Resource Overview
All of our research computing resources are built to be accessed remotely from any Windows or Macintosh computer, utilizing remote desktop software. If you are trying to connect from “Off Campus”, then you will be required to connect to Syracuse University’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) before attempting to do so. ICT will provide documentation and or training so you can easily access the research computer from virtually anywhere in the world.
Best Practices
As you utilize these resources, we’d like to point out that you should view them as “Public-Lab Computers”. So please keep in mind that, like Lab Computers, other users may have access to the same resource as you. Additionally, we ask that you do not save important data to the local drive (C:\) and that you use your H: or G: Drive folders to work from. If you run into any technical issue with a resource, please contact us via email at research@maxwell.syr.edu for support.
We’d like to ask that you please be mindful of your actual need of these resources. Once you’ve completed your project, please contact us so that we may begin the “recovery process” of those resources. We do this so that we may provide these same resources to others that have the same/similar need.
Unless otherwise stated like with MAXLab, or upon a Students’ Graduation, we will contact you to verify you no longer require the resource. Once confirmed, we will remove your access and destroy (most times) the resource’s data. So it is very important that you make sure you’ve copied all of your output of to your H: of G: Drive folder by that time.
Resource Security
Windows is the predominate Operating System we utilize on our computing resources. Moreover, as is the case with any Windows machine, it requires updates and patches to be applied periodically. We understand that this frequency of updates may not align with your research or other use of the resource. However, we ask that you make every reasonable effort to apply these updates when you can. If your computing resource is identified to be over 60 days past due of any update, we work with you directly to apply the updates.
Additionally, these computing resources are scanned regularly for malicious software/activity. We will contact you if the scan reports any issues with your resource. If after contact, efforts are not made to address these security concerns, we reserve the right to power-off the resource. If this occurs, additional contact will be made to “cooperatively” remedy the identified issue.
Resource Availability
In extreme and very rare cases, the campus virtual computing infrastructure may not be available due to maintenance or repair. During these events, the user’s data integrity and operational state are preserved, and are fully restored after the event is over – along with the users access. Due to the very unexpected nature of the event, communications is not always provided prior to these events. With that being said, we will always make best-effort to contact those users that may have been affected.