Math Department Computing Policies and Procedures

1. Technical Support
2. Supported Operating Systems
3. Laptops
4. Linux
5. Software
6. MP3s and Digital Media

Technical Support

• We are happy to provide support for those needs which meet the qualifications of supported items on this page.
• If you have a support need please contact help@math.mit.edu.
• Requests will be filled based on importance and order received.

Supported Operating Systems

• Red Hat Enterprise 4 is currently the only supported operating system on the Math Department network for general use. All workstations in use by faculty on our network must run Red Hat Enterprise 4 with root access restricted to and managed by the System Administrators

Laptops

• At this time we are recommending people use MIT's Wireless network. Once you initially connect to their wireless network, start up a web browser so you can register for continued use. More details can be found on MIT's Wireless Page (You'll want to register using Option B - without an IP address)
• For security reasons, laptops are not able to plug into the wired network.

Linux

• If you wish to purchase a Linux workstation please consult with us before doing so and see the FAQ for more information on the procedure.

Software

• Software support is provided for software packages preinstalled by the administrators.
• We cannot provide support for software packages installed by the user that are not a necessity for every day work.
• If you have a work related need for an additonal software package, or an update, feel free to send a request to help@math.mit.edu
• For a list of Math Department supported software please visit our programs available page.

MP3s and Digital Media

We would like to ask you to be conservative in your use of audio and video files on the department network. There are three reasons:

1. Disk space is expensive. Digital media files are very large compared to documents, therefore causing us to use more disk space, causing us to have to spend more.
2. Bringing such files in from outside (or sending them on from here) uses a large fraction of the limited bandwidth that we have.
3. We back up changed files every day, and all files every two weeks. Large files slow this process down and make it more expensive.

Please note there is a 250 Megabyte limit on personal disk usage.