Department of Computer Science
Computer Science
IT support
Students taking 2+2 or 3+1 option
Introduction
This document is intended to introduce incoming students of Computer Science to
the computing services and support that is available.
Student Computer Facilities
The Western Gateway building is a modern IT building, with excellent facilities. This
is no exception for Computer Science students.
A typical CS Lab
Which Lab Do I use ?
Computer Science labs are generally allocated by course. As a visiting student you
may be taking a selection of courses across the degree.
As incoming 2+2 and 3+1 students, you will be primarily using the third and fourth
year CS lab.
This lab at present is G21( please see NB below). It comprises of 46 PC’s running
dual boot windows 7 and Kubuntu Linux 12.04 LTS. The lab has a dedicated printer
and state of the Art Audio Visual Services / projectors/ etc
(NB At time of going to print, this was the correct lab allocation, as per last
year. However, these lab allocations are subject to change this year – so
please check with your course co-ordinator to be sure!)
How can I find the helpdesk counter?
The Western Gateway Building is a big place, so it's easy to get snowed under trying
to find your lab and helpdesk!
-Helpdesk counter is located in 1-25 on the First Floor. Maps of the labs and rooms
are on walls in each floor, and maps are also provided at the back of this booklet.
Filer Server space
As a 2 plus 2 or 3+1 student, you are allocated a quota or fixed space on our
Departmental Server of 300mb. This is the maximum amount of space that you can
use during the year. Once this space is used, you can no longer save any more data
to your home directory, until you delete unwanted files. To avoid space filling up
rapidly, you should regularly delete unwanted files.
Printing
Most labs have a printer which is accessible from both Windows and Linux via a
network print spooler csprint.ucc.ie.
Each printer is named cs<room number>ptr i.e.
For example
csg21ptr is the printer in the g21 lab
Printing is NOT free. A charge is applied per sheet.
At the start of the year €3 free credit is granted to Erasmus students, and you are
charged at the below rates once that initial credit has been used.
Below are the current rates:
Black and white laser printing costs 5c per A4 sheet
Duplex printing is 8c per duplex sheet.
How to put credit in your account
To top-up your printing account, use the Coin receiver unit located outside the
helpdesk area in room 1-25 on the first floor. This service allows access to print
quota top-up outside helpdesk hours. The unit will accept €2, €1, 50c, 20c and 10c
coins only.
NOTE: NO change can be
given and no cash is held at
the Helpdesk counter.
To operate
– login with your WINDOWS username & password – add as many coins as you
want
– you are instantly topped up to your Print Quota.
This system also has a swipe card option. You can link your student id card to your
username once and then use that card for subsequent top-ups.
To do this, swipe your card first, then enter your WINDOWS username and password
and add money to your account if you wish. The next time you want to use the
system just swipe the card and the username it is mapped to will appear on the
screen.
If you don’t have your card, you can always just use the keyboard to enter your
username & password, OR you have the option to link your username with a
different card, just follow the same procedure, swiping new card first.
€3 credit is granted to first years, and they are charged from then on.
How do I check how much quota I’ve left?
In Windows use the tool from the Tool Bar located at bottom RHS of desktop.
(Double click the € symbol in the taskbar).
How to Print
From Windows use Internet Explorer to connect to http://csprint. Select the
appropriate printer for your current location and click Connect. This will automatically
install the selected printer for the duration of your session.
From Linux using the command line: lpr -Pprintername filename
Note: If printing ascii text and having problems with new line codes, then use this
command instead of lpr. enscript -Pprintername filename
From applications the print dialogs will vary, in some cases a text field is provided for
you to type in the command as used in command line method. Other applications
may provide a popup menu of available printers within the page setup dialog.
Printer Problems?
Please email [email protected] with a description of your problem, and the printer
name/lab that you are in (printer jammed, printer not working, paper tray empty etc)
Helpdesk
The Computer Science IT Support staff maintain a helpdesk in order to assist
students with their IT account etc problems
The helpdesk operates mainly on an email basis ([email protected]) and all emails
sent to this address are logged to a Helpdesk system.
Calls will be dealt with between 9:15am – 5:00pm although emails can be sent at
any time.
To log a call
Email [email protected] ; put an informative subject line in the email (i.e. unable to
login / etc, give the full detail of your problems, and your user name. We will respond
as quickly as possible.
What we support
Account problems: logging in problems, email problems, problems with accessing
resources
General account and IT service problems (i.e. website, applications etc)
What we don’t support:
Programming consultation, error debugging – these queries should be directed to
your lecturer/ demonstrator.
General enquiries not relating to IT queries – should be directed to the CS
Departmental Office
Frequently Asked questions:
This is by far the quickest and easiest way to find an answer to a problem
(www.cs.ucc.ie/helpdesk) shows frequently asked questions by students, with
answers, and is up to date and informative.
If I can't log in to my account how can I send an email to [email protected]?!
If you are unable to login, you can use a special lab account to log a call from any
lab in Windows only.
This restricted account only permits a user to run Internet Explorer browser with
Squirrelmail so that they can send an email to help-desk ([email protected])
Log in to windows as:
User name = help
Password = helpdesk
This account also permits access to the FAQ web pages of Computer Science
Department.
http://www.cs.ucc.ie/helpdesk
Failing that, if you call to the helpdesk in room 1-25, there is a self-service facility.
You can use the form on the self-service PC to log a request for help. Enter your own
umail address so we can reply to you (!) and enter as much detail as possible so we
can help you.
Helpdesk Counter
What services do we provide at the counter?
Services which necessitate a person to come and meet face to face with CS IT
support person
For example: forgotten password – you need to call to the helpdesk with your
student ID card in order to prove your identity etc
Collecting your account for the first time
Where a query is especially difficult, and has not been solved using the
[email protected] email route
When is it open?
Monday – Thursday 11:00am – 12:30pm and 2:30pm – 4:00pm
Friday 11:00am – 12:30pm during Term Time
These are guideline opening hours only. Because of the nature of systems
administration work, staff may be called to fix problems in labs, or other duties. If the
counter is unattended, a self-service workstation will be available to log your call.
Again, the quickest and most consistent way to log a helpdesk call is via email
to [email protected]
Frequently asked questions on Windows/Linux, Accounts, or anything to do
with helpdesk
http:://www.cs.ucc.ie/helpdesk
Lab Rules
In order to keep the Computer Facilities to a high standard and to be available to all,
there are certain rules that must be enforced.
NOTE All labs in the Western Gateway Building are monitored by CCTV.
Offenses which will result in user account being disabled include:
1. Consuming food and drink in the lab. In the Western Gateway Building, there
are plenty of breakout areas, and alternative areas to eat in.
There is absolutely NO eating OR drinking permitted in any computer lab. This
aspect will be policed and enforced by Facilities Management, and will not be
tolerated.
2. Excessive noise, which is disruptive to students trying to study.
3. Games which generate excessive network traffic or otherwise cause disruption to
services or other users.
4. Not having valid student ID card.
5. Sharing swipe card or account details.
6. Connecting unauthorized equipment, particularly laptops to the college wired
network.
7. Not abiding by the Acceptable Usage Policy of UCC ( PLEASE READ)
see http://www.ucc.ie/aup
Actions to be taken following breach of Rules:
The account will remain disabled until the user calls to the help-desk to discuss why
their account was disabled. There will be a minimum suspend period, varying in line
with the seriousness of the offense.
Backups
Backups are kept of home directories, and are outlined in
http://www.cs.ucc.ie/helpdesk
If you accidentally delete or lose data in your home directory (Z: drive in windows,
or /users/2016/<username> in linux, please notify [email protected] immediately letting
us know the name of the file, the location (directory) it was in, and when (date/time)
you deleted. The quicker you let us know, the better chance you have of retrieving
data
Applications/Webserver etc
More information on the above will be given to you by your lecturer. You can also
look up additional information on http://www.cs.ucc.ie/helpdesk