SYSTEMS STAFF MONTHLY UPDATE - NOVEMBER 2003

WREQ Problem Reporting Tool
Email work requests and problem reports are now being entered into the WREQ problem reporting tool. You should submit all requests directly to WREQ and not to ntadmin or individual staff members. You can do this by posting a request through the web interface at: http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~wreq or simply by sending your email request to WREQ at cs dot sunysb dot edu.

There is now a WREQ Problem Reporting Tool for work requests directed to the department secretarial and administrative staff. You should use secwreq for requests such as requisitions, course room changes, office supplies, grade changes, room reservations, payroll issues, tuition issues, reimbursements and building management needs. This tool can be found at http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~secwreq or you can send mail to SECWREQ at cs dot sunysb dot edu.

Please note that there is a 10K upper limit on the size of a message submitted to WREQ. If you need to include more information than that you can include a pointer to a file, or mail the information separately to root. Also, WREQ accepts mail only from department email addresses at this time, and does not accept MIME attachments. There is an FAQ on the use of WREQ at: http://www/FAQ/MiscReportProblems.html.

Announcement

The labs located in rooms 2114 and 2129 will be closed for exams this Friday, December 5, from 12:30PM to 6:00PM.

New/Upgraded Software for Solaris

The following perl modules have been installed: 

        Mail-MboxParser-0.43
        Mail-Mbox-MessageParser-1.11
        IO-String-1.03
        MIME-tools-5.411
        IO-stringy-2.108
        Mail-Mbox-MessageParser-1.12
        Storable-2.08
        FileHandle-Unget-0.11
        MIME-Base64-2.21
        FreezeThaw-0.43
        XML-Simple-2.09
        XML-SAX-0.12
        XML-NamespaceSupport-1.08

New/Upgraded Software for SGI

Matlab has been upgraded to version 13 on sbcube6.

Infrastructure Changes and Upgrades

Printer accounting has been turned on in an effort to help conserve resources. Please keep in mind that printer supplies such as paper and toner are costly, and that every dollar wasted is a dollar that could have been spent on equipment or salaries. You can view print statistics on any department machine in /var/adm/sysinfo/info/accounting. The file printing.ytd is a running total for all users, facprinting.XXX and otherprinting.XXX show faculty and student/guest usage on a monthly basis.

Antispam Facility

At the direction of the Operations Committee the department spam filtering system has been enabled.

Department users have the choice of participating in the spam filtering system. If you choose to be OUT of the system ALL of your mail will be delivered without spam screening.

If you choose to be IN the system your mail will be filtered for spam content. Non-spam mail will be delivered as usual.

Mail flagged as likely spam will be set aside in a holding area by the anti-spam system. Two times per day you will be emailed a spam digest. The spam digest will list your spam mails which have accumulated since the last digest was emailed to you. If you receive no spam then you will not receive a digest.

By default all faculty are opted out of the spam filtering system, and all students are opted into the spam filtering system. Anyone can change their option in the spam filtering system by visiting http://intrawww/~sso. Your login and password are the same as you use to log into the unix systems.

Please see the FAQ at
http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/FAQ/DepartmentSpamFilter.html for answers to questions you might have about this facility.

Also note that information is available for customizing filters in all common mail readers at
http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/FAQ/EmailFilterJunk.html.

If you are participating in the spam filtering system and you receive mail which is spam and was not tagged by the system, please forward that mail to "SPAM at cs dot sunysb dot edu". If legitimate mail was flagged by the system and had to be manually retrieved by you, please forward that mail to "NOTSPAM at cs dot sunysb dot edu". Important note: forward only the message itself, do not forward the digest in the case of legitimate mail. Use a simple "forward" command to send the message, do not send it as an attachment of any kind. Include the full set of headers if your mailer allows it. Do not include comments or questions as this mail is machine processed and will not be read by an administrator. The learning feature happens over time and you will not see any change immediately reflected. Continue to forward spam as it is received and eventually it should be detected by the system.

New labs

New Network Facilities

Wireless access is now available in room 2129, the Programming Techniques teaching lab. A wired network jack for use by the instructor is available at the podium at the lower right side of the podium (as you face the audience).

The wired network is now enabled in room 2311 (wireless was previously enabled).
The wired network covers the rear two rows of tables in room 2311. The electric outlets at each table are live also.

Upgrades

The instructor's podium in room 2129 now has video, network, and power available for a laptop connection. Two live outlets, a 10baseT tap and a video conection to the projector are located at the lower right side of the podium (as you face the audience).

PCs and Laptops

The backup system for faculty PCs and research laptops is in operation. In order to be included in the backup system your PC or laptop must be a part of the secured backup domain. You will be receiving an email with instructions on how to schedule an appointment to have the necessary configuration changes made to your PC or research laptop.

A CERT advisory regarding a buffer overflow attack on Windows Workstation Service was released in November. Please make certain that your PC or laptop is up-to-date with all Microsoft critical updates and patches. There is an FAQ on this topic at: http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/FAQ/MiscWindowsUpdate.html.

New Facilities

Future plans

Network switches will be upgraded to gigabit capability and the first CAT 6 network cables will be installed this month.

The Stony Brook Community

The campus has reported problems with remote access to Notes during the month of November. There is a web page on the campus web server offering workarounds for Notes users at http://clientsupport.stonybrook.edu/notes/POP.shtml.

HOW TO REPORT A PROBLEM or MAKE A WORK REQUEST

First you should check the FAQ pages at:

http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/FA Q/index.html

There is also a link to an index of FAQs.

If the answer to your question is not in the faq's you should use wreq to report the problem or make a work request.

There is a short blurb on wreq in the faq area (search by index).

Wreq lives at: http://www.cs.sunysb .edu/~wreq/

You can also send email to:WREQ at cs dot sunysb dot edu from your dept account, or campus account. The subject line should cover what is wrong or what you need. The body of the email can supply any details.

Your problem report must include the following information for us to be able to help you promptly:

  1. The room you are working in, either room number or lab name.
  2. The name of the host you are working on (hostname command in Unix, machine number in 1239, the number written on the bookshelf by your desk in the student offices).
  3. The sequence of things you did just prior to having the problem as best you recollect.
  4. The exact text of any error message you see on the screen, or a complete description of the problem that occured. 
        Please report problems promptly as they occur so they can be
        investigated under the same set of conditions as far as possible.

When in doubt, feel free to send email to:

  • Unix and network problems:ROOT at cs dot sunysb dot edu
  • PC problems:NTADMIN at cs dot sunysb dot edu

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