heterogeneous that an individual computer support person would not have the knowledge and skills to independently support most departments, 2) computing support staff perform more efficiently as a team sharing their individual knowledge and expertise collectively to solve problems, and 3) there are not sufficient resources to put support staff in every department. [A typical industry model to determine the number of computer support staff required to effectively support networks of the size and complexity of those in CSBS results in a number that is nearly double that of present CSBS computing support staff.]

Q. Why does CSBS need to centralize computing services?

A. There are several reasons for centralizing basic computing services—the most obvious is money. Since there is no hard funding for computing at the University, it is up to the Colleges and Departments to fund their computing needs. The per user cost of common computing services like e-mail, user logins and accounts, and web services, decreases as the number of users increases in terms of both providing services and providing support. Another important reason is security. Security must be consistent throughout the College because a weakness in one part of the network makes the whole network vulnerable. By centralizing common services, the College can provide a more consistent level of service more cost effectively and more securely.

Q. What services are being centralized?

A. User login and authentication, e-mail, and web services are the primary services that are being centralized. Data storage and file sharing (includes backup and archive) are optional services that are part of the strategic plan for centralizing critical functions. Note: Users will always be able to store data on their own computer.

Q. What if I have a need that is not met by centralized services?

A. There are likely to be users with special computing needs associated with research or courses. The centralized functions are those that are common to all users and should not affect other applications. The CSBS computing staff will be available to explore available options with users that have special needs on a case-by-case basis.

Q. How are services being centralized?

A. For student computer labs, CSBS Computing has implemented an enterprise software solution called TotalNET Suite, or TAS, that supports central login and authentication functions so that a single user login and password combination can provide a user with access to all client computers in the CSBS domain, regardless of platform. This software also makes it possible to store data on UNIX-based network storage devices and share files between PCs, MACs, and UNIX workstations. As a result, the College has eliminated a number of high-maintenance Windows servers and substantially improved support of instruction in student computer labs while enhancing network security. Students are storing their work and data in their home directories, which they can access from any computer in the lab as well as via the internet using SFTP.

Q. Why all this fuss about network security?

A. Remember when you did not have to lock your car or your house? The same was true of computers—once. Unfortunately, there are those who get their kicks by interrupting the productivity of others by messing with their computers. As a result, many of us lose many hours of work to server crashes, viruses, and denial of service attacks that bring networks to a snail’s pace—all thanks to hackers. So now we have to take measures to secure computers and networks from these nuisances, or waste even more valuable time recovering from the havoc they wreak.

The cost of operating open networks and computer systems has become too high. In order for the College to continue to provide its faculty, staff, and students with access to computing resources, it must make better use of limited resources to provide a consistent level of service to all users. The College must also reduce the costs of productivity lost to interruptions in computing services. This starts with minimizing the time and resources wasted fixing problems caused by intruders. Consistent security policy and procedures are critical.

Q. Why are centralized services more secure?

A. E-mail, web pages, FTP, and related services provided by ‘public’ servers are vulnerable to unwanted intrusion. The servers that provide these services are being placed in a subnet, a segment of the network, affectionately called the DMZ. The DMZ is a segment of the network where potentially vulnerable, but necessary ‘public’ services, like e-mail, FTP, and web services, are can be isolated from other network segments. CSBS routers isolate the DMZ subnet from other subnets in the network that interconnect critical application and data servers and user computers. Aside from improving network performance, a primary reason for the recent upgrade from hubs to network switches is that switches can control what traffic and protocols are permitted to traverse different network segments. This means that protocols necessary for public services can be restricted to the DMZ subnet. This makes it much more difficult for intruders to gain access to other subnets where servers and user computers are connected.

Q. What security policies and procedures is CSBS implementing?

A. The University is moving toward a campus-wide solution for managing access to University computers and networks. It is likely that faculty, staff, and students will be issued a login and encrypted credentials along with their University ID card. This login will be used to regulate access to computers around the campus. In the interim, the College is consolidating the numerous user login databases on different CSBS networks into two central login and authentication databases. As campus network backbone connections to CSBS locations are enhanced, these two databases will be further consolidated into one. User policies, based on existing University computer policies, are being formulated in consultation with Advisory Committee on College Computing.

Q. How will a centralizing login and authentication affect me?

A. You will only need one login and password to use any computer in your domain. Right now, this may be limited to your department or building, but will eventually mean you can login into any CSBS networked computer.

Q. What happens when the server or network is down?

A. Each computer caches (retains in memory) information about the users that login. The computer first attempts to contact the server to authenticate your login and password. If the computer cannot reach the server, it will check its cache for matching login information. Computers that you used at least once will likely have cached login information and will proceed with the login process. However, if your password has changed since the last login the cached information will likely not match and login will fail. Note: Whatever the problem is that prevented the computer from reaching the server may also affect other services like e-mail and file sharing.

Q. What options are available for accessing e-mail?

A. You can use most common e-mail software including: Netscape, MS Internet Explorer, MS Outlook, Eudora, Pine, or any other software that uses the or IMAPS, and SMTP protocols.

Q. How do I access my e-mail from home or other remote locations?

A. There are essentially two options: 1) dial-in to the campus through the campus gateway or your personal Internet Service Provider (ISP), or 2) use WebMail. WebMail will be the easiest way to access e-mail, and is does support attachments. All you will need is access to a computer that has Internet access and the URL for the CSBS WebMail site (http://webmail.csbs.utah.edu). Dial-in users will be able retrieve e-mail from their CSBS account through standard e-mail protocols (IMAPS), but outbound e-mail will have to be sent directly from the ISP mail server. This means users will need to use the SMTP server name (or IP address) of their ISP for the outgoing e-mail messages from remote locations.

Q. Can I access data from home or other remote locations?

A. Dial-in users may also need to become familiar with using a secure shell program like F-Secure SSH because TELNET will not be available to ISP systems. Currently, the best dial-in option for faculty and staff is the service provided by Telecommunications. This will be the only dial-in access option in which TELNET will be supported.

Q. How does centralizing e-mail improve this critical service?

A. The Advisory Committee on College Computing determined last year that e-mail services are a critical function. In response, CSBS Computing staff have redesigned how e-mail is handled. Because e-mail is essentially a ‘public’ service, that is, it requires easy access to a server, e-mail servers are frequently prime targets for hackers. The best protection is nearly constant monitoring of the server by staff. By centralizing e-mail services to one or two servers, it is possible to provide this level of support needed to maintain this critical service. To safeguard e-mail on the server, e-mail data is replicated (mirrored) on two separate disk drives. E-mail services will be further enhanced in time with the addition of ‘fail over’ functionality that will allow a secondary server to take over the service in the event of a primary server failure.

Q. What about my old e-mail messages?

A. Many users have accumulated numerous old messages that they would like to keep. Most users will still be able to access their old messages. The exception is users who have been getting their e-mail from a Novell mail server (usually using Pegasus or P-mail). For these users, their old mail will not be directly accessible, however, there are a number of options for retaining the information contained in old messages. The best option should be determined on a case-by-case basis in consultation with CSBS Computing staff.

Q. Why should I use network data storage?

A. Each user account (necessary for e-mail and all other computing services) has an associated space on the network data storage device called the ‘home’ directory. For most users, the home directory stores only e-mail messages and login profile information. However, users can store data there as well. There are several good reasons for storing data on the network: 1) data stored in home directories is backed-up automatically every night with server backups, 2) the server file systems and disk drives are much more reliable than desk equivalents, 3) there are more and better security measures available to protect data, and 4) data can be more readily shared.

Q. How much data can I store on the network?

A. Network data storage is allocated using quotas. Additional data storage space can be allocated to users as requested. Like any system, additional data storage is not free, however, the cost of network data storage devices is spread over a large number of users. Users with large data storage requirements, in most cases, need only contribute to the purchase of additional drives. Since current data storage capacity is largely associated with student computer labs to support courses (i.e., purchased with Student Equipment funds), additional data storage will be required to increase the quotas available to faculty and staff.

Q. What about my computer’s hard drive?

A. Users are free to store data on their local hard drive. However, data stored on local hard drives is the responsibility of the user.

Q. Can you backup my computer’s hard drive?

A. With over 900 computers connected to CSBS networks, it is not currently feasible to backup individual computers nightly, or even weekly. Users are responsible for making sure the data on their computer is backed up.

Q. How does file sharing benefit me?

A. Network data storage makes it possible to share data files with other users across platforms, that is, data can be stored on UNIX-based disk devices and shared with PCs, MACs, and UNIX workstations. File sharing is essential for collaboration and supporting courses. Course data can be made readily available to students. Data can be accessed from multiple computers and multiple locations, even from remote locations like home (using secure access protocols).

Q. Why is it necessary to use a central web server?

A. There several contributing reasons: 1) Security—web servers must be accessible to all domains, which makes them vulnerable to unwanted intrusions. If the web server is compromised, then the network in which it resides is also compromised. 2) Network performance—web servers put a substantial load on local networks that affect the network speed of other users on the same network segment. Centralizing web servers effectively improves the performance of web services as well as improves the performance of local networks that no longer share bandwidth with the server. 3) UNIX-based servers better perform functions associated with web services (e.g., multi-tasking and multi-threading).

Q. How do I publish a web page on a central server?

A. Upon request, a folder (subdirectory) is added to your home directory. The folder is linked to the web server and any HTML documents placed in the folder are published. Department, organization, and course web pages are handled very similarly only more than one user can be given access to the web page directory through link from their home directory. And, you no longer need to FTP materials to publish them, just copy them into the folder. CSBS Computing will assist users with the mechanics of setting up a URL and file storage location to publish web pages, however, users will have to rely on other campus resources (e.g., Library or DCE courses) to learn the how to design, organize, and otherwise maintain their web pages. There is a variety of web authoring software available to assist users with this part of the process.

Software

Q. Didn’t my computer come with basic software?

A. No, in most cases. With a few exceptions, most computers purchased in recent years did not come with any software ‘pre-loaded’, just an operating system. CSBS Computing has developed several basic installations for each of the different platforms (PC, MAC, UNIX). These basic installations contain those software programs that have been found to be commonly used throughout the College. For example, a typical basic installation for a PC includes: Win XP, Firefox, Netscape, OfficeScan, Adobe Acrobat Reader, SSH, and the MS Office suite.

Q. Do I have to pay for software?

A. Yes. Most software licenses for faculty and staff computers are the responsibility of the Departments. Software licenses for student computer labs are paid by CSBS Computing (as funded by the Task Force on Academic Computing). The Office of Software Licensing has negotiated many site license agreements that substantially reduce the unit cost of many software. Additional software can be purchased at educational discount prices from the University Bookstore.

Q. What software can I have installed?

A. Pretty much any software. With the exception of operating systems, CSBS Computing does not limit what software users can have installed. Users are free to choose whatever software they need, although CSBS Computing may have some recommendations. A wide range of software is available through the Office of Software Licensing, the Bookstore, or outside sources. The only prerequisite for installing software is that users possess a valid software license for the software they wish to have installed.

Q. How do I get the software installed?

A. Submit a HelpDesk request indicating the desired software. If the software is not already licensed to the user, the user will need to arrange the purchase of a license through the Office of Software Licensing or other source. Users can get computing staff assistance in acquiring or renewing software licenses from on-campus sources by sending a Campus Order or fund transfer to CSBS Computing (indicate the CO# in the HelpDesk request). Alternatively, users can purchase software directly from the source of their choice and provide the media and license to computing staff at the time of installation.