SYSTEMS STAFF MONTHLY UPDATE - September 2006

The csdept has a problem reporting tool called . All work requests and problem reports must be submitted directly to WREQ and not to the administrative aliases for the staff. Once you have been contacted by a staff person you should not open new wreq tickets for the job unless instructed to do so. Exchange information via email.

We suggest using the web interface to submit wreq requests at the URL: http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~wreq

You can also email wreq requests to wreq AT cs DOT sunysb DOT edu. Do not send attachments (NB Microsoft Outlook/Mozilla/Firefox users). That means no mime emails to wreq. Send attachments/mime separately once someone contacts you.

The web interface will allow you to input more information. Please send your wreq request using your Stony Brook CS account to facilitate processing.

Work priorities are highest for issues affecting courses first, large numbers of users next (network outage, server down, shared resource offline), individuals in their offices next and lastly home personal computing equipment.

Before reporting a problem visit www.cs.sunysb.edu/~faq and see if there's an FAQ addressing your question/problem. If no faq exists, then a wreq request is your next step.

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

1. The room you are working in (room number or lab name).

2. The name of the host you are working on (hostname command in Unix, machine number in 1239, room and desk number for student offices).

3. The sequence of commands you executed that resulted in the error/problem. We need to replicate the problem.

4. The exact text of any error message you see on the screen, or a complete description of the problem that occured.

5. Send TEXT ONLY. Do NOT send attachments or mime mail.

Please report problems promptly as they occur so they can be investigated under the same conditions you experienced them under.

SECWREQ Problem Reporting Tool for Administrative Requests
 There is a WREQ Problem Reporting Tool for work requests directed to the department secretarial and administrative staff. You are encouraged to use secwreq for: requisitions, course room changes, office supplies, grade changes, room reservations, payroll issues, tuition issues, reimbursements, and building problems (heating/cooling/lights/leaks/power). This tool can be found at: http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~secwreq You can send mail to SECWREQ however do not send attachments (or mime encoded mail).

Accounts
1. Students get accounts to do their coursework and research. Do not use them to disrupt others, other entities on the internet or acquire information you haven't been granted access to. The person an account is assigned to is responsible for the activities of an account. Maintain a private password and don't share access to your account.

2. Accounts have quotas. You can discover yours with the quota -v command. Quotas can be adjusted. Use wreq to make a request for more quota.

3. www. www accounts will be emailed to you. The password will not be the same as your department password and you should maintain that attribute of the account. There are faqs covering web publishing. Read them please.

4. You are encouraged to take care in what and how much you print. We do not enforce quotas for printing but we do gather and publish usage information. If your printing consumption stands out from your fellow students it may result in it being questioned.

5. xeroxing requires you to possess a copy card. You can get one from Edwina. There is a limit for the card so don't loan it and if you lose it report it to Edwina.

6. Door combinations should not be shared with anyone. If you have an office and a stranger comes into the office you should report it via secwreq.

7. Don't try to log into "cs.sunysb.edu". That's the mailer, not a terminal server.

8. If you need we *do* have our own dialup access.

Announcements

1. The CEWIT machines have been moved to a temporary home in CS so that rehab of the actual CEWIT room can begin.

2. The CEWIT rehab will begin on 9/11/2006

3. The CEWIT reporting website is: http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~cewit You will find information covering how to use the CEWIT hardware and the most current status information. Specific requests for CEWIT support (add software, issues, questions) should be submitted using WREQ.

4. A separate cluster of Dell PowerEdge 1425 systems has been activated for use as part of Planet Lab in conjunct with Princeton University. If you would like to work on a Planet Lab related project you should contact Ajay Gupta (email ajay at cs dot sunysb dot edu) or Dr. Alex Mohr (amohr at cs dot sunysb dot edu).

5. The dept database software has been upgraded to Oracle10

6. There will service disruptions in the grad PC lab so upgraded systems can be installed in the lab.

7. Information about installed software is available at http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~gradlab/software.html

8. The duplex printer in the grad lab is offline for repairs.

9. The 38 systems in the UG lab have been upgraded to P4 systems with 512MB ram and flat panel displays.

10. Two machines were repaired in the Translab.

11. CVS is being activated for the Trans lab.

12. The Trans lab network was upgraded over the summer.

13. The Trans lab servers have been upgraded (h/w and s/w).

14. Requests for additional/upgraded software for the Trans lab need to be made using wreq. There may be delays deploying your software dure to purchasing delays or QA testing.

15. Reminder of MSDNAA changes: The MSDNAA program is no longer handled by the Computer Science Library. You can download software directly through a program maintained by the campus SINC sites. The change was instigated by Microsoft and their desire for easier accounting/control for themselves.

All students enrolled in CSE/ISE courses are registered for access to MSDNAA. Faculty/postdocs need to register once with the MSDNAA coordinator (ejohnfel at ic.sunysb.edu). Once registered you can browse software and download online. You should You should commit to a CD/DVD ASAP since the number of downloads of one package is limited. See the FAQ at http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/facilities/FAQ/MSDNAA.html

Future Plans

1. PC/Laptop antispyware: The department has made a quantity purchase of WebRoot's SpySweeper version 5.0. The plan is to place it on www's downloads area. Testing indicates that one antispyware package is insufficient for top protection so we will provide SpySweeper and Microsoft's Windows Defender antispyware.

2. Wireless to be replaced/repaired: The missing AP and antenna are being replaced to restore full wireless coverage in the CS building.

3. Integrate Oracle and Sybase into active directory and Unix authentication so all undergrad and grads will have automatic DB access.

Comments or Concerns?
When in doubt, send all systems requests to http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~wreq and all building maintenance or administrative support issues to http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~secwreq.

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