What’s New on the SSC Network?

Les Flodrowski

 

As usual, summers are a busy time for SSNDS, and this past one was no exception. In addition to developments mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter, there are a number of network service changes that will be of interest to faculty, staff and students.

Increased Network Quotas

H: drive quotas for faculty, staff and graduate students have doubled from 100MB to 200MB. Quotas for undergraduate students have increased from 30MB to 50MB. Although the Supplemental Storage (S: drive) service remains at 50MB, anyone may request additional S: drive storage for research and instructional purposes by contacting les@uwo.ca. Unlike the local C: drive, all H: and S: drives are backed up nightly and provide a secure location for storing files that you cannot afford to lose.

New and Updated Software

A network license for Adobe Acrobat 7.0 has been procured to let users create PDF documents. This version supersedes the Creative Suite edition, and must be installed separately. Acrobat 7.0 now works reliably on the sscnet.uwo.ca remote access servers.

Other software upgrades deployed this past summer include:

  • SPSS version 14.0
  • SAS 9.1
  • SigmaStat 3.5
  • Maple 10.04
  • Matlab 7.2
  • SigmaPlot 10.0
  • Acrobat Reader, 7.0
  • WinZip 10.0
  • WordPerfect Office
Software Upgrades

To provide a consistent environment, computers in the SSNDS instructional computing rooms and our remote access servers have been updated with the latest software. Users are encouraged to install new versions of software they use on their own computers via Add or Remove Programs. Note that the Add New Programs section contains a new entry for viewing full descriptions of installable programs. To obtain assistance with updating software on your workstation, please contact ali@uwo.ca.

New Servers

Two new servers were deployed on the network over the summer. Saturn complements our existing web server by providing the faculty with a secure web hosting service. The new service will be used to host secure web surveys and sites, and future applications requiring secure Internet connections such as e commerce and research collaboration. Axis is a new dedicated network print server which replaces the older Axis server that was used for both print and web services.

Windows Vista

Windows Vista Testing

Windows Vista, the successor to Windows XP, is slated to be available in early 2007. SSNDS is preparing for full support of Vista when it arrives and has been examining pre-releases of this new operating system. Social Science users who plan to upgrade to Vista, or purchase a new computer with Vista should note that Vista’s hardware requirements are significantly higher than that of Windows XP. For more information on Vista and PC requirements, visit microsoft.com/vista. Note that our faculty licensing program with Microsoft will allow existing PCs, meeting the minimum requirements for running Vista, to be upgraded at no additional cost.

In conjunction with the release of Vista, Microsoft will be releasing its new Office 2007 product suite. Office 2007 has a dramatically new user interface. For more information, visit office.microsoft.com.