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Welcome to the College of Engineering!

The following information addresses some key aspects of using the computing facilities in the College of Engineering. Please read this page carefully and bookmark it for future reference. The following topics are covered below:

1. General Information
2. Help!!
3. Quotas
4. "How many e-mail addresses do I have at CSU?"
5. "Where are the labs?"
6. Electronic Classrooms and GIS Computer Classroom
7. Lockheed Martin Design Studio
8. Employment with ENS
9. Connecting to Engineering from off-campus
10. Borrowing items from ENS
11. Card Readers
12. ENS Lab Policies
13. Violation of the Policies
14. Network File Structure
15. Requesting software for the labs
16. Purchasing computers
17. Standard e-mail software
18. "I'm unhappy"

General Information

Engineering Network Services (ENS) is responsible for computing in the College of Engineering. The ENS web site (go to ENS home) is the best place to look for information on computing in the college. Another good place to start is the ENS help desk in Glover 211.

Help!!

If you cannot find the answer to your questions on this web site, requests for help can be sent electronically to help@engr.colostate.edu or by using the web-based form to contact an ENS employee.

Student Consultants are available at the ENS Help Desk (Glover 211) and the Lockheed Martin Design Studio to provide assistance. These desks are staffed Monday through Firday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as limited weekend hours in the Lockheed Martin Design Studio.

Quotas

Every student is assigned both a file space quota and a print quota. Engineering majors (graduate and undergraduate) receive 3GB of file space and 1200 printing credits. All other students receive 100MB of file space and 300 print credits.

The file space quota remains for the student's tenure in the College of Engineering. File Space needed beyond the provided amount must be requested by a professor on behalf of the student.

The print quota credits are provided annually, at the beginning of each fall semester; unused credits roll forward to the next year. Students who need more print quota may purchase it in $10 increments, with each $10 purchasing 500 quota credits. See the printing costs page for information on how many credits are used for print jobs on the various lab printers.

Every engineering employee is assigned a file space quota of 1GB on his or her home directory. Additional space is also available for classes and projects. Should more disk space be needed, ENS offers space for "rent" on a cost-recovery basis.

It is important to note that faculty and staff do not have automatic printing privileges in the student computer labs, and so do not get an allocation of print quota. No-charge printing is available to faculty in the department offices. However, faculty and staff may buy into the student print quota system in order to utilize student printing resources (large plotters, color printers, etc.)

"How many e-mail addresses do I have at CSU?"

You will have at least three: 1) The CSU First.Last@colostate.edu maintained by Academic Computing and Network Services (ACNS), 2) one associated with your eID account that is also maintained by ACNS, e.g., xysmith@lamar.colostate.edu, and 3) one associated with the College of Engineering that is maintained by ENS. We strongly suggest that you choose one as your primary mail address at CSU and have mail for the other accounts forwarded to the primary account. We are, of course, biased toward using your engineering account as your primary e-mail account, and there are some genuine reasons why it is a smart choice. First, your e-mail quota is far higher in engineering; second, the attachment limit is higher on our mail server so that larger internal e-mail attachments can be sent. Third, we have some internal college e-mailing lists that are dependent on your engineering account which may be missed if it is not your primary account.

Learn how to forward all mail sent to the First.Last address to your Engineering account.

Where are the labs?

The following computing facilities in the College of Engineering are maintained by ENS.

Allison Hall Engineering Computer Lab, Allison E104
Anderson Lab, Glover 220
B-C Infill Lounge, Engineering BC106
Electronic Classroom, Engineering C211
Engineering Research Center (ERC) Computer Lab, ERC A210
GIS Computer Classroom, Engineering C205
Internet Cafe, Engineering A104
Lockheed Martin Design Studio, Engineering B203
Motorsport Engineering Research Center (MERC) Lab, MERC 104B

Electronic Classrooms and GIS Computer Classroom

The Electronic Classrooms and GIS Computer Classroom are available for general student use only when classes are not in session. See the schedule posted in the labs for class times. Please respectfully vacate the lab when class is in session, even if the class does not fill the lab.

Lockheed Martin Design Studio

The Lockheed Martin Design Studio (Engineering B203) is open only to Engineering majors and is intended for collaborative work on student projects. Any group of students may reserve one of the eight studios or the large conference area for use by their project between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. See the signs in the Design Studio for information on how to reserve a studio or conference area.

The facility is available for general student use only when studios have not been reserved and between 11:00pm and 7:00am. See the schedules posted on each studio and conference area for reserved times. Please respectfully vacate the studios and conference areas during reserved times.

Employment with ENS

ENS has two student working teams: Lab Technicians and Lab Consultants. The Consultants staff our help desks in Glover 211 and Lockheed Martin Design Studio and take care of daily maintenance of the labs. The technicians provide hardware and software trouble shooting expertise and maintenance. If you are interested in working for ENS, watch for signs posted in the labs requesting applications. Positions are usually advertised early in the fall semester.

Connecting to Engineering from off campus

There are so many ways to connect to our network from off-campus (CSU modem pool, CSU 800 number, cable modem, DSL, traditional modem, etc.) that they could not be all addressed here. Please see the network support page for more details.

Borrowing items from ENS

ENS loans laptops, projectors, digital cameras, remote mice, etc. See the reservation page for details on how to borrow one of these items.

Card Readers

ENS maintains about 20 card readers in and around the Engineering and Glover buildings. Shortly after you sign up for classes, your student ID # gets placed in the card reader database. When your ID # is added, you obtain access to all the main engineering student labs at the posted times. If you are part of certain programs in the engineering college, and an associated room is accessed through a card reader, the professor or faculty member that facilitates the program must request that you be granted access through the card reader.

To operate the card readers, you simply slides your card through the reader with the card oriented so that the magnetic strip is on the edge farthest from you and to the right. The reader will present you with "das blinken lights" telling you the status of the reader. Instructions are attached to each reader describing the light show.

If you are having trouble with your card, you should swing by ENS so we can check the card as well your entry in the database.

Stuff that's good to know:

• If the reader is displaying two flashing green lights (the card was accepted) and the door won't open, push on the door and then pull. Some of the latches are a bit sticky.
• There is a reader on the west door of the Engineering building and on the east door of the Glover building. They both allow after-hours access to their respective buildings.
• Please PLEASE *please* don't prop the doors open. The readers are there to help keep engineering equipment in the engineering labs and out of unscrupulous people's homes. This isn't "Big Brother" trying to maintain a status quo, it's about keeping your computing labs nice and in working condition. If you decide to prop the doors open, you'll be denied access to the engineering systems.

ENS Lab Policies

1. Use of the computing facilities must be in keeping with the CSU's Acceptable Use Policy. Non-academic uses must be stopped and the computer given up when other students need the computer for school work.
2. Be courteous to those around you by talking quietly and keeping sounds from the computer to a minimum. Use headphones if sound is needed.
3. Please make an effort to keep the labs and computing equipment clean, by cleaning up after yourself when you are finished with your work.
4. No food, drink, or tobacco (smokeless or otherwise) is allowed in the labs. Food and drink are permitted only in the Internet Café.
5. Appropriate dress, including shoes and shirts, are required in all labs.
6. If you need to take a break, computers may be locked (by typing Ctrl+Alt+Del) for up to 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, the computer will be unlocked by an administrator and made available to other students.
7. For those who need to run long simulations and would like to lock the computer while the simulation is running, contact the ENS Lab Manager for permission to do so. Then do not lock any computer other than the one(s) assigned to you.
8. Please do not use multiple computers if others are waiting to use a computer.
9. For the safety of Engineering students and the security of computing equipment, do not jam any of the Engineering lab's doors open at any time.
10. Using a university computer to view pornographic material is a violation of the Acceptable Use Policy and is disrespectful to those in the vicinity.
11. Sleeping is not permitted in the labs.

Violation of the Computing Policies

Student violations of the Engineering Computer Use Policies will result in the following actions:

1. The first violation will result in the closing of the user's account until that person meets in person with the Director of ENS.
2. The second violation will result in the closing of the user's account for 24 hours and a meeting with the Director of ENS.
3. The third violation will result in the closing of the user's account for 48 hours and an hour of service in the ENS labs. The Associate Dean of Academic Affairs will also be notified.
4. The fourth violation will result in the closing of the user's account for one week and a meeting with the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.
5. The fifth violation will result in suspension of all lab use for the remainder of the semester and a meeting with the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, the Director of ENS, and the student's academic advisor.

Network File Structure

As was mentioned above, each member of the faculty and staff has a 1GB quota of network file space. The 1GB is allocated to the home directory, which is a subset of the Engineering "File Services" structure. The following access points are provided at login:

1. Top of File Services directory structure
   Windows T: drive, UNIX /top
2. File Structure associated with your group
   Windows V: drive, UNIX /top/[academic|admin]/[group name]
3. Home directory
   Windows U: drive, UNIX home directory
4. Software directory
   Windows S: drive, UNIX installation directories

For detailed information on the File Services structure, see the

interactive file services demonstration (requires Macromedia Flash).

Requesting software for the labs

To request software for either yourself or for installation in the computer labs, please contact ENS. Only faculty may request software for the labs. Requested software is then installed at semester breaks; your help in planning ahead is greatly appreciated!

Purchasing computers

We recommend that you purchase a computer with a minimum set of specifications which should, ideally, last for four years. We also offer a standard college computer for which ENS provides both software and hardware maintenance. Our contract allows engineering faculty and staff to purchase systems at great prices. See our computer purchase page for more information.

Standard e-mail software

The standard e-mail software for our college is Thunderbird or Eudora for faculty and staff and Webmail for students and off-campus access. Although you are welcome to use your favorite e-mail program, we only provide support for Eudora and Thunderbird and will likely only be able to offer minimal assistance with other programs. We do respectfully request that you not use Microsoft's virus propagation programs, Outlook and Outlook Express. More info, including email setup instructions, is included on our email page.

"I'm unhappy"

If you feel disappointed in the services provided by ENS or with some aspect of the computing environment in the College of Engineering, please send a respectful message to us via help@engr.colostate.edu. If we still do not resolve the issue, you are welcome to meet with Mark Ritschard, the Director of ENS, to discuss a resolution. He can be reached at Mark.Ritschard@colostate.edu or in his office in Glover 212.

ENS is here to support you. Come by and see us if you have questions, problems, concerns, a big gaping head wound (oh wait...), or if you just like talking to computer freaks. We welcome your input and want to make things work well for you.