Reposting of e-newsletter sent to undergraduates on 11-16-17.
Highlighting services and resources each semester
Student Tech News
Fall 2017
Happy fall from the Office of Information Technology (OIT)! If you have computing problems or need technology advice, the OIT Help Desk is ready to help.
OIT College Ambassadors will keep you updated about technology issues and events.
Update on WiFi Issues
OIT would like to apologize for the networking issues many students have experienced this fall, especially around wireless connectivity. We are aware of student problems getting and staying connected to the Rice wireless networks (Rice Owls, Rice Visitor, and Eduroam) and are working hard to correct them. We have been focusing extensively on these problems and have taken a number of corrective actions and have additional improvements planned. We would like to thank all the students who are helping us find solutions by reporting any wireless issues via email (location, time, issue) to the OIT Help Desk (helpdesk@rice.edu). Your reports help us pinpoint problems and determine additional technical solutions. OIT will be scheduling evening events in college commons so students can ask questions and have their laptops checked for optimizing wireless connectivity. Your college OIT Ambassador will send you an event notice.
Below are some of the technical details related to our ongoing efforts.
At the end of September, we:
1. Upgraded the operating system for the wireless network components.
2. Made significant configuration changes to improve the system performance so that radio channel and power levels are better managed in an automated fashion.
3. Modified the operating parameters for the radios so that the 5Ghz frequency band is preferred over the 2.4 Ghz frequency band preferred by client devices.
On October 21, we implemented a second change to address a significant problem with the system that distributed IP addresses to client systems connecting to the wireless network. This should greatly improve clients’ ability to connect and stay connected.
In addition, we have a machine-learning system that is analyzing the performance of every single device that connects to the wireless network. This is helping us diagnose and repair client issues much more quickly.
We have also started planning for the RiceNet Wireless Refresh project. Ultimately, this will allow OIT to replace all of the older wireless equipment with next-generation hardware that can better manage the RF spectrum and can provide a much better overall experience for all client devices. We will be enlisting the help of our OIT College Ambassadors to better inform our decisions.
Mudd Plotters and Color Printer
OIT has made some changes to the Mudd Lab Operation Center hours this semester. New hours are:
• Monday – Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
• Saturday and Sunday: 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
The plotters and the color laser printer in Mudd Lab are located in the Operations Center. These printers are attended by OIT staff, who place printouts outside the Operations Center window in the Mudd Lab lobby when they are on duty. You can access the lobby anytime to pick up your printouts although you will need to use your Rice ID after the building is locked. Please note that there is no access to new printouts when the Operations Center is closed.
The Architecture charrettes will continue to be staffed as they have in the past with extended hours. Your comments to helpdesk@rice.edu will help us evaluate these schedule changes.
Software
Rice has site licensed a variety of software programs for use on university-owned computers and in some cases individually-owned computers for free or at a discounted price. Of particular note, a new agreement with MathWorks, Matlab is now available for free to students for use on personally-owned machines. For a complete list, see Software Available for Students.
Online Information
To learn more about OIT services, go to the OIT web site, https://oit.rice.edu. For an easy-to-search source of instructions about services and tools, use the OIT KnowledgeBase at https://kb.rice.edu.
VPN: Off-campus Access to Rice Only Resources
To access the Rice network when not on campus, use the Virtual Private Network or VPN. Once you download the VPN client software, you can login with your NetID and access private Rice resources, like Fondren journals. Learn more by searching for “vpn” on https://kb.rice.edu.
Amazon Web Services Resources
Learn more about Amazon’s program to provides students and educators with resources to accelerate cloud-related learning. As a student, you will receive $100 in free credits each year. Make sure to sign up for the AWS Educate Starter Account so you don’t need a credit card to join.
OIT News Blog
Check out these recent profiles on fellow students:
OIT Help Desk
We can help with computer questions or problems!
helpdesk@rice.edu
713-348-4357
(9 am – 5 pm, M-F, except holidays)
http://helpdesk.rice.edu
Mudd 103
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https://www.facebook.com/RiceOIT/
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Copyright © 2017 Rice University, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Office of Information Technology, Rice University, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251–1892