Standards for Computer and Related Technology, The University Policy Manual, UNCG

II:P:008

Standards for Computer and Related Technology

The University Of North Carolina At Greensboro

(Approved by the Chancellor, August 1989)
(Revisions approved by the Chancellor: August 1997, June 1998, June 1999, June 2000, August 2001, May 2003, May 2007)

Introduction
Determining standards for computer hardware, software, and related equipment is a responsibility of the Vice Chancellor for Information Technology Services.
Supported Products
Supported products are those that have been accepted for general use throughout the University for either administrative or academic purposes. Information Technology Services (ITS) will provide installation, instruction/consultation and maintenance, and repair services for supported products. Whenever financially beneficial and feasible, site license arrangements will be negotiated for supported software products. The University has negotiated volume discount pricing for many supported hardware products. Clients should purchase these products through UNCG contracts to take advantage of savings opportunities.

It is strongly recommended that University departments not purchase products other than those on the "supported" list. Such products will NOT be supported by ITS other than to provide basic assistance with connecting such products to the UNCG network. UNCG network software may be inoperable on computing devices not included on the "supported" list. Clients wishing to make exception purchases should consult with ITS prior to making the purchase. ITS will not provide assistance in connecting non-supported products to the campus network if they are deemed incompatible with the UNCG network

ITS has responsibility for maintaining the integrity of the University's computing network, and unsupported products will not be permitted to endanger the network's proper functioning. Users should be sure they have local support for non-supported products if they choose to purchase them.
Additions to Supported Products List
A review panel appointed by the Vice Chancellor for Information Technology Services will consider modifications and additions to the list of supported products. This panel includes representatives from campus committees including the Academic Technology Coordinating Committee (ATCC), Academic Computing Committee (ACC), Administrative Systems Committee (ASC), Research Advisory Council (RAC), and the Web Oversight Committee (WOC). When the list is modified notification will be posted on the online UNCG Policy Manual under Information Technology Services. Products may be nominated for consideration by any faculty or staff member or student by calling 6-TECH and requesting that the product be reviewed for inclusion into the Supported Products List.
The following criteria will be used in considering additional products:
1. value added beyond products currently listed, if the product is similar to one already on the list;
2. potential for use of the product throughout the campus;
3. training and other support available from the vendor;
4. cost of purchase and maintenance and availability of site license/educational discounts;
5. compatibility with the University's telecommunications and network environment; and
6. ease of use as measured by training, consultation, familiarization requirements.
Network Standard for Computing
Office and Instructional Laboratory Computing Networks operating Novell NetWare will be the campus standard for office and instructional laboratory networks in the Windows environment. The Microsoft Windows Operating System (OS) is recognized as a resource that is of increasing importance for departmental computing. ITS will support MS Window's server Operating System for those uses for which it is preferable to NetWare. For departmental server or application needs, ITS level of support will be governed by an appropriate Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or Service Level Agreement (SLA). Departmental LAN administration will not be provided by ITS.
Building and Campus Computing Networks ITS Data and Voice Operations has developed a networking standards document. The document states, in summary, that Ethernet protocol will be used for building and campus networks. Office and instructional laboratory networks will be connected to Ethernet building networks and the campus network as appropriate. Core network switching is performed by Cisco's very high speed Ethernet switches augmented by a mixture of 100Mb/second and Gigabit Ethernet. All campus switching hardware and switch software must operate under the Cisco Catalyst environment.
Related Information
Appendix A (PDF: requires a reader such as Adobe Reader) is a list of products that is supported by ITS at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Supported products are those for which ITS will provide installation, maintenance, repair services, and consultation/instruction. Although a product may be supported, this does not imply that the product has been site licensed for use by everyone at UNCG. The term "maintenance" indicates that ITS maintains a copy of the product and will attempt to keep copies of the product current and in proper working order. The term "consultation" indicates that ITS has access to appropriate reference resources, and consulting staff members are knowledgeable in the operation of the product. The term "instruction" indicates that workshops, instructional videos, or tutorial documentation are provided for the product.

Products for which ITS provides campus-wide site license can be found in appendix A (PDF: requires a reader such as Adobe Reader) preceded by **. These site licenses, at a minimum, permit University owned equipment attached to the University network to run the programs so indicated without other charges. To decide when to acquire a campus-wide site license, ITS makes a judgment based on numbers of copies of a program in use on campus and the costs of licensing everyone on campus (including those who may not use the program). Site licenses are acquired when significant cost savings may be possible even though not everyone will use that piece of software.
For current pricing or ordering information for software products, contact ITS. Specific software currently supported for general use can be found in appendix A (PDF: requires a reader such as Adobe Reader). For information about product categories not listed here, contact ITS.

Office network and/or ITS lab installation of software used specifically for instruction or research may be requested through the Software Installation Request Form. Unless otherwise noted, support is limited to configuring the software to run on UNCG's network and troubleshooting errors in the operation of the software. A list of software deployed in ITS labs for instruction and research can be found in appendix B (PDF: requires a reader such as Adobe Reader). The implementation of software in the ITS Labs is the responsibility of ITS.