Hardware Purchases
Linux Systems Purchase Guidelines and Support
Operating System Support
Open Source Software Support
Network Connections

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Hardware Purchases

When faculty purchase equipment -- workstations, disks, RAM, printers, etc. --- they understandably want that equipment installed as soon as it arrives, and are often frustrated when that does not happen. Faculty should realize that there are already many jobs in queue when they make their requests. In order that UCS may plan for installation of new equipment, faculty should inform UCS, by sending mail to ucssys@njit.edu, of the following, at least 4 weeks before the expected arrival of the equipment:

• detailed description of the equipment ordered
• expected arrival date of the equipment

Linux Systems Purchase Guidelines and Support

NJIT faculty planning to purchase a Linux machine should first consult with University Computing Systems (UCS), ucssys@njit.edu, to determine which machine to buy, and to ensure that that machine is Linux-compatible -- this will save all concerned unnecessary trouble.

Please note that systems purchased through CSD Academic Computing Systems may not be Linux-compatible.

The versions of Linux currently supported by UCS are:

• Red Hat Linux 8.0
• Red Hat Linux 9.0
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 (RHEL)

Most new hardware, especially systems with SATA (Serial ATA) disk drives, is supported under RHEL only. Since installation of RHEL requires that a license be purchased prior to installation, the user would be responsible for ordering and obtaining the proper license for their system. Licensing costs are typically $25 for a single CPU system and $50 for systems with two or more CPUs.

More information on RHEL licensing.

With the increasing demand for 64-bit computing platforms, many users are interested in acquiring machines with 64-bit processors. Unlike the case with the various x86 processors, binaries that run on one 64-bit processor will not run on another. For example, binaries that run on AMD Opteron (AMD64) do not run on Intel Itanium (IA64). Currently, UCS supports only the AMD64. AMD64 is the current performance leader.

American Micro Devices (AMD)

• AMD (American Micro Devices) Home
• AMD Opeteron Processor,1
• AMD Opeteron Processor,2

Purchasing an AMD Opteron system: Penguin Computing

• Penguin Computing Home
• Workstations
• Server 1U
• Server 2U

Purchasing an AMD Opteron system: Pogo Linux

• Pogo Linux Home
• Workstations
• Servers,1
• Servers,2
• Servers,3

Operating System Support

University Computing Systems (UCS) supports several Unix operating systems. UCS has resources to support only the most recent versions of these operating systems.

• Solaris
• Linux
• Tru64
• MacOS X

Notes on support for MacOS X Systems:

UCS supports faculty workstations running MacOS X. However, there are currently some important differences in MacOS X bahavior compared to other Unix operating systems supported by UCS :

• No integrated AFS login

• Due to the way MacOS X handles user logins, there is currently no integrated AFS login, such as exists for the other Unix systems managed by UCS. This means that the user logs into a local account, rather than to their AFS account, on their MacOS X workstation.

  AFS logins to MacOS X will be enabled when NJIT AFS logins are to converted to Kerberos V-based authentication, rather than the current Kerberos IV-based authentication.

• Software installations

• Certain software applications, e.g., Adobe Photoshop, cannot be installed in AFS; they must be installed locally (physically on the workstation) There may be other applications with the same

  Other applications, such as Matlab and Mathematica, can be installed in AFS, and function properly from AFS. If the user requires an application which would need to be installed locally, the user will be entirely responsible for the installation and maintenance of that software application.

Open Source Software Support

UCS strives to keep current the versions of open source software installed in AFS, for all of the Unix platforms UCS supports. If users are aware of certain software being outdated, or needed software not installed at all, they should contact ucssys@njit.edu with the particulars.

In general, obsolete versions of open source software are removed from AFS when the current version is installed. Exceptions to this rule are rare, and made only when there is an overriding reason to do so.

Network Connections

Telecommunication and Networks installs and manages all of the networks at NJIT. Some of these networks are dedicated to University Computing Systems (UCS).

• For security and performance reasons, only computers managed by UCS are allowed on UCS sub-networks. The only PCs allowed on UCS sub-networks are those running the Linux operating system
• All computers managed by UCS must be on an UCS sub-network
• Faculty who purchase new computers should check with Telecommunication and Networks to arrange for any needed network connections for those computers

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