Office of Information Technology
Office of Information Technology
The Office of Information Technology provides campuswide academic computing, networking, and telephone services. This flier briefly describes some of these services. Web references and contact information for the resources described below are listed at the end of this document.
The Campus Network provides direct access to the Internet, e-mail, the Web, and many other resources, offering students, faculty, and staff high-speed access to people and facilities throughout the world. Tens of thousands of ports supporting communications rates up to 100 million bits per second are interconnected via optical fiber and high-speed routers and switches. Direct access to the Campus Network is available throughout campus, including public terminal clusters, academic departments and offices, Residence Computer Resource Labs, an increasing number of classrooms and, through Information Technology's ResNet program, to most residence rooms. More than a thousand telephone lines and modems provide dial-up access to the Campus Network and the Internet at speeds comparable to those available from commercial Internet service providers.
Information on how to use the dial-up service and the network is available on the Web at www.bu.edu/computing/dialup. Also see the ResNet Web site at www.bu.edu/resnet for information on ResNet locations and hardware/software requirements.
Information Technology's Network Systems group oversees the design, installation, and maintenance of the Campus Network. For information about installing a network connection in your department or office, send e-mail to nethelp@bu.edu or call Information Technology and ask to speak with someone in Network Systems.
Web browsers are used to navigate the vast collection of resources available at the University and on the Internet, including documents, images, audio, video, and animation. Boston University's Web site at www.bu.edu contains links to information provided by many Schools, Colleges, and departments; calendars and schedules of events; The Link, a Web-based interface to personal, academic, and financial information; a student, faculty, and staff directory; research tools; and many other resources.
Any College, School, or department can publish information on the Boston University Web site. In addition, students, faculty, staff, and student organizations can publish on a server dedicated to this purpose at people.bu.edu. For more information, see www.bu.edu/webcentral/publishing.
Using courseware licensed by the University, faculty can also build, conduct, and manage courses on the Web. To learn how to develop a course on the Web, see webct.bu.edu and courseinfo.bu.edu.
Information Technology's Networked Information Services group provides Web services to the entire University. For more information, see www.bu.edu/webcentral.
E-mail is a quick and convenient way to correspond with friends and colleagues on campus and throughout the world. Access to e-mail is available from any computer with a connection to the Campus Network. Faculty and staff can publish their e-mail addresses in the University telephone directory; Ph and other programs provide online directory information. Ph is available at www.bu.edu/directory.
Information Technology provides a cluster of UNIX systems that you can use as your sole computing resource or in conjunction with personal or departmental computers. Everyone at the University is eligible for an account on the UNIX cluster, called ACS (Academic Computing System).
ACS provides access to e-mail, the Web, a variety of statistical and scientific software packages used in coursework and research, programming languages, text processing software, and much more. Further information on ACS is available online at www.bu.edu/computing/acs/help.
You can use ACS from terminal clusters located at 111 Cummington Street and on the third floor of Mugar Memorial Library, or remotely via direct or dial-in connection to the Campus Network.
To open an account on ACS, point your Web browser to www.bu.edu/computing/accounts/acs. You must present your current Boston University ID at Information Technology's Input/Output Services window in the basement of 111 Cummington Street to complete your application. If you don't have access to the Web, you can submit your request at special "new" account terminals at the 111 Cummington Street site. Your account will normally be available within twelve hours.
Computing labs (RCRCs) equipped with PCs, popular application software, and printers are available in a number of residences on campus. The computers in the RCRCs are connected to the Campus Network and the Internet, enabling students to send and receive e-mail and access their ACS accounts, Student Link information, and the Boston University Libraries' online catalogs. For more information, including locations and hours of operation, see www.bu.edu/resnet/rcrc.
If you have a computing question or problem, consultants are available to help you. The Consulting Services group maintains a Help Desk in the public cluster in the basement of 111 Cummington Street, and provides several departments and Colleges with on-site consultants. Help is also available on most systems through e-mail; e.g., send questions on ACS to help@acs.bu.edu; send problems or questions on another system to help at that system.
Information Technology staff teach a comprehensive series of free, hands-on tutorials during the first weeks of each semester. Topics range from general "getting started" sessions for the novice to in-depth sessions on specific software packages. You can view a description of the tutorial program on the Web at www.bu.edu/computing/tutorials.
The Personal Computing Support Center (PCSC) is dedicated to helping you use your personal computers effectively. Staff at the PCSC can help you analyze your computing needs, whether you're considering which personal computer or application software would best fit your purposes, or planning a new personal computer laboratory for your department. Hands-on and self-paced training for a number of popular software applications, technical support, file recovery, file translation, and scanning of text and graphics are also provided. Further information is available on the PCSC Web site at www.bu.edu/pcsc.
OIT Systems Support provides operating system software, configuration assistance, and troubleshooting services for Irix, Solaris, and BU Linux. Systems Support also makes Compaq Tru64 media available, maintains Application Server software, provides matlab and mathematica media and licenses, and manages SGI's Varsity software and Compaq's CSLG educational discount programs.
Boston University's computer store, University Computers, sells computer hardware and software products, supplies, and accessories. University Computers' factory-authorized service department offers repair, upgrade, and data retrieval services. University Computers carries equipment from most major vendors and offers hundreds of software programs, most priced to reflect deep educational discounts. For more information, including a list of recommended hardware and software for each School and College, see University Computers' Web site at www.bu.edu/univcomp.
The Scientific Computing and Visualization group (SCV) provides specialized computing and communication facilities geared toward research and education in computational science and engineering, scientific visualization, computer graphics, and other disciplines that have high-performance computing requirements. Resources include a Cray/Silicon Graphics 192-processor Origin2000 and 38-processor PowerChallenge Array; a virtual reality facility; a collection of high-performance Silicon Graphics workstations distributed around campus; and a state-of-the-art 3D computer graphics laboratory. SCV is a cosponsor of MARINER (Mid-level Alliance Resource In the North East Region), a partner in the NSF-funded National Computational Science Alliance, and can facilitate access to other national supercomputing facilities.
The Computer Graphics Lab provides a variety of color graphics hardcopy services, including two kinds of color prints and overhead transparencies, 35mm slides, single-frame and real-time video recording, and simple video post-production. Minimal charges apply for these services. The Computer Graphics Lab also maintains a variety of software for creating and manipulating graphics files on UNIX platforms.
Additional information is available online at www.bu.edu/scv.
Information Technology's Scanning Services department offers faculty, instructors, and researchers a variety of scanning, test scoring, and data evaluation services. Optically scanned answer sheets are designed and processed, results calculated, and summaries of the results provided. For more information, contact our main office.
Information Technology's Office of Telecommunications provides telephone services through a digital switching system. Local switching equipment is operated by Bell Atlantic, and long-distance service is provided by AT&T College and University Systems. The Office of Telecommunications also provides voice mail services; directory service; automated attendant service, and planning, installation, and maintenance services. To learn more, see the Office of Telecommunications Web site at www.bu.edu/telecom.
Details on the many facilities and services provided by the Office of Information Technology are available on the Web at www.bu.edu/it. See the list in the next column for specific Web pages, e-mail and street addresses, and phone numbers.
Office of Information Technology
617/353-2780
Main Office
111 Cummington Street, first floor
it@bu.edu
www.bu.edu/it
Consulting Services/ACS Help Desk
617/353-2784
111 Cummington Street, Rooms B11/B12
Personal Computing Support Center
617/353-7272
111 Cummington Street, Room B19
pcsc@bu.edu
www.bu.edu/pcsc
Scientific Computing and Visualization
617/353-2780
scv@bu.edu
www.bu.edu/scv
Computer Graphics Lab
617/353-9063
111 Cummington Street, Room 203
MARINER
617/353-7800
mariner@bu.edu
mariner.bu.edu
The Office of Telecommunications
617/353-2097
771 Commonwealth Avenue
phone@bu.edu
www.bu.edu/telecom
Boston University's policies provide for equal opportunity and affirmative action in employment and admission to all programs of the University.
September, 1999