To
open this frame in its own Window, click here.
To
open this frame in its own Window, click here.
The Department provides access to our Windows Server-based local area network (LAN) to all faculty, staff and graduate students upon request, and to undergraduates and members of other departments with approval of an E&PS faculty member. Another document (click here to read it) describes how to apply for a network account and how request activation of a network port located in an office in Northrop Hall.
The Department also operates several clustered Unix/Linux systems for research. Current systems include a Sun/Solaris system managed by Dr. Peter Fawcett (for climate modeling and research) and a Linux system managed by Dr. Mousumi Roy (for tectonics modeling and research). A new research cluster set up as part of the LIDAR Laboratory managed Dr. Tim Wawrzyniec is now available. These systems require a separate accounts and those interested in utilizing them should contact the faculty or staff person in charge. While operating in the same Ethernet network environment, the Windows and UNIX network interconnections are limited to functions that may be sent over a Secure Shell (SSH) connection.
The department has three Dell servers. Two of these systems provide user data storage, print services and program access for software. These are a Dell Poweredge 2400 (EPS1) with 2 GB of memory and 43 GB of RAID 5 storage, and a Dell Poweredge 2600 (EPS2) with 2GB of memory and 180 GB of RAID 5 storage. About 129 GB of disk space (on EPS2) is reserved for user data and about 37 GB of disk space (on EPS1) is reserved for use as shared space for research and class groups. The department has recently acquired an additional 1.3 TB of RAID5 storage in a Netgear ReadyNAS box that will be added to department storage resources in the Spring of 2008. EPS2 also acts as the primary print server for networked printers, and hosts a number of licensed software packages for scientific computing as detailed below. Another aging but still functional secondary server (EPS) acts as the primary domain controller for the network and hosts the department's FTP resources; this system will probably be phased out sometime in the 2007-2008 academic year. Our third Dell server is a Poweredge 1400 that hosts our web site (epswww.unm.edu). Windows NT 4.0 using Microsoft's NT Domain model provides the operating system for the network; we anticipate upgrading to Windows 2003 Server sometime in 2008 (and participating as an "Organizational Unit" in UNM CIRT's campus-wide Active Directory framework).
The department supports both Windows and Macintosh computing platforms through the servers to include network file storage, printer access, and program access. While Macs are supported for on the network, the highest level of functionality and compatibility is on Microsoft Windows systems. There are currently special issues related to Mac OS X 10.x systems addressed in this linked document. While older Windows systems may be used on the network, users are encouraged to use Windows XP Professional as their desktop operating system. Early trials indicate that Windows Vista can be used within our domain with relative success, but has not been tested extensively. Support for the "Home" versions of Windows 2000, XP and Vista is somewhat limited since neither of these operating systems support Domain-level authentication or full login; the "Professional" versions of these operating systems are highly recommended for those who want full connectivity on the network.
Email services are provided by UNM's ITS Computing Department and they strongly recommend using the greatly improved WebMail system to access your Email, particularly on systems that will be shared among multiple users. Numerous other mail clients may be used to access Email on-campus from individually owned systems including Thunderbird (good, free and recommended by your Network Administrator), Outlook, Outlook Express, MacMail (on OSX Macs), Eudora, Mozilla, etc. A variety of free or shareware programs are available for Web browsing, Email Access, and other Internet tasks; some of these are available on the Department's public FTP site but the newest versions are best downloaded from their source on the Internet. Check with the Network Administrator for suggestions.
Software that may be used under license at UNM may be downloaded and installed by UNM faculty, staff and students by connecting to ITS Computing's Download page. You will need to log in using your NetID to access this page. The SSL Telnet and FTP clients required to log into UNM's Linux/UNIX systems may be found and downloaded from this site, as well as other items required for Banner access.
A series of Network Help documents, accessible through an index of Frequently Asked Questions, are available online to assist users with different aspects of our network. We continue to work (a.k.a., struggle) to keep these documents updated to reflect constantly changing computing environments.
The department employs a part-time Network Administrator (Jim Connolly) to maintain operations of the servers, printers and other hardware and software on the network and maintain our Web pages. During the academic year, we also have a "Computer TA" whose main duties are to maintain the department's computer lab and assist lab users.
Remote access to UNM computing resources (including some resources on the EPS LAN) may be obtained via 56KB PPP dialup connections provided by ITS Computing. This is a free service that is usually available but is quite slow relative to Cable Modem or DSL connections. Dialup connection information may be obtained from CIRT at http://its.unm.edu/network/offcampus.html. The fastest Internet access is obtained by some variety of high-speed digital access (DSL or Cable Modem); this may be obtained by a variety of providers including Qwest (local phone company) or Earthlink for DSL or Comcast (for Cable Modem); all of these services require a subscription and a monthly fee. UNM is in negotiation with service providers to negotiate reduced cost high-speed access for UNM students, but nothing has happend as of this writing. Free wireless Internet access (you must provide the wireless notebook) may be found at a fair number of local businesses, and with the proper SSL login security these may be used to access Email and other computing resources.
Wireless connectivity may be found at many locations on campus but NOT (at this time) in Northrop Hall. Wireless Access points are scheduled to come online in Northrop Hall sometime in the Spring semester, 2008. Currently active locations include (among others) the UNM SUB, UNM Libraries (Zimmerman and Centennial), the UNM Bookstore and a variety of outdoor areas near the Library and Duck Pond. .
In early 2004, in cooperation with ITS, we installed a hardware firewall to protect against increasingly damaging attacks on our systems both from within and outside of UNM. By default most of our systems are not visible from outside of Northrop Hall. The firewall may be programmed with "rules" that allow different levels of access to particular systems including our servers. Individuals with computers connected to the network who desire a level of connectivity with their internal systems should contact Jim Connolly to discuss their needs and see if they can be accommodated.
Security concerns have forced us to shut down a number of TCP/IP ports that enable LAN-type connections to our network from outside of Northrop Hall. At present the only access to EPS servers from outside the network are by the use of FTP. The FAQ Index links to documents that explain how this is done.
A summary of the hardware and software resources currently available follows. As much as possible, we will assist users with installed software packages, but we are not experts in many of the advanced capabilities of most of this software. Providing technical support for specialized software (such as ArcGIS) is beyond our local expertise. In any case, we will do all we can to make use of our computing resources productive.
Hardware and Software Resources AvailableIn the Department Computer Lab (Rooms 209A - Effective August, 2007):
Computing Systems:
Computer Projector
Scanners (each connected to a particular workstation in the computer lab):
Printers (available from any system connected to the network):
Large-Format Plotter
Software:
Organization on Windows XP Workstations (Currently as set up on EPS033 thru EPS040; EPS029 thru EPS032 include some specialized TEM software not on other systems, and software for the Epson Scanner not listed below. Some specialized software for Groundwater Modeling, Geochemical Modeling, and Remote Sensing recently installed is not included in this list):
On Macintosh Workstation:
In the Classrooms:
In Lab or in the Field:
UNIX Computing Facility (Room 207):
This page updated 17-Mar-2008. Please send comments to connolly@unm.edu.
To return to the Network FAQ and Help page, click here
To return to the Earth & Planetary Sciences Homepage click here