Computing facilities, accounts, and fees

Facilities:

Computing facilities available to students in the department are among the best in the nation. These facilities consist of general-purpose instructional computers and specialized research laboratories. The Department offers several operating system platforms to work from. The Windows platform running on Dell servers are accessed via thin-client terminals; these are used in introductory CSE courses. Thin-client terminals attached to Sun servers run the UNIX platform Sun Solaris for the intermediate and advanced courses. The advanced computer graphics courses use a variety of operating systems that includes SGI's Irix. The department also has access to other University computing resources such as large IBM mainframes and Cray supercomputers.

Computer Accounts:

You will be assigned a permanent computer account the quarter you become a major. This acount will not be removed at the end of each quarter. It will remain active until you graduate or leave the department. Questions regarding the current status of your account should be directed to the IICF operators in Dreese Lab 894.

Computing Fee:

All ENG majors are required to pay a computing fee, which is currently $135 per quarter for full-time students and is prorated for students attending less than full-time (the fee is based on all courses, not just CSE courses). ASC majors also pay a computing fee of $72 per quarter according to the same quidelines as the ENG computing fee.

Some questions and answers:

A. When will I recieve my permanent account?

Permanent accounts for new majors are created once per quarter. A master list of students who are enrolled as majors in the department is received from the University Registrar during the fourth week of the quarter. At the end of the fourth week of the quarter your class account will be updated to reflect your current status. You should expect that your name will appear on the Registrar's list the quarter AFTER you apply to major.

B. I am a major and do not have an account, what should I do?

CSE accounts are created once a student erolls in a CSE course that requires computer access. If you have been accepted as a major AND you are not currently enrolled in a CSE course that requires computer access, then an account is NOT created for you until you do so. If you would like a permanent account before that time, please go to the System Operations Center (SOC Lab), Dreese 894.

C. When will my quota increase?

When you receive a permanent account your default quota will be increased based upon the major to which you have been accepted. Please note: If you switch majors within the department, your quota and account status will be adjusted to reflect the change.

D. How do I check my account status?

Use the "groups" command to check your account status. Type "groups" at a command prompt, this will list all groups of which you are currently a member. The group "CSEugENG" or "CISugASC" should be among the groups listed once your account has been converted to permanent status.

E. How can I keep my files between quarters until I receive a permanent account?

All non-permanent accounts are purged from the system between quarters. For the convenience of those users who desire to archive data, tape drives which write to 8mm data tapes are located in the SOC lab, DL 894. Restores will not be performed for a previous quarter's work except in the case of an incomplete class or grade discrepancy. If you would like assistance in saving files to tape please stop by the SOC lab, Dreese 894.

F. What should I do if my account has not been updated to major status by the 5th week?

Please use the `help' system; send mail to help@cse. The system staff will help resolve your problem. Or, please stop by the SOC Lab, Dreese 894 and an operator will be glad to assist you.