Transcript IT Support 101 in the Department of Biochemistry

IT Support 101
Julian Jordan
Web & Macintosh Officer
http://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/graduate.pps
Some IT Support humour for you:
© United Feature Syndicate Inc.
Meet the Team:
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Martin Ackland – Support Team Manager
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[email protected] (13307)
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Room 10-026, New Biochemistry Building
Richard Bryan – Research Computing Manager
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[email protected] (13332)
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Room 00-069, New Biochemistry Building
John Elder – Infrastructure & Security Officer
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[email protected] (13333)
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Room 00-070, New Biochemistry Building
Julian Jordan – Web & Macintosh Officer
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[email protected] (13310)
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Room 10-027, New Biochemistry Building
Jeremy Rowntree – IT Systems Manager
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[email protected] (13309)
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Room 10-027, New Biochemistry Building
The Bottom Line:
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We want your computing experience to be a good
one
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We’re not in the business of locking things down so
tightly that you can’t even use “Calculator”
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We don’t necessarily “just know” computers play up
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IT support isn’t chargeable, so don’t just “soldier on”
with computer issues:
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Talk to us if things aren’t running smoothly on
your computer!
IT Helpdesk Service
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Just one number to remember for IT
emergencies or if you can’t remember
exactly who does what in the team:
13308
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You may be passed to another member of
the team who specialises in your issue but
you won’t have to “hunt” through all the
IT Support telephone numbers trying to
find someone who’s at their desk
User Accounts
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Cue confusion – you have two distinct accounts; University
and Departmental
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University facilities:
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Nexus e-mail
TSM backup service
Software site licenses including MS-Office, Endnote
WebLearn VLE
PC maintenance scheme
Personal web space
Numerous courses
Educational pricing for hardware/software
http://m.ox.ac.uk for smartphones
http://ox.ac.onthehub.com/ - 1TB of cloud storage for free
User Accounts
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See John Elder (Room 00-070, New Biochemistry Building)
to activate your departmental account and set your initial
password.
(Please remember to take your University card with you)
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Departmental facilities:
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Windows Account to log in to most Windows PCs
Home Directory (Windows H: drive, Network Disk on Mac/Linux)
VPN Account for accessing departmental facilities when you’re away
Web space for labs or other projects; many options available
Talk to us about WebEx, a great system for videoconferencing
 The University has paid the fees, so free for you to use
 Can pull together PCs, Mac, Linux, Telephones and iPods into one conference
◦ Vast amounts of backed-up, fault-tolerant disk space can be arranged
◦ http://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/itsupport
Job Requests
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What’s a Job Request?
◦ A job request is a formal request for some work to be done on
your computer system, be it an initial network hookup, a
hardware repair or help with installing something new
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Why use this system?
◦ All members of IT support see the job request e-mail
◦ The person with the appropriate expertise will take the job
◦ The job enters a tracking system and won’t be “forgotten about”
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How do I submit a Job Request?
◦ Go to http://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/jobrequest
◦ Use the drop-down link on the Biochemistry internal homepage,
entitled “Computing Job Request”
Network Access
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Default Connectivity:
◦ Connect to any active dataport to get a very restricted connection
which will require a VPN account to do anything useful
◦ Inactive dataports (a rarity) can be enabled if you need them
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Biochemistry VPN Service
◦ Use to gain full access to network resources like H: drives, printers
◦ http://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/vpn
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Wireless Networking
◦ Two Networks at present: OWL and Eduroam
◦ http://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/wireless
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Full computer registration
◦ Use job request system for a fixed IP with full network access
◦ Please see http://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/networkpolicy
Departmental Website
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Split into two personalities:
◦ http://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk
A “shop window” front-facing site with lots of news, pictures and
information for prospective staff or students
◦ http://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/internal.asp
A “intranet” type site with information and facilities concerning
day-to-day life here including a “What’s On” of things happening
here
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If something isn’t working as you would expect, please
contact [email protected]
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There is also an extensive WebLearn presence and numerous
sub-sites for specific purposes.
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Take a look around, there’s lots going on!
Computing Rules
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University-wide rules:
◦ http://www.ict.ox.ac.uk/oxford/rules
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Departmental Rules:
◦ http://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/rules
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Please make yourself aware of the rules –
users have been known to have the “plug
pulled” at a high level (JANET) for running
undesirable software on their computer
Computer Performance
My first computer looked like this:
 Life was very simple; you loaded a program from the
tape and the computer ran the program until you
turned the power off…
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CPU – 1Mhz
Memory – 1 Kilobyte
wikipedia
Computer Performance
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To go to this was an incredible upgrade:
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Problem – the aspirations of the programmers
outstripped the RAM (memory) of the computer,
resulting in a lot of “Please wait while next event loads”
The same issues still apply – RAM, disk storage and to
some extent, CPU speed and CPU “bits”
RAM upgrades best “bang-for-buck”
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What Goes Wrong?
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Windows PCs – Virus / Spyware data loss VERY common
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Dropped Mac Laptops – hard disk failure approx. bi-monthly
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Three passwords (University, Departmental & EduRoam)
◦ Recall failure accounts for many problems
◦ Please don’t ignore e-mails warning you of password expiry
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A hard disk is a mechanical device which WILL wear out.
◦ Even solid state drives incur electronic “wear” over time
◦ The seconds are ticking down until the moment that
YOUR hard disk fails, taking all your irreplaceable
data with it…
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Sort out a backup strategy TODAY!!!
Data Security
Data Security
Anatomy of a phishing e-mail
Data Security
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Store your files on your H: Drive (this is backed up nightly)
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Get your computer set up with the free TSM backup service
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Once installed, TSM operates on a “no news is good news” basis
Please don’t ignore e-mails telling you that it’s failed
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Time machine (Mac) and Dropbox also worth looking at
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Cloud storage for personal photos / videos etc?
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Don’t leave files on C: Drives on communal machines and expect to see them there the
next day
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Be very careful with e-mail attachments, and e-mails claiming to be from your bank or
Microsoft… or even the University Nexus service
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Sophos Anti-Virus is mandatory on PCs & Macs, please report any virus warnings to IT
Support
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Don’t keep putting off those “Software Update” nags – they could save your bacon!
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If in doubt, please talk to us – we are after all IT Support