IT Handbook

IntroductionHowdy!

The IT Staff is here to support IT operations and customers within the College of Geosciences.

The IT Staff can help you with a range issues such as:

The inability to log-on or connect with College resources Making decisions about computing equipment purchases Connecting to the TAMU email system Connecting to the TAMU network

……....to name just a few.

Contacting IT Help DeskThe IT Staff accepts, assigns and tracks Service Requests through the Geosciences IT Help Desk. You can contact the Geosciences IT Help Desk and initiate a service request ticket by:

Email to help@geos.tamu.edu Using the Web Help Desk website https://geoswhd.tamu.edu Call to 979-845-1100 (suggested for in-class issues that require immediate attention) Visit to either

o Room 802B O&M Buildingo Room 357F Halbouty Building

The IT staff observes the standard office hours of 8am – 5pm, Monday through Friday.

Please note that there may be times when the IT offices listed above are unoccupied as the staff is away from the office helping customers.

We cannot recommend strongly enough using the Web Help Desk to make IT service requests. Requests made in passing, in the elevator, or hallways cannot be assured to make their way in to the service request tracking system and so are easily forgotten. A request that is not in the system cannot be tracked and has no guarantee of being serviced.

Incoming service requests are evaluated and assigned to the staff member deemed to be the most capable of handling the request and available. If the staff member that is assigned cannot service the request, it will be escalated to a staff member that can.

Using the Geosciences Web Help DeskThe system that IT uses to handle service requests is the Geosciences Web Help Desk. With Web Help Desk you can initiate, review or respond to a service request ticket through a web interface. Use of the web interface is not required. Most customers find that initiating and responding to tickets by email is the best method. The URL for Web Help Desk is https://geoswhd.tamu.edu.

Logins to the Web Help Desk are made using College of Geosciences’ credentials (username and password). These credentials are issued and managed by the IT staff on the behalf of the college (GEONET) or the departments. If you have problems logging in to the Web Help Desk, please send an email to help@geos.tamu.edu and a staff member will contact you to correct the problem.

A list of Help Request Types can be found at the bottom of this document.

Help Request PrioritizationIn general, help requests are prioritized in the following order:

In-class classroom technology outages Computing Infrastructure outages Student computing lab availability Student accounts Faculty and Staff accounts Faculty and Staff desktop availability Updates and patches (infrastructure, student, faculty and staff desktop computing) Research computing issues

IT Services

IT offers a range of services which include support for classes and classrooms, Distance Education, Desktop Computing, Network Operations, Information Resource Security Assessments, Infrastructure Servers and the Data Center.

Classes and Classroom SupportThe IT staff supports a number of class and classroom services on behalf of the departments. There is also a set of classrooms in the College’s buildings which are controlled by the Registrar’s Office. This latter set of rooms is provisioned, supported and maintained by the Instructional Media Services (http://ims.tamu.edu). For the O&M and Halbouty buildings, IMS classrooms are serviced by the Blocker Media Center (blmc@exchange.tamu.edu)

Classroom Technology Support – The IT staff support of classroom technology, like projectors, podium computers and monitors, speakers, microphones, and video cameras in the college and department controlled classrooms.

In the event of an outage of classroom technology during class hours, you should immediately contact the IT Help Desk at 979-845-1100. The IT staff will work to remedy the issue or provide a temporary solution so that class may continue.

The IT staff works with department administrators to plan the replacement of classroom technology. Replacements and upgrades are normally conducted during the breaks between semesters and the summer months.

Student Accounts, Home Directories – Course-specific computer accounts are granted for students to use for the duration of their enrollment in the class. The amount of home directory and account profile storage provided to an individual student is limited, so attention should be payed to the amount of data a student is asked to store for a class. Read-only class shared volumes should be employed to reduce student storage and file redundancy.

Class Shared Volumes – Read-only shared volumes for course resources are provided on college or department storage. Students enrolled in a specific course are given read-only access to the class shared volume for the duration of the class.

Lab Computer Hardware- Departments purchase shared lab computer hardware consistent with the requirements of their courses. Lab computer hardware is refreshed periodically.

Accurate forecasting of hardware requirements is essential to satisfactory lab performance. Lab assignments may need to be adjusted to compensate for case of insufficient computer performance. Proper planning, preparation and testing of tasks and assignments prior to the start of classes will help insure a satisfactory student experience. The IT staff begins planning of hardware refreshes in the spring semester to accomplish a deployment for the following fall semester and provides a timeline for the tasks needed to be complete for a successful refresh.

Lab Computer Software – Like lab computing hardware, lab software and licensing is purchased by the department offering the course for which it is needed. Software licensing, maintenance and support represent large recurring expenses to the department. Planning software additions and upgrades begins in the spring for fall deployment. The upgrade of a software package can have a large impact to the operation of many classes, so upgrade coordination is needed at the department level.

Lab software is generally paid for from student course fees and so use of software for non-class activity represents a misuse of student funds. The IT staff will work with departments and individuals to try to accommodate the purchase of individual or add-on licenses.

Software – Because software packages, versions and lab computer images are frequently updated and changing, you are requested to submit a ticket to the Geosciences IT Helpdesk if you have questions about the currently installed software for a given department and lab.

License Service - The IT staff operates a number of shared license servers. Some software licenses are served by TAMU-Division of IT.

Classroom Video Conferencing – Texas A&M University provides access to the Cisco WebEx Video Conferencing system and Blackboard Collaborate. A few rooms in the College are equipped to use the TTVN system. The IT staff supports only WebEx, Blackboard Collaborate and TTVN (ttvn.tamus.edu) for class video conferencing. Other video conferencing systems (such as Skype) should be considered as NOT being supported. It should be noted that TTVN requires special equipment at the originating and ALL remote sites.

Requests for assistance with WebEx, Blackboard Collaborate and TTVN should be made through the Geosciences IT HelpDesk a minimum of one (1) week in advance of the date the conference is needed. It is strongly suggested that conference organizers contact their remote participants well in advance so that those remote participants can test their configurations and connections. The conference organizer is responsible for moderating or providing a moderator for their conference if moderation is needed.

TTVN Conferences must be coordinated with remote sites and system use must be reserved through the TTVN website. TTVN reservations are the responsibility of the conference organizer.

The key to a successful video conference is prior planning and testing.

Distance Education

CANVAS Learning Management System – Distance education is delivered through a web-based learning management system called CANVAS. Information about the capabilities and use of CANVAS should be requested from the Director of Distance Education of the college.

Virtual Computing Resources – Distance Education utilizes advances in virtual computing to provide each student in the program with a Virtual Desktop Instance on which the student can run the program’s required software. The IT staff manages these instances from provisioning through decommissioning.

Software – A list of the software installed on the virtual desktop instances, as of the time of this writing, can be found at the bottom of this document.

Desktop ComputingStudents – Desktop computers are provided by the departments and faculty to students on an ‘as available’ basis. There is no entitlement to or guarantee of a desktop computer for students. The IT staff configures student desktop computers based on pre-defined image. Additional software must be purchased by the department and comply with the relevant software licensing agreements. The IT staff will not install or support software purchased with non-state funds.

Staff – Desktop computers for staff are generally provided through the department which the staff member is associated. Additional software must be purchased by the department and comply with the relevant software licensing agreements. The IT staff will not install or support software purchased with non-state funds.

Faculty – The purchase of Faculty desktop computers are the responsibility of the faculty member or their department. Faculty desktop computers will be supported to the extent that the configuration of those computers is aligned with IT-supplied computer images. Additional software must be purchased by the department and comply with the relevant software licensing agreements. The IT staff will not install or support software purchased with non-state funds.

Administrative Access - Administration of desktop computers is the responsibility of the IT staff, unless otherwise assigned. If an individual is granted administrative rights they become responsible for compliance with all security controls and state, university and college computing policies. Administrative access must be made using the Administrative Access form and is subject to the approval of the resource owner. Failure to comply with the security controls, university and computing policies may result is removal of access.

Video Conferencing – Texas A&M University provide access to the Cisco WebEx Video Conferencing system. As such, the IT staff supports WebEx. Other desktop video conferencing systems (such as, Skype) should be considered as NOT being supported.

Requests for assistance with WebEx should be made through the Geosciences IT HelpDesk a minimum of one (1) week in advance of the date the conference is needed. It is strongly suggested that conference organizers contact their remote participants well in advance so that those remote participants can test their configurations and connections. The conference organizer is responsible for moderating or providing a moderator for their conference if moderation is needed.

The key to a successful video conference is prior planning and testing.

Information Resource Security Assessments – Annual assessment of the College’s compliance with the TAMU information security control catalog (http://cio.tamu.edu/policy/it-policy/controls-catalog/) is performed by the IT staff. This assessment is mandated by the state through Texas Administrative Code Chapter 202 (TAC 202). Persons with Administrative Access are required to implement, maintain and annually assess the controls described in the catalog.

The IT staff has resources to help new and existing resource owners implement the required controls.

Research Computing Support – Support for research computing may be provided on a technician ‘time available’ basis and is the lowest priority support category for the IT staff.

Network OperationsThe network is owned, operated and secured by TAMU-Division of IT. The College of Geosciences IT staff manages the assignment and naming of the addresses which TAMU-DIVISION OF IT has granted access. The college IT staff manages an address space of approximately 4,000 addresses spread between four locations.

Network SecurityThe general health and security of the TAMU networks are the responsibility of the TAMU Network Operations Center (NOC). The TAMU NOC watches for traffic anomalies which may indicate a network attach or compromised system. They also conduct scans of connected computer for vulnerabilities, perform forensics on compromised systems and manage the TAMU firewall.

Networked device vulnerability scans and firewall changes must be requested through the college IT staff. The procedure for requesting these services can be found below.

Network Security IncidentsA security incident is an event that results in unauthorized access, loss, disclosure, modification, disruption or destruction of information resources, whether accidental or deliberate. In the case of a security incident detected by the TAMU NOC within the college’s address space, they will contact the IT staff. The IT staff will then contact the owner of the affected system. If a compromise is first detected by someone in the college, interactions with the TAMU NOC should be initiated through the college IT Staff. In the case of an ongoing event emergency please call TAMU Help Desk Central at 979.845.8300 and ask them to page the on-call person from the Security Team.

Further information about Security Services can be found at: http://it.tamu.edu/Help_and_Consulting/Help_Resources/Report_IT_Security_Incident/index.php.

Wired NetworkingThe wired network in the college of geosciences consists of 100 Megabit (Mb), 1 Gigabit (GB) and 10 GB network connections. 10GB connections are not available to the desktop and are reserved to the data center. The O&M and Halbouty buildings are connected to the 10GB campus fiber optic ring.

Connecting to the wired network requires an active network port and an address. Only state-owned computing devices can be connected to the wired network. Request for network port installation/activation must be made by an IT staff member. Please have an account number available for the charges at the time of request.

Wired network connections are installed by TAMU-DIVISION OF IT Network personnel and paid for by the department or individual making the request. The charge for installation is based on a time and materials basis which published in the current TAMU-DIVISION OF IT General Computing Rates http://it.tamu.edu/Help_and_Consulting/Help_Resources/IT_Billing_Department/General_Computing_Rates.php

When the installation is complete, the IT staff will assign an IP address or provide a DHCP filter to allow your device access to the network. DNS name changes can also be requested at this time as described below.

Wireless NetworkingTAMU-DIVISION OF IT operates a wireless network called TAMULink which is located in classrooms, offices, libraries, eateries and other locations. TAMULink uses WPA Enterprise, a security technology that protects information using a mobile device's built-in system features. WPA authentication requires the use of NetID credentials.

Wireless network connections are dynamically assigned and so are not available for naming. Instructions for connecting to the TAMULink Wireless Network can be found at: http://it.tamu.edu/Network_and_Internet_Access/Wireless_Connections/TAMULink_Wireless

TAMU-DIVISION OF IT provides temporary guest connection credentials to the TAMULink Wireless Network. Request for guest credentials should be made at least 48 hours in advance of need and can be made through a request web page linked to: http://it.tamu.edu/Network_and_Internet_Access/Wireless_Connections/Texas_A_M_Guest_Wireless

TAMU-Visitor is a self-service wireless network available to visitors. It is now widely available on campus. This connection is open and unsecured (unencrypted) and any information transmitted on this network should be treated as public.

Requesting DNS Name Changes Several subnet names are employed by the IT staff to logically manage that address space. The public subnet names in use are:

geog.tamu.edu geology.tamu.edu geonet.tamu.edu geoservices.tamu.edu gerg.tamu.edu met.tamu.edu seagrant.tamu.edu

Subnet level name requests and name changes are made through request to the college IT staff through the Web Help Desk system.

The College also uses many root level (tamu.edu) names. Root level names and name changes now must be approved through a process with TAMU Marketing and Communications. The new root level names are being reserved for public facing services and web sites and must adhere to the TAMU Brand Guides. The IT staff can assist with root level name requests.

Requesting Firewall ChangesTAMU Firewall changes (port opening or closings) must be requested by the IT staff. The service for which a port opening request is made must be active at the time of the request. Services must be running on standard ports. When making such a request through the Web Help Desk, please provide the IP address, port number(s) and a brief description of the service.

TAMU-Division of IT will review the request, scan the IP address for vulnerabilities and verify that the requested service is running on the port before choosing to approve the port opening or not. Non-standard requests may require further justification and review.

Requests for new firewall openings can require several days to complete and require extensive port security scans. You can help reduce the amount of time that this process takes by making sure the server for which the request is being considered is patched and its applications are up to date.

Requesting a Device ScanDevice vulnerability scans may be requested of the IT staff by the owner of a device through the Web Help Desk. When the scan results are returned, the IT staff will provide them to the requestor. When requesting a scan, please provide the IP address or DNS name of the machine.

Requesting SSL CertificatesTexas A&M University has subscribed to the InCommon Certificate Service. The InCommon Certificate Service, created by and for the higher education community, provides unlimited server and client certificates at one low fee to the institution. Comodo, a leading commercial provider of certificates, is the certificate authority for the InCommon Certificate Service. More information about the TAMU Certificate System can be found at: https://cert.tamu.edu/

Requests for certificates must be initiated through the Web Help Desk system and will be handled by the IT staff.exexitexit

TAMU-Division of IT is currently providing certificate services at no cost.

Infrastructure ServersThe College operates numerous infrastructure services for the College such as authentication, home directory and shared storage, DHCP, network address management and infrastructure backup through servers in the O&M Data Center.

Routine Server Maintenance is scheduled for the first Friday of each month starting at 6pm and closing at 12am. During this window it should be assumed that any service provided by or through the College may be unavailable. Reminders of these routine server maintenance windows are sent out periodically beginning a week before the maintenance window. If the maintenance window needs to be extended, notification of such will be sent as will a close of maintenance notification.

Data Centers

West Campus Data Center (WCDC)Texas A&M University has invested a significant amount of resources into the creation of a Leeds Silver Standard data center which is located on West Campus on Agronomy Road. From its beginning the West Campus Data Center has been planned to be dependable, flexible and secure. The West Campus Data Center is expected to open in late November/early December 2017.

Migration of servers from the O&M Data Center to the WCDC is expected to begin as soon as the WCDC is certified for occupancy.

Current project progress for the WCDC can be found at http://cio.tamu.edu/initiatives/current-projects/West_Campus_Data_Center.php

Questions about establishing residency in the WCDC should be submitted via the Geosciences IT Helpdesk for answer or referral.

O&M Data CenterThe College of Geosciences has established a data center in Room B04 of the O&M building for the use of the college and its faculty and researchers. This facility provides battery backed, 208V 3-phase UPS power, building independent air conditioning and physical security measures.

Physical access to the Data Center is restricted. Application for physical access to the Data Center can be initiated through a request using the Web Help Desk system.

Rack space is allocated on a departmental basis. Equipment placement is dependent on a number of factors including but not limited to power, networking and space availability. Planning for needed space prior to equipment acquisition is key to a successful deployment. Further information about available departmental space will be addressed via request through the Web Help Desk system.

Periodic infrastructure maintenance for the Data Center is provided through original equipment manufacturers. Maintenance is performed in a manner to minimize service disruptions. IT staff monitor the environment during periods when automatic monitoring is suspended. When a maintenance event is scheduled, notification will be sent to equipment owners and custodians. Periodic reminders are also sent before the date the maintenance is to occur.

Access to the Data Center identity card controlled. Requests for access are made using the Data Center Access Request form and require the approval of the associated resource owner and the Data Center Manager or IT Manager.

Other Services

Print Services – The IT staff operates print resources on behalf of the departments which are responsible for the print consumables such as paper and toner or ink. Print usage may be metered to throttle by request of the resource owner.

Printer supplies –The paper and toner in printers are considered user-replaceable items. Paper and toner for departmental printers is generally available in the owning department’s business office. When a printer is low on paper, please take the responsibility to fill the paper tray from supplies available nearby or retrieve supplies from the owning Department’s stores. Likewise when you see that a printer is low on toner seek a replacement toner cartridge and put it near the printer so that when the toner is exhausted there is replenishment on hand.

Plotter supplies – When a plotter is low on ink or media, please contact the Geosciences IT help desk for assistance. Replacing wide, roll media can be a tricky operation and the IT staff will be happy to help. The IT staff also stocks the plotter ink.

Large Format (Poster) Printing Tips – Large format printer ink and media are expensive. Plan, prepare and produce your large format print well in advance of needing to display it. (Two

weeks prior to a conference is not too far in advance.) Design your poster based on the final printing dimensions. For example, if your poster must be

36” x 24” design it at that size. Attempting to scale the size of the poster after you have placed all the elements generally yields unsatisfactory results.

The IT staff can assist with large format printing given sufficient lead times. (Note two week comment above.) This does not mean that they will sacrifice their nights and weekends because you weren’t prepared. If you and 40 of your colleagues are going to AGU or AAPG and you all try to print posters at the same time, some of you will go empty handed or have to seek 2rd party printing solutions (see the last bullet on this topic).

Be warned: ALL large format printer problems happen at the very last minute, usually 3 hours before the user must board an international flight.

Proof your document, electronically and visually, prior to printing. Misspelled words, bad grammar and incorrect equations are the same regardless of the size they are printed.

Make sure the document size will fit on the available printing media. Excess media can usually be trimmed from the borders of a large format print with a long straight edge and razor knife.

Let the printer do the automatic rotation and orientation, forcing the setting elsewhere tends to cause problems.

Preferred document formats:o PDF (properly formatted)o Lossless image formats (TIFF, BMP, JPEG at 100% quality)o Postscript

Avoid PowerPoint as an image source. PowerPoint files do not reproduce in print well. Print jobs can be easily cancelled from the printer or from the sending computer Final output colors may vary from what is shown on the screen, i.e. "The printer must be out of

ink or the color is broken because my TAMU logo came out purple!" Do some research on RGB vs. CMYK to correct the problem before printing out a full large format document. "You can hardly see the lines on my plots! There must be something wrong!"

Kinkos and other print shops have large format print capabilities. Those who wait pay the price. As of this writing Kinkos charges about $6/sq. ft. for large format prints; that is about $75 for a 36” x 48” print.

Hardware Lifecycle Planning – No piece of computing hardware lasts forever. How many 3.5” diskettes do you have with retrievable data on them?

The design lifetime of most workstations and servers is six (6) years. The design lifetime of most desktop and laptop computers is four (4) to five (5) years. Computing hardware which is run longer than its design lifetime is more likely to develop problems which could put you at risk for working continuity and data loss. Older computers are also slower, less powerful and less efficient than newer ones. Proper hardware lifecycle planning helps you identify equipment which is nearing its design end of life and prepare for a smooth transition to newer hardware; decreasing the risk of data loss or the need for expensive data recovery services.

The IT Staff can work with you to identify and plan the replacement of your computing hardware in a systematic manner. Please contact the Geosciences IT Helpdesk for help with your hardware lifecycle plans.

Acquisition Consulting – The IT staff can help individuals and departments specify system requirements, identify vendors and obtain quotes for software and computing hardware.

Purchasing – The IT staff will assist with the purchasing process for computing hardware, software, peripherals and services. Follow the established purchasing procedures of the State, University and College is important to insure that State assets are documented and controlled. The Texas Department of Information Resources (TX-DIR) negotiates contracts which secure discounts on information resources goods and services on behalf of the state and we are obligated by law to use those vendors. It is the purchasing party’s responsibility to be sure that they are following the law.

Removing Equipment from Campus – In order to remove TAMUS-owned equipment from a FDP-410 Loan of Texas A&M University Property form (https://fmo.tamu.edu/media/66166/fdp410.pdf) must be complete and approved by the Department Head/Director/ Departmental Property Contact

TAMU-Division of IT Services Liaison – The IT staff works with Business Relationship Managers (BRM) of the TAMU-Division of IT to assist with obtaining shared services. Examples of services are

Microcomputer RepairNetwork Installations and TroubleshootingSoftware Orders (offered through the Software Center)LaserficheTAMU DatacentersThe Aggie Cloud (coming 2018)

Questions about TAMU-Division of IT services sent to the Geosciences IT Helpdesk can be forwarded to our BRM representative.

What We Don’t Support – While the IT staff provides many services to the College, there are some that we do not. Below is a partial list of services that we do not provide, however, we do have contacts with 3rd party solution providers for many of these services.

Programming and program optimization Custom classroom technology builds, A/V solutions and installations High performance and cluster computing design and building Most computing hardware repairs Printer maintenance and repair Telephone requests and repairs – this is the responsibility of TAMU Telecommunications and

Frontier Communications (which acquired the lines from Verizon.) Research Assistance – The IT staff does not assist with conducting of research.

We simply don’t have the manpower or, in some cases, the expertise, to efficiently provide such services – we refer it to experts.

Non-State Owned Equipment – The IT staff will not troubleshoot, repair or otherwise support your personally owned computing devices. The IT staff may assist, as time allows, with the connection of personal devices to the TAMULink Wireless network and TAMU email systems. TAMU Help Desk

Central is also available to assist you with configuring your personal device to connect to University-provided resources (network, email, etc.).

Access Request and Other FormsRequesting a User Account – Access to the computing resources of the College is controlled through user accounts. Account requests are made by completing the User Account Agreement (ITF-001-03) which must then receive the approval of the resource owner or the resource owner’s delegate. Acceptable use and account details are available on the form.

Non-Disclosure Agreement – Access to College Information Resources by third (non-University) parties may reveal Confidential Information unknown to the general public, therefore the third party is required to have on files a signed and approved Non-Disclosure Agreement form (ITF-003-02) prior to being granted access.

Requesting Administrative Access – In certain circumstances a non-Administrative user may request and may be granted administrative-level access to certain information resources for the purposes which include but are not limited to, installing and removing software; configuring operating system and application files; accessing data; provisioning and maintaining user accounts; conducting system and data file backups; and ensuring optimum system security. To secure administrative access, the System Administration Acknowledgement form (ITF-004-02) must be completed and approved prior to being granted access. Administrative Access requires the acceptance of additional responsibilities including, but not limited to safeguarding protected data and completing annual IT Risk Assessments

Requesting Datacenter Access – Access to the Data Center environment increases the risk to the equipment, data, and services housed therein. Consequently, access to the data center is tightly controlled and subject to specified rules of behavior. Requests for data center access require acceptance of the conditions of access and the completion and approval of the Data Center Access Agreement (ITF-007-01) prior to being granted unaccompanied access.

IT Help Request Types:

Academic VMso Start/Restart

Anti-Viruso Detectiono Installationo Missing Updateso Service

Datacenter o Infrastructureo Networko VM

Data Serviceso Alerto Change

Distance Education o Canvaso File Shareo Taskso User Administration

Create Disable Enable Modify

o Virtualization AWS Virtual Desktop Virtual Server

o VPN Documentation Email/Outlook

o Access Issueso Suspicious

Facilities File/Folder

o Accesso Creationo Removal

Hardware o Desktopo Instructionalo Lab

IT General/Other Networking

o Access/VPNo Desktop - Wiredo DHCP o Wireless

Personnel Changes Printing Research

o College ITo Faculty

Security o Intrusiono Malware

Software o Accesso Installo Licenseo Removeo Update/Upgrade

User Administration o Access Problemo Account Creation/Modificationo Account Disableo Password Reset

Video Conference

Distance Education Virtual Desktop Major Package Software List

(as of 12/5/2017) This list is subject to change without notice. Please contact Distance Education IT Support (online-support@geos.tamu.edu) for the most recent list and more detail.

Name Version PublisherGeographic Calculator 2017 64 Bit 2016.1.7.3434 Blue Marble GeographicsGlobalMapper 18 (64-bit) 18.10.0000 Blue Marble GeographicsLand Change Modeller for ArcGIS Extension 2.0 Clark Labs

paint.net 4.0.17 dotPDN LLCArcGIS Earth 1.5.1704 ESRIArcGIS Pro 2.0.8933 ESRIENVI 5.4.1 5.4.1.0 ExelisIDL 8.6.1 8.6.1.0 ExelisVSModules 2.0.0.0 ExelisMicrosoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2015 Update 3 CTP1 Office Integration (x64)

14.98.25331 Microsoft

Active Directory Authentication Library for SQL Server 13.0.1601.5 Microsoft

IIS 10.0 Express 10.0.1736 MicrosoftMicrosoft Office Shared 64-bit MUI (English) 2016 16.0.4266.1001 Microsoft

Microsoft Office Shared 64-bit Setup Metadata MUI (English) 2016 16.0.4266.1001 Microsoft

Microsoft Silverlight 5.1.50907.0 MicrosoftMicrosoft SQL Server 2012 Command Line Utilities 11.0.2100.60 Microsoft

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Native Client 11.1.3000.0 MicrosoftMicrosoft SQL Server 2014 Management Objects (x64) 12.0.2000.8 Microsoft

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Transact-SQL ScriptDom 12.0.2000.8 Microsoft

Microsoft SQL Server 2016 LocalDB 13.0.1601.5 MicrosoftMicrosoft SQL Server 2016 Management Objects (x64) 13.0.1601.5 Microsoft

Microsoft SQL Server 2016 T-SQL ScriptDom 13.0.1601.5 Microsoft

Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Performance Collection Tools – ENU 14.0.23107 Microsoft

Name Version PublisherMicrosoft Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 Diagnostic Tools - amd64 14.0.25431 Microsoft

Microsoft Web Deploy 3.6 3.1238.1962 MicrosoftVisual C++ IDE x64 Package 14.0.25420 MicrosoftVisual Studio 2015 Prerequisites 14.0.23107 Microsoft

Novell ZENworks Remote Management 17.0.0.1212 Novell, Inc.QGIS 2.18.8 Las Palmas 2.18.17 QGIS Development TeamFME Desktop 2017.0.1.1 (Build 17291 - win64) 7.26.17291 Safe Software Inc.

IIS Express Application Compatibility Database for x64    

General Annual IT TimelineBelow is a general calendar for major IT actions such as software and hardware replacement and licensing renewals. Adhering to this calendar over the course of a calendar year helps to insure that actions are complete when they need to be complete.

Jan 2 – Prepare lab computers for Spring classes; installing software, creating Spring semester user accounts, setting user access permissions. Remove Fall semester student accounts and storage allocations as necessary

Jan 16 – First day of Spring Semester

March 15 (Spring Break) – Begin seeking input into software changes and hardware replacements in computer labs for the Fall Semester

April 1 – Review software requests for conflicts, security risks, licensing issues. New hardware specs ready

April 10 – Department approves final software list, funding.

April 15 – Start software purchasing process. Department approves and fund new hardware purchases. Provisioning student accounts for summer courses begins.

April 22 – Hardware purchasing placed with vendor; summer semester starts

May 1 – Gather FTE counts for Microsoft Annual Department Agreement (MADA), confirms any changes to the MADA software request, verify server license counts under MADA.

May 5 – Submit MADA request to TAMU Division of IT – SELL.

May 11 (Friday) – May server maintenance window – delayed to prevent conflict with Spring Semester end of classes and finals

May 25 – New base software images ready

August 1 – New hardware arrives, inventoried

August 8 – Final images tested and made ready for deployment

August 15 – New computing lab hardware deployment, old hardware removal, new software image deployment. Begin provisioning of student accounts for Fall course. Lab computer software images for the upcoming academic year are set – any software changes beyond this point require special approvals and planning.

September 1 – Fall classes start

October 1 – TAMU Division of IT Software Services License renewals begin. (MatLab, ArcGIS, etc.) MADA bills are invoiced by TAMU Division of IT.

December 16 (3rd Friday of December) – December server maintenance window – delayed to prevent conflict with Fall Semester end of classes and finals

December 22 (week after grades) – Student Account Disable and Storage Grooming, Start Spring Semester account provisioning (as course rosters are available)