Default Support Services

All staff, students, and faculty in HSSEAS receive basic computing services comprised of a personal account (includes backups of data saved in the account), IP address assignment, network connection, and general support ¹ via email and phone at no charge. If additional services are required you may submit an MSR. SEASnet staff will contact you regarding the viability of your request.

Additional information on requesting services such as new account requests, relocation of network equipment, etc. can be found here.

SEASnet Department Support Services (EA network)

SEASnet provides computing support at no charge for those staff fully funded on either 19900 and 19935 funds (based on departmental 19900/19935 FTE). In addition, SEASnet will provide computing support at no charge for a limited number of machines for student or part-time employees depending upon the departmental FTE. These machines will be configured with limited access by the user. Computing support consists of those free services mentioned previously plus the following:

1. Initial setup of one computer with pre-approved hardware configuration as provided by SEASnet. Machines not running SEASnet's approved hardware configuration and needing SEASnet support services will be charged a one time fee for setup and additional services as need or a monthly support fee. Setup of machine also includes the following software packages:
   • Operating systems - Windows XP Professional
   • Networking software - samba
   • Business productivity software - Microsoft Office
   • Email client - Eudora (instructions for removing email off the server are available here) SEASnet will be moving all users to the Thunderbird email client
   • Backup software - NovaNet
   • Anti-virus software - Sophos
   • Terminal emulation software - Power Term Interconnect 32 (for interface with skipper) and Hummingbird's TN3270 (for AIS interface)
   • Web browsers - Internet Explorer and Netscape
   • FTP client - WS-FTP
   • PDF/Post script file readers - Adobe Acrobat Reader and GS View
   • Utilities and add-ins - QDB add-ins for Excel
2. Backups of work related data saved on the PC, including email (data storage retention policy is available here ).
   • Machines must be left on for backups to take place. You may turn off your monitor, but your computer must remain up and on the network.
   • Monthly email will be sent to the owner of each computer notifying the user of the status of their data backups (mail is generally sent out the 9th of the month). Users will also be notified if there is no full backup made within the last 35 days or if their machine has missed backups five days in a row. This notice will be sent out each Wednesday. It is the responsibility of the user to work with SEASnet to ensure backups are being completed successfully.
   • SEASnet will not backup any personal data. Users should understand how to save their data properly so personal files are not inadvertantly backed up.
   There will be a fee associated with restoring data from a crashed drive if the user has opted out of backups.
3. Software requests in addition to any software listed above will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. SEASnet staff will determine if the installation is feasible and will notify the department if there will be a recharge for the software.
4. General machine maintenance, including but not limited to, security patches/updates, machine cleanup, disk maintenance, etc.
5. SEASnet will do our best to assist users with their choice of printers; whether they are personal or network printers. SEASnet can only maintain network print queues for printers that are compatible with HP JetAdmin software. If you are unsure what type of printer to purchase and/or what type of support you will require please contact any of our help desk staff for assistance.
6. Laptop machines will only be supported under special conditions. If you are interested in having your laptop supported, please contact the Help Desk along with answers to the following questions:
   • Will this machine be your primary machine? If not, how will this machine be utilitized?
   • Which of your staff will be allowed to use this machine?
7. SEASnet can configure your machine to allow you to connect to it from home as if you are logging in here in the office. However, this creates additional security issues you and your supervisor should be aware of. To ensure the security of your data, SEASnet is requiring that all requests for use of a supported machine's remote desktop function be made by your department head. SEASnet requires you to do the following:
   • ALWAYS use the VPN software when connecting to your PC remotely.
   • Make sure your account has a password that is difficult to crack. SEASnet has posted instructions for creating strong passwords.
   Your machine must also be modified with
   • User policy to lockout any account after several failed login attempts.
   • Firewall installed and operational.
8. SEASnet does not support home machines. However, we do understand that many of you use your home machine for work purposes and may occassionally need our assistance. If this is the case, you can submit an MSR and bring your machine in for staff to work on. Your department account will be charged for our labor at our currently approved campus rate. You must backup any important data on your machine prior to bringing it in. Requests for work on home machines must be coordinated with the Help Desk.

Staff Member's Responsibility:

SEASnet considers each machine to be a tool for use by the staff. As such, staff should take a pro-active roll in understanding computing basics. SEASnet will provide basic training for department staff in any areas they feel they need additional assistance with.

• You have been provided with a user account that gives you full priviledges on your machine. You should never make any changes to your machine configuration or install any programs unless you are willing to take full responsibility for the consequences. If you are not comfortable with having an account will full priviledges, please contact us and we will change your account type.
• Staff should be cognizant of the fact that they are using shared resources. If you know you are going to be working with large amounts of data please coordinate this work with us so that we can ensure that backups won't fail and disk space will not be an issue.
• Staff should familiarize themselves with campus IT policies. Those policies dealing with the "Digital Millennium Copyright Act", "Electronic Communications" are especially important. Users should also familiarize themselves with "Electronic Communications Security". These policies are available from the campus ICOMPASS website, http://www.icompass.ucla.edu/policies.htm.

Departmental Responsibility

Since SEASnet is supporting the staff member and their machine it is important for the department to understand that we need prior notification for any machine changes. If a machine is relocated and SEASnet is not informed prior to the move, SEASnet will not be held responsible for any problems caused by the move. Machines taken out of service will be wiped clean of all data and returned to the department for disposal.

SEASnet will request an MSR for any work that requires us to physically go to the machine; whether or not the machine is supported. SEASnet uses MSR's to track our work flow. You will be notified prior to the start of the job if SEASnet determines that a charge will be associated with your request. SEASnet will not begin work without departmental approval of any charge on a supported machine.

Student worker machines must be approved on a case-by-case basis and will be configured for student workers to have limited access. Student worker machines will not be backed up unless special arrangements have been made by the department. In addition, SEASnet must have a staff contact associated with student worker machines. Unless otherwise notified, that contact will be the department MSO.

Licensed Software Purchases

02/04/07 UPDATE - the vendor for purchasing software is currently being transitioned and there are some issues with the change. However, UCLA's Software Central has provided the following information for software purchases.

UCLA has contracted out with SHI. SHI (VCK number 020704 503) provides software licenses at academic prices under UCLA Blanket Agreement # 0000KJB049. (Note: these are not shrink-wrapped retail software packages. Instead they are volume license versions. You will be responsible for securing any license you purchased.) Prior to purchasing you can check with help@seas.ucla.edu to see if we already have the media CD's for a particular piece of software. If not, you will be required to purchase both the license and the media. If you feel the software will be beneficial to all staff in HSSEAS, SEASnet may consent to purchasing the media. If you are purchasing the software for a supported machine, SEASnet will make a note of your purchase and will be able to transfer the license to a new machine, provided we have the media. If you are the holder of the media, you must be able to provide the media to SEASnet for any re-installation.

Footnotes

¹ If the issue cannot be resolved after three emails or two fifteen-minute phone calls within an hour you will be asked to submit an MSR.