Computer Support in Mathematics

Mathematics at U.C. Davis has a dynamic support network for the systems administration of our large academic Department. Each year a Computer Committee is nominated to serve as the decision-making body for computer policy and technical support guidelines. This Committee is made up of three faculty members and the permanent technical staff. The Computer Committee is responsible for resolving computer issues involving policy review, establishing guidelines, and user feedback.

For day-to-day support issues including maintenance of core computer systems and servers located in the Mathematical Sciences Building (MSB), the Department has three dedicated, full-time technical staff: Zach Johnson, Leng Siakkhasone, and Marianne Waage. Part of their responsibilities are to provide support to the following Mathematics users: faculty, graduate student, staff and undergraduate students. In addition, they will provide one-to-one instruction to users within these groups for routine tasks as follows:

• updating a class website,
• use of the Mathematics Labs (2118 MSB and 3114 MSB),
• downloading rosters, or
• scanning a paper.

To maintain high-quality support for the Department and its users, four broad categories have been determined by the Computer Committee to be representative of the typical requests and areas of focus for the technical staff. All "help" requests would fall under one of the four categories listed below. The standard initial response time is noted to the right of the category.

High Priority - Immediate

• Server issues that impact multiple users
• Public printer issues
• Visitor requests, when reasonable
• Time critical department projects
• Security breaches
• Issues that prevent work from being done, and there is no quick workaround

Normal Priority - One day to one week

• First two operating systems and computers per person will be supported
• File restore from backup (see below for information on the backup policy)
• Personal printer issues at the department
• Purchase requests (see below for information on purchasing)
• Functionality of core software
  • Email and web browsers
  • Math software
  • TeX
  • Core document viewers: Acrobat Reader, OpenOffice, Gnumeric, etc
  • Core plugins: PDF, PS, Flash viewing
• OS reinstalls on a yearly basis, unless there is a stability issue which merits a reinstall
• Departmental web page updates
• Department database application development
• Issues that prevent work from being done, when there are other methods of getting the work done

Low Priority - As time allows

• A third operating system or computer per person will be supported
• Support for hardware that is not standard for the department
• Basic functionality for department systems used at home, if the system is brought to Math
• Browser plugins on desktop machines

No Priority - No support provided

• Installation or upgrade of commercial software without proof of license
• OS upgrades, i.e. Windows 98 -> Windows XP, without proof of license
• Support for environments not actively supported by the manufacturer. e.g. Windows 95/98, Mac OS9
• Support for home Internet and network services. e.g. Home wireless, DSL routers
• Personal printer issues at home
• Support for machines not primarily used by the faculty, staff, or student in the department
• Support for entertainment hardware/software unless required for research. e.g. MP3 players, DVD players
• Telephone service, troubleshooting, or repair.
• PDA support.

Backup policy

If data is stored in a designated area, it will be backed up five times a week. If you are unsure of whether it is a designated area, then please email help@math.ucdavis.edu. Backups are stored for two weeks.

For questions or concerns about these technical support guidelines, please email the Mathematics Computer Committee at compc@math.ucdavis.edu. All other questions can be directed to help@math.ucdavis.edu.

Purchasing

Computer equipment purchase requests should be given at least one week prior to department fiscal close deadline and the closing date of the equipment purchasing deadline of the funding source. Additional lead time is suggested for times which may require obtaining quotes from vendors, issuing purchase orders, researching performance and compatibility.