Information System Support

Tier 1: Base-Level Desktop Support Service
All members of the College will be provided with the following services for their computers attached to the network:

1. Support for PC and Macintosh via email or telephone consultation.
2. Patch-management to ensure that applications are patched properly and are up-to-date to meet the Campus Minimum Network Security requirement. Essential/critical/urgent patches will be “pushed” out to all the systems via a patch manager called BigFix (IBM). All PCs and Macs must have the BigFix client software installed. (See 7. g. below for specialized data/control systems)
3. Security monitoring for all systems attached to the College network. We will respond to any security breach notices from Campus System and Network Security (SNS) group and will fix the problem, resolve security issues with IST and get your system back online as soon as possible.
   1. Some security cases may require that a computer is formatted and rebuilt from scratch. In such cases it is the responsibility of the end-user to backup any and all data prior to the computer being formatted.
   2. Standard practice is that a user has a copy or backup of their data on another drive, device, or service; we are not responsible for any Tier1 user’s data.
4. Without additional charges, you will have access to the following application software licenses and any subsequent upgrades from the vendor:
   1. Microsoft Windows XP SP3 through Windows 7;
   2. Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), MS Office 2007 through MS Office 2011 for Windows and Mac OS X;
   3. ChemBioDraw Ultra – complete suite;
   4. Adobe Professional for creating PDF files.
5. Email & Telephone consultation services will be provided for supported operating systems and applications.
6. Assistance will be available to help with getting hand-held devices/Smartphones such as iPhones and Androids onto the campus network and syncing with supported computers.
7. Systems must meet the following minimum requirements to be given the support listed above:
   1. Hardware not older than 5 years and still supported by its respective manufacturer;
   2. PCs must run Windows OS no older than Windows XP with Service Pack 3;
   3. Macs must run Apple OS X no older than 10.5 (Leopard);
   4. Browser must be the latest version of Safari, Internet Explorer, or Firefox;
   5. We primarily support Thunderbird on both Windows and Mac OS X. In addition, we support Apple Mail on Macs and Outlook on Windows. Eudora/Penelope is not supported but we will assist you in migrating to Thunderbird if you need email support;
   6. BigFix client software must be installed in all PCs and Macs as well as the latest anti-virus software from campus;
   7. Specialized systems, such as data collection and control PCs for lab equipment, may not be able to meet the Minimum Standards and should be reported to Information Systems. We can assist with protecting the system if it must be on the network, we can submit the required exception for such devices as well.

Tier-2: Enhanced Level Desktop Support
A membership fee of $40 per FTE per month will purchase the required support level for all administrative units in the College and the two departmental offices. This level of support is optional for research groups. Principal Investigators and administrative assistants are encouraged to sign up for Tier 2 service. For research groups, purchase of this option will require an annual commitment. This enhanced support level will provide “cradle-to-grave” care for your systems, in-person support, server storage and backup for your files. In addition to all the service items provided by Tier 1 base-level service, Tier-2 Desktop support will include:

1. Purchasing advice in selecting the models and options to best suit your needs for both PCs and Macs.
2. Configuration and set up of your new system. We will install all Operating Systems and all of the application software you need, test and burn-in the system, deliver and assist you in deploying it in your office or lab. This service is also available for laptops for “work-at-home” use as long as the system belongs to the College.
3. Create and archive a disk-image (ghosting) of the newly configured system to facilitate quick restoration and system recovery in case of catastrophic disk failures or physical disasters (water leaks, etc.).
4. 10 Gigabytes of server storage with unattended nightly backup by UC Backup. Basically your “home” folder will be located on a safe & secure server that is backed nightly. Administrative or research groups may have shared folders which we will help configure.
5. On-site support by our desktop support techs. Customers who have purchased this level of support will have priority over the base-level clients.

Pitzer Center Unix Computing Support
Our Unix System Administrator, Kelley McDonald, who currently supports the Unix systems for the Pitzer Center research groups will continue to do so and they will continue to be responsible for 50% of his time. These groups will still have to pay the base-level desktop fees and will enjoy all the benefits of base-level support in addition to having William take care of their Unix clusters and servers.

[top of page]

Copyright © 2013 UC Regents. All rights reserved. | Contact Webmaster